CONTINGENT NIGHT

Otago Witness, Issue 2397, 8 February 1900, Page 51

CONTINGENT NIGHT

The Thcatie wa 1 - packed in every pan on iUon- ' day night, when Ml Hany Conor and the Iloyt and M'Kee Company gave thp third pioduciion , of "A- Trip to Chinaiown.'' Prior to the com- j mpnccmetit of the peifonnance two stiikmg j raililiuj' tableaux siuiilai to those which de- i lighted audiences in Christchurch and Wcl- j lington were staged, and drew entiiuMajstic ' clieers from the audience. The curtain rose

I for the first time on a wounded soldier (Mr W. Biownlow) standing at bay beside a. field gun. This tableau was intended to be a leproduction of Mr Caton Woodville's picture, made famous by its association with Mr Rudyaid Kipling's poem " The Absent-minded Beggar." For a moment the curtain fell, and as it rose again the position had been re-taken, and the heroic defender rescued from his "perilous" position. A squad of 24 men from the North Dunedin Rifles and some of the B Batteiy men formed the rescue party, and they rapidly moved into the defensive formation used to withstand a. cavahy chaige. A beautiful tableau in itself was formed to represent Britannia and Columbia at the rear of the stage, Miss Allene Crater and Miss Viola Gillette representing the nationalities respectively. The whole spectacle was so realistic, and at the same time so brilliant, that cheer after cheer broke fiom the audience. Some stirring lines, written by Mr T. Mills (of the Welling Evening Post, but better known to our readers as P. Rompter in the theatrical pages), were recited by Mr Stewart, while the tbleaux were being displayed. Another outburst of patriotic fervour was occasioned, when at an interval in Act II Mr Brownlow appeared, again m khaki, to sing " The absent-minded beggar." Mr Biownlow, not content with improving on Kipling's version, added another stanza having reference to the despatch of the Now Zealand Contingents. The' money" thrown on the stage for " Tommy " totted up to £12 10s, and included a couple of sovereigns. In response to the encore which naturally followed, Mr Brownlow sang '" Soldiers of the Queen," and the audience took up the chorus with enthusiasm.