PRINCESS THEATRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2404, 29 March 1900, Page 47

PRINCESS THEATRE.

"THE ABSENT-MINDED BEGGAR." CONTINGENT NIGHT.

One of the latest additions to Mr Bland Holt's repertoire — a military piece, entitled '" The Absent-minded "Beggar," based upon incidents in the present mr — was produced by his company at the Princtis Theatre on Thursday. On very few occasions .ndced has the theatre presented a scene of sveh animation as on this occasion. The presence of his Excellency the Governor and the vice-regal party, would, in any instance, have ensured a large and fashionable audience, but the fact of the officers and members of the fourth contingent being in attendaace at the invitation of the popular actor-manager, and ot the presence in the city of a great many visitors, who have come from all parts to witness the departure of New Zealand's troops to the seat of war, it was only to be expected that the first performance of a piece which in all its essential features breathed tho spirit of the hour, should be attended with eclat and unwonted success. Unfortunately the number of engagements which the contingent had to fulfil yesterday was such that they evidently found it a matter of difficulty to find time to punctually attend to them. Their advent at the theatre was some time after the piece had started, but as they arrived in several detachments they were accorded a warm gre.etiiig. The theatre itself presented an unusually brilliant appearance, and the decoiative skill of Mr Kirby, whose talent m this direction has been greatly in demand of late, was made manifest by the effective draping of flsrgs and the arrangement of happily selected inscriptions having reference to the war and the part played therein by Dutch generals and the colonial " boys." ,

" The Absent-minded Beggar " is the creation of Mr Aithur Shirley. The title of the piece provides prima facie evidence of the character of the play. The •"gentlemen in khaki," it need scarcely be said, is the hero of the hour, and the particular portion of the globe where he is upholding the Empire's interest, it does not require to be added, is in South Africa. As can well be imagined any play which presents the popular feeling of the hour, in connection with such an all-absorbing question as the present war, must indeed be very poorly constructed if its production is unattended with success. Its very motif would cover a multitude of deficiencies in its structural or literary parts But " The Absent-minded Beggar " has not a multitude of deficiencies to cover. In fact, judged by the standard of the modern melodiama it possesses much to be said in its favour. True the story upon which it is based is of the most meagie and unsatisfying character, and there are not wanting incongruous, i£ not impossible situations, yet the piece is brimful of those qualities which make the melodrama such an attractive entertainment to a certain section of plaj'goers. First of all it has the advantage of being a military drama, and as such is replete with movement, colour, and inspniting and exciting denouements. Secondly, the scenes and incidents depicted relate to events which are already going on, and which dwarf the popular interest in everything else w^lch at the present time is happening on this mundane sphere. And as the playwright lost none of his opportunities to present a succession of brilliant spectacles, and to depict the' " khaki gentlemen " in colcurs and under conditions which inevitably spelt ruin to his Boer enemy, the melodrama is one destined to be received with popular acclaim in every part of her Majesty's dominions where it happens to be produced. An epitome of the play has already been published, and therefore it is simply necessary to state here that the history of the fortunes of a young Britisher who joins the Sculh African Mounted Police, and those of ais v-ife and child, who seem constantly to be at the front with him, together with a history of the machinations of vn Afrikander, who follows the pair (fighting albeit in the ranks opposed to them), and whose object m life is to secure the aforesaid. youn<? Britisher's wife for himself, affords the ground^ work upon which the brilliant series of military spectacles are presented to the audience. The hero performs many a thrilling feat of arms; the scoundrel is guilty of many execrable acts of villainy, together with many damaging pieces of audacity ; but in this instance virtue is not overcome for any length of time, and the sins of the evildoer soon find him out, with the result that his short and unpromising career is brought to a close without much ceremony. The patriotic spirit of the piece was, of course, most acceptable to the audience, and anything which referred to "tho soldiers of the Oueen " found an echoing response from the audience.

Mr Bland Holt appeared in one of those characters with which he is sc closely apsoc;ated in the minds of x^aygoers. He impersonated a Hebrew money-lender, who loined the ranks to relieve a distress he endured through a too confiding faith in tho prospects of one of his customers. His experience as a soldier of the Queen, if the recital of his deeds amongst the Boers could be relied upon, was most thrilling, but his single-handed feats of prowess were noi to be depended upon evidently, for they at all times provoked a vast amount of amusement. Mrs Bland Holt filled the usual role of an " absent-minded beggai " of the type that the public is given to idolise so much just now; and a captivating soldier she made. A " war reclation " by Mr J. E. M'Manus, entitled "W?ifc a Week or Two," was one of the pleasant features of the evening's enter-ta-innient. All the evil qualities ■which ate

identified with the gentlemanly stage villain, and which evoke such frank expressions of contempt from the more demonstrative portion of the audience m the lower part of the house, wore imbued m Mr Albert Norman's representation of the Afrikander, and his acting certainly contributed in the highest degree to the success of the play. Miss Ross presented an engaging, graceful, sympathetic study of a young and innocent girl who, while idolising her husband to the extent of following his foitunes through the war, ejchibited a fine courage when faced with personal danger. Although she was made to take upon heiself the exceedingly unlikely duty of directing the soldiery how to repel a sudden attack of the enemy, tho fault lay with the piece, and not with her , and in this, as at many other stages of the play, her acting evoked warm applause. The character of the hero found an able exponent m Mr Bjiker, whose manly po.trajal of a Br.t'sa soldier appealed strongly to the sentiments of the audience. Miss Hnrrie Ireland did the little devolving upon her with grace and effect, Mr Corlesse presented an amusing representation of President Kruger, and other parts were well filled by Messrs Montgomery, A. Styan, C. Blown, A. Harford, and Scarlett. The mounting and general stage equipments were, of course, a feature of the production. Two ot the most effective scenes were the review of the troops by the Queen, and the attcck on the Boers' position. Both these, and the latter especially, were striking examples o[ stage realism. In each instance squads of men appeared in tho uniforms of different regiments, and went through all the actions of war with gratifying "skill. A special word of praise is due to Mr Percy ELehoe and his orchestra for the capital music they supplied during the evening.