CALEDONIAN DRAMATIC SOCIETY.

Southern Cross, Volume 5, Issue 40, 8 January 1898, Page 7

CALEDONIAN DRAMATIC SOCIETY.

It was a happy thought that suggested “ Jessie Brown, or the Relief of Lucknow,” as the dramatic bill of fare for the evenings of Ist and 3rd January. The play, it is true, lacks the charm of novelty, but recent events in India have invested everything relating to the Great Mutiny with a special interest for every patriotic colonist. It was therefore not surprising that the Theatre Royal was packed on the opening night and well patronised on the occasion of the second representation. The members of the Caledonian Dramatic Society cast for the occasion gave a good account of themselves. The acting was good, and the incidental effects above the average. The orchestra led, in the regrettable absence, through ill-health, of Mr D. Blue, by Mr A. Ferguson —did admirable service. The stage management, in the experienced hands of Mr R. B. Wotton, who has in his time played many parts, and all well, told materially towards the success achieved, and Messrs R. Hash and P. 0. R. Russ, scenic artist and mechanist respectively, won unstinted applause for their share in the spectacular work. As for the characters, the ladies first. Mrs Blue, the Jessie Brown of the evening, is not new to the local stage, and it is no exaggeration to say that her latest appearance was also her best. The winsome, brave-hearted Scotch lassie, with her cheery words and delightful songs the lady’s vocal contributions were almost equal to an ordinary concert programme was depicted to the life. In the trying scenes pourtrayed, she was equivalent „to the bit of red in Landseer’s pictures, giving colour and brightness to the whole. Mrs W. McLeod was well placed as Mrs Campbell, and acted naturally and with a good deal of feeling. The parts of Alice and Mary were satisfactorily taken by Miss E. Mair and Miss Fox, and those of an Indian Ayah and Charlie and Effie by Miss Trillo and Master and Miss Dunbar respectively. Mr A. McKellar, whose Bailie Nicol Jarvie has in the past established him firmly in the good graces ot Invercargill audiences, essayed the part of Randal McGregor, and hit off that masterful and resourceful officer fairly well —he would have done better, though, in a part with some scope for the display of humour. Mr J. H, Porter as Geordie

McGregor erred*on the quiet side—-a little more “ go ” would have lifted his impersonation above the level of the passable, Mr A. AJcKillop broke new ground—his Cassidy was a capital piece of characterisation, and afforded proof of the player’s versatility. He certainly scored well, and was answerable for a good deal of the fun of the evening. Mr A. M. Cameron’s Sweenie Jones also told in the lighter sections of the drama. The Rev. David Blunt of Mr W. E. Gladstone was a surprise to his admirers—they had scarcely credited him with the skill that he displayed in the rendition of a character that in less capable hands would have been the merest burlesque. At. the same time be succeeded in bringing into strong contrast the combative instincts of the man as opposed to the clergyman, Mr H. Crawford represented General Havelock, and the native contingent was capably represented by Messrs J, W. Hamilton (the Hana Sahib), A. Thompson, C. Pilkington, and H. T. Dawson. During the first evening, Mr H. Mair, President of the Caledonian Society, thanked the public for their patronage.