MARLOW'S DRAMATIC COMPANY

Otago Witness, 1 June 1910, Page 69

MARLOW'S DRAMATIC COMPANY

"The Wedding. Ring." After a successful run, "Married to the Wren? Man" was, on Saturday evening, withdrawn by Mi Marlow'e theatrical company, which is appearing at His Majesty's, and its place taken by " The Wedding Ring." The latest production is in many respects a. wondeiiful creation, and has evidently been written by someone whose genius lies strongly in the direction of piling up sensation on sensation. Besides minor villainies —that is, minor by comparison, but amply sufficient, to operate powerfully uporr the impressionable, and leave recollections not easily effaced, —there is a murder, an attempted suicide, and the derailing of a train, which is not bad for four acts, and should satisfy the mest ardent admirer_ of melodrama, and there axe not a few in every community at the present day. " The Wedding Ring" is full of sentiment and emotion, of noble, impulses and heroic deeds, and virtue in its highest form and vice of the most diegraded kind jostle one another in kaleidoscopic confusion. The prominent character is a Church of England curate named Gerald Armstrong, whose ideas of Christianity tefee practical form, much to the disappro-voj of the vicar. He secretly marries a most estimable young lady, Mary Ashford, who i» assumed to be dependent upon Peter Fletcher, but she is in reality the daughter of the Duchess of Brierly by a former marriage. This fact is known to Fletcher and the Duchess alone, and it kept a profound secret. Knowing that Miss Ashford must in time be the inheritor of great wealth, Fletcher recognise?, in her an excellent match for his rascally son George, and the pair between them concoct all sorts of villainies to separate Gerald and Mary. Gerald _ is accused of an irregular attachment with one Violet Fraser, the real culprit being George Fletcher, and on somewhat doubtful evidence is placed outside the pale of the Church by the vicar. Mary clings to him, and hardship and privation follow the pair, and in order to alleviate his wife's sufferings Geraild makes a great sacrifice, and leaves Mar v. The first husband of HiA Duchess, believed to be dead, turns up and complicates matter.-, and he and the

girl Fraser lay their heads together and proceed to levy blackmail on- George Fletcher. That worthy murder? tii-s father, and wrecks a train on which the pair of confederates who are causing him so much trouble arc supposed to bo travelling. In the eod father and son reap the reward of their misdeeds, and virtue come-: out triumohant. Mr Bentley made a

manly, straightforward Gerald Armstrong, the hero, and put some fairly good work into the part The demands made unoir him were somewhat heavy, and the trying experiences Gerald went through were presented to the audience by Mr Bentley with a. very fair degree of naturalness, and a freedom from exaggeration that is to be commended. If Miss Clay was not over vigorous in her treatment of the chai-aeliir of Mary Ashford irr the more crucial scenes', she is certainly entitle*.! to credit for having made an intelligent study of the part in most, respects. The Peter Fletcher of Mr Ttlton was good in its way, but the peculiar nasal utterances, usually associated with the stage Jew. did not seem to be quite in. keeping with the position- of lord of the manor. Mr Vox in treduced the characteristics of the London coster somewhat, freely into his George Fletcher, who, by virtue of his social standing, might reasonably be assumed to be a young man with, at least, the veneer of o. gentleman. Miss Booth was quite satisfactory as the Duchess, and Miss Carbasse made a very lively Johanna. Miss Bundahl had not a very- pleasant part to sustain in Violet Fraser, and has bee.n more successful in other characters she has assumed in* her amateur days. Mr Curran did very well as Lord Robert Chambers, and it was he and Miss Carbasse who supplied the comedy of the piece. _ The remainder of the company, in less important parts, gave adequate support. The drama was very well mounted, and the performance met with a most flattering reception at the hands of the a.udience. which was a numerous one. " The Wedding Ring " will be repeated this evening.