THE GHOST WALK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2666, 19 April 1905, Page 65

THE GHOST WALK.

Two circuses m Sydney during Easter are "Wirth's and Fitzgerald's. The New Zealand tour of the Westminster G-lee Singers has been booked.

"The Cirjgalee" will be produced on Easter Saturday by the Royal Comics.

Miss W Alt-Phillips has joined Stephenson'a Musical Comedy Company in Sydney. Madame Marzella and her trained birds ■were showing at Adelaide Royal at latest. End-man and acrobatic comedian Irving Sayles was at latest, showing at Adelaide Koyal.

Messrs John Forde and Gregan M'Mahon tave been engaged for the Brough-Flemming cciabiration. The American actress Miss Nance O'Neil ■will -wsit New Zealand before the end of the present year. Joe Watts, Madge Lucas, and Tillie Dunbar are with the Sanford Dramatic Company in Melbourne Bijou. London's own comedian, Little Tich, is repeating- his Sydney triumph at Melbourne Opera, Hgusc *• George Stephen son's Company opened the new Criterion Theatre, Sydney, on Saturday ■with "The Skirt Dancer."

Madame Adelina Patti was 62 in February last. Mr Charles Santley has just entered upon his seventy-second year.

Mr George Musgrove told an interviewer in C/hristcburch that one of Miss Nellie Stewart's dresses in "Camille" cost £300.

Mr Bert Royle has forwarded the balance «f the Gertie Campion Fund— about £160 — to Miss Campion, at Johannesburg. The newly-formed Brough - Flernming Comedy Company commences an Australasian tour at Perth on Saturday, April 22.

Miss Dolly Castles admits to 20 years of age, and confesses that her favourite part is Elsie llaynard, in "The Yeoman of the Guard. ' M. Jan Kubelik, the famous violinist, will give 30 concerts in Australia and New Zealand, the -first at Melbourne in September. Mr Freer Duval has (says "Jacques") secured the Launceston Academy of Music for the Christmas season. He is to bring an attraction from America.

The success of Little Alma Gray, who is singing ccon songs in London, is announced. Alma toured New Zealand with, one of Eickards's companies. Derenda. and Breen, the clever club jugglers, •who were round these parts some three years sgo, were a.t latest showing in the Tivoh Theatre, Capetown.

At the termination of the present season in jChristchurch Musgrove's Dramatic Company move on to Wellington, opening in that city on E&ster Saturday. Miss Eugene Dniggan played "Camille" the other evening in Melbourne to a house packed from footlights to pavement, and £"50 or £60 turned away at the doors. The American manager imparts a thrill to the rider of the death-trap loop a.t Wirth's Circus r "Danger-deriding, death-defying, desperate, dare- devil Ohefalo" ! Maehnow. the Russian giant, who stands 9ft Bin high, was introduced to a London audience by a diminutive lady 22in in height, T'b.o, like the giant, is 23 years old. He : "My father is a banker, and has* never teen inside a. theatre in his iife." She : "Really?" My fa.th.er is an aotor, ana n«s never been inside a bank in his iife."

Three plays by Henry Arthur Jones will be jyi-blished in separate volumes shortly. They are "Mrs Dane's Defence." "The Case of Rebellious Susan," and "The Manoeuvres of Jane."

Actor: "How did Egbert's new play take?" Mummer: "He writes to me that it met with txuheard-of success." "Is thsut so?"— " Yes, after the first night it was never heard of again." A London cable states that, owing to the ■want of protection against music pirates, 19 of the chief publishing houses have decided' not to publish new music, neither to pay composers, nor to advertise.

Miss Alice Pierce, whose contract with Harry Kickaids is for six mouths, on ter return to England is due at the London Pavilion, ■wheTe, just before sailing for Australia, she concluded a season of 16 weeks.

Mr Joseph Quealey, for many years with, the Pollard Opera, Company, and more recently ■with Sanford Dramatic Company, is now the mechanist oi the Oswald Dramatic Company, at present touring New Zealand. Quite the best show of the kind seen in Dunedin is tlve verdict of the great British publio of this city who have visited His Majesty's Theatre, where West's Pictures and th.3 talented Brescians are showing.

Edward Branscombe's Westminster Glee Singers' representative has been in Melbourne Eome time fixing up things for the return visit of Mi Branscombe and his company, ■which, opens at Brisbane towards uhe end of May. 4n American "notion" has been adopted to p'.ease Gaiety patrons by Mr F. Jf- Clark. Photographs of well-known persons are thrown on the screen, and if the original of any is present and cares to make the fact known, he claims a money reward.

Mr Charles Warner took part in an entertainment last month at the Jewish Working Men's Club, London. The distinguished actor gave BTet Harte's poem, "The Mouth of the Pit," and, in response to an encore, "Queen Mab," from £< Romeo and Juliet." A new violinist, like Kubelik a pupil of Seveik, has made- his first appearance in the Bechstein Hall, London, and has won very favourable opinions from the critics. His name is Leon Sametini, and he hails from, Amsterdam. He is only 19 years cf age.

Jan Kubelik, the famous violinist, who has been secured by Messrs John H. and J. Kevin Tait for 30 concerts in Australia, opening in , September, was latterly interrupted in his German tour by influenza, involving- .him in a loss of £3000 due to cancelled engagements. Miss Frances Ross has not made such' gooa progress towards health as was expected, and Bland Holt was, compelled to put his new drama, "The Betting Book," into rehearsal ■without her. Miss Ross will not appear again •until the return of the company to Melbourne Uoyal at Easter time. Mr Walter Bentley appeared at the Grand Theatre, Nottingham, last month, as Shyleck, -with the Osmond Tearle Company. The large «nd enthusiastic audience included Mr Leonard Uayne, who, according to the Era, made Mr TSenilej a handsome offer to star in South •Africa, which, however, he was unable to ac cept. I To cure a portion of the audience at the Haile concerts from hurrying out before the j end of the performance the late Mr Johnstone, j the music?! critic, once wrote in the Guardian- "The symphony was beautiful, and the march past of the early Britons, executed by a portion of the audience half way through tie last movement, was deeply impressive."

Mr and Mrs Athol Foide are at present in %dney, but will shoitly leave for London.. Mr

Fcrde is a popular actor, and for some time has been a -member of Mr J. C. Williamson's "Marriage of Kitty" Comedy Company. Mrs Athol Forde has also been on the stage, but only for a short time. She was Miss Kathleen Armstrong, daughter of Mr J. Armstrong.

I A 'Frisco paper says Lillie Sutherland, out | in Australia recently, has made a hit as Fil- ! Hsy, the child of the circus ring, in the Kolb I and Dill production of the musical absurdity "I-O-U" at the Grand Opera House. Her chief success is attained in a song, "My

Maori Maid," which she follows ivp with the ' poi dance, in which she and the girl choius

reproduce Ihe native dance of the New Zea- ' land aborigines. I Wirth's Circus has wound up a most suc1 ceesful season in Auckland. A case of assault laid by Mr Philip Wirth against Captain M'Cioud, the leading cowboy of the Wild West

part of the show, was down for hearing at the local Police Court (says the Auckland Review), but owing to the pressure of business it could

not be taken before the steamer left, and was accoidmgly struck out.

Miss Maud Jeffries states that &he desires to leave the stage and settle down in the Southern States of her native land. In this

wish her husband heartily agrees with her,

and their joint dream is to settle down as cotton planters on a large scale. She is going Home from Australia in July, and then comes out again to fulfil an engagement, and by the end of next year she hope* her dream will be realised. Mr Harry Eickaxds has. imported Ihe scientific wonder of which so much has been •Kiitten about in London of late, "The Magic Kettle." It is now being shown at Ihe Tivoli. The secret is the application cf liquefied air. Ice-creams axe made over a fire, water boils on ice, grapes are frozen hard, mercury is

solidified

and a cigar is lit on iee — among

many other seeming paradoxes. It was thought that the liquefication of ait would solve the marine engine problem. So far it

is but a scientific toy.

The late Mr Dan Leno once told of a pathetic incident connected with his early struggles. He was singing in a licensed hoiisc to a holi-

day crowd -a-t Brighton, and the proprietor came to him and whispered : "Make il a bit quiet, lad. I've lost my missus, and she's lying upstairs." Young Dan, affected by the gruesome intelligence, sang so very quietly that the audience began to think the affair rather slow and to fall away. The proprietor, seeing what was happening, came hurriedly to Dan, and psclaimed, "Sing out, lad, sing out. After all shs can't hear."

__ Mr Richard Harding -Davis, the novelist and dramatist, was attending a performance of his comedy, "The Dictator," when a young man near, by entered into conversation with him. The youngster proved to oe very entertaining. He was tall and strong, and had been, be said, in every part of the world. Princes, dukes, rajah, sultans, and even kings were numbered among his friends. At the end of the performance he shook Mr Davis heartily by the hand. "I hope," he said, "that we may meet agaiu. lam Eichard Harding Davis." "Are you?" said Mr Davis, lau°-hin<r "So am I!" ° Wirth Bros.' Circus is to open in Fydney at Easter. Amongst the new "turns" will be an act by two chimpanzees, which do a remarkable comic acrobatic act on a swinging ladder. Another comic act is to be provided by two newly-imported artists, Messrs Denny and Doyle, on two rings. Their "knockabout" work is said to be exceptionally good. Chefalo, of "death-trap" fame, is to ride an ordinary bicycle .down a steep and narrow incline at a terrific pace on to a short upright board, and then leap into mid-air over elephants, camels, and horses, covering a distance in his flight of over 50ft. The menagerie will also be strengthened by a number of°new wild animals from India, also several more elephants and crocodiles.

In theatrical papers "double-handed"' people are often advertised for, hard- working performers, who can adapt themselves to varied emergencies. The members of ihe Hyland Circus troupe are marvels in this way "(savs a Tasrnanian paper), a really wonderful family each individual a number of wonders rolled into one, the ladies especially. On barebacked horses, on the wire, on the traiaeze they are perfectly at home. In the nug they p:ay with ponies as other ladies play with pet kittens ; in the orchestra when timesexves, they lend a hand as instrumentalists, and °-ood ones too. The male members of the troupe are equally ambidextrous. The blind %oltigeur is a. marvel. Even the tent men are sble to dc turns which help to fill the programme satisfactorily. A real Australian circus, run upon old-time lines, and very well lun. '