STAGELAND

Southland Times, Issue 19279, 25 June 1924, Page 10

STAGELAND

Of Plays and Players

(By “Playgoer.”)

After a five nights’ season in Wellington, Malini, the card manipulator and man of mystery, is now touring the South Island. Mr W. A. Low is managing the tour.

Lance Lister, through New Zealand last with Lee White and Clay Smith, has a small part in a “London Calling” at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London.

According to Everyone’s, Phil Smith, the popular comedian, has dissolved partnership with Lionel Walsh, and will shortly be featured on the Fuller circuit in musical revue.

When the last mails left New York Louis Bennison, who toured New Zealand with ‘The Great Lover,” and one or two other plays, had a part in "The Dust Heap.” Critics described it as a thrilling pile of old hokum.

Sir George Tallis and Mr J. H. Tait, directors of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., have just bought Cambridge Buildings, Melbourne, for £lOO,OOO, on which a most palatial theatre will be built.

Billy Bovis, the comedian with the straw hat, who was at Fullers’ some months back, is now one of the comedians in F. Gale Wyer’s Band Box Revue Company, which recently started on the Fuller circuit. Frank Perryn, who was in revue, is also with the company.

Dancing and singing, with sparkling comedy and lavish frocking, are features of “Mr Battling Butler,” the new FullerWard show in Melbourne, with Dorothy Brunton heading a cast which includes Charles Heslop, Alec Regan, Marie La Varre, Compton Coutts, Maidie Field, George Willoughby, Douglas Calderwood, Mary Gannon, Elma Hardman, Tom Preston, and John Robertson. Many snappy song numbers are introduced in the production, and like “The O’Brien Giri,” “Little Nellie Kelly,' and other Hugh J. Ward musical productions staged by Harry Hall,

“Mr Battling Butler" is full of life, move ment, and colour, with some startling surprises added—Table Talk.

In the cast of “The Skin Game” in Melbourne, an Oscar Asche production, was the old veteran John Forde, possibly the oldest actor in the employ of J. C. Williamson, Ltd. He has been in active work for forty years, but another generation will remember him as Deacon Skinner in one or two short revivals of “Struck Oil,” which Maggie Moore has given. The popular old actor enjoyed the highest compliment it is possible for a villain to receive when he was playing the Deacon in Sydney one night, and he was told that, for his nefarious conduct, he “orter be boiled.” The shrill bitterness of the remark made even the actor smile. Forde was originally in opera, and later was associated for many years with the late Alfred Dampier, in whose company were, by the way, several other veterans, as Edmond Holloway, F. C. Appleton, and Geo. Buller.

On Saturday next, Miss Josie Melville, of “Sally” fame, will be seen in a new musical comedy in Sydney, “Good Morning, Dearie." Miss Melville, of course, will have the’leading role. George Crotty (dancing comedian), Percy Le Fre (comedian), and Doran and Kibkin (specialty dancers) have arrived in Sydney from England, and will make their Australian debut in “Good Morning, Dearie.” The cast will also be strengthened by the inclusion of Mr John Price Jones (juvenile lead), who has arrived from America.

Hugh J. Ward, the Australian producer, has sailed for America. “Business,” he explained. “I am going to hunt successes for Australia in America and England, and hope to come back with my bag full. Also, I’m going to book up some wellknown artists if possible. I won’t be away long.” But as well as this Mr Ward is reversing the usual order of things. Besides looking for plays abroad, he is taking an Australian-made musical comedy with him to sell, if possible, overseas. It is “Tons of Money,” which received its musical coating in Australia and proved a great success. Mr Ward added that another new play shortly to be staged in Australia is the musical comedy "The Rise of Rosie O’Reilly,” by the author of "The O’Brien Girl.”

Oscar Asche is nothing if not thorough. His make-up as Hornblower in “The Skin Game” at Melbourne, King’s Theatre, is a masterpiece of detail—even to the wellblackened pipe and rank tobacco that the newly-rich pottery manufacturer puffs unrestrainedly in the’ sitting-room of the Hillcrists. A visitor to Mr Asche’s dressing room the other night noted the famous actor-man-ager applying make-up to his hands. Mr Asche said that he considered that making-up the hands was as important as applying make-up to the face, for, as he pointed out, the hands are much in evidence, and the public are very keen in picking out such details. It will be noted that the hands of Hornblower, who is a worker, are well lined and wrinkled, and obviously very round. Mr Asche said that he had frequently seen actors whose hands were made up on the back but not the palms—an omission that created a very bad effect.

In Sydney a few days ago Messrs Stuart Bros, signed a contract, involving a cost of £220,000, in connection with the St. James’ Theatre, roof garden theatre, and twelve storeys of offices, which will be erected on the site of the old Girls’ High School, next to David Jones’ new emporium, for Sir Benjamin Fuller and Mr John Fuller. The work has already been commmenced, and it is expected that the theatres will be ready for opening by December, 1925. A feature of the new St. James’ Theatres will be that the whole of the audience will be closer to the stage than is the case in other theatres. There will be no back stalls or back high galleries usual in the old theatres, and the building will have seating accommodation for 1800 patrons in the lower theatre and for 1400 in the roof garden theatre. The interior of the theatre will he 82ft wide by 70ft deep. The stage will have a proscenium opening of 34ft in width, while the depth of the stage will be 43ft and the width of the stage 82ft. The measurements are provided for both theatres. There will be eight large staircases in the roof garden theatre as exits, besides four lifts, capable of carrying 40 passengers at a time. It is considered that both theatres may be cleared in two and a half minutes. When completed these theatres will be leased to the Hugh J. Ward Theatres Proprietary' Ltd.