THE THEATRES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 59, 16 April 1914, Page 9

THE THEATRES.

" ALADDIN." i The of "Aladdin" ar«; •not palling on the taste of Christehurch j •yet, for another large audience filled thej Theatre Royal last night and -were given j. good value in entertainment for their f expenditure on theatre tickets. The,' pantomime company is a. combination: of many talents—the dancing is novel; ,and distinctly good, the songs are bright; and tuneful;'the tumbling is qyaint andclever, the scenic settings and the costuming are splendid, and the jokes arei funny. That, surely, is sufficient reason! for enjoyment, and'if there are any who cannot enjoy the dancing of that nimble tango duo, M. Henri Mareelle and Miss •Nellie Fallon, the grotesqueness and the tomour of Mr Edward Stanley as Widow Twankey, the humour of the Mullaney Twins, the grace of Grace Palotta, and the vivacity of Mi#S Carrie Moore, then no assemblage of talent anywhere on earth will satisfy. those persons until the necessary operation on their intellect is performed. ''Aladdin" is full' Of 'good fun and excellent fooling, and deserves the reception it is getting.

GRAND THEATRE. The tragic story of Mary, Queen of Scots, is the principal picture of the new programme at the Grand -commenced to-day. It is a genuinely -fine production, and in the life and death of this unhappy Queen the dramatist had material from which it was impossible to make failure. It is a lengthy film, but no one could wish it shorter, since, besides the historical interest, the poignant drama and the line acting, there is the great beauty of its setting. The tragic theme is taken from Mary V love affair with Darnley, to the murder of Rizzio, Queen Elizabeth's scheming against the Scottish Queen, Mary's arrest, her trial, and her execution. Besides this great picture there are shown the '' Transatlantic Times," "Our Baby," •*' Mounted Officer Flynn,'' and '' Scenes in Gascony," all combining to make a particularly interesting programme.

GLOBE THEATRE. The Globe Theatre presented a new -programme this morning which should be a considerable attraction. The principal picture is a version of Conan Doyle's well-known story, "The Speckled Band,"' in which the immortal Sherlock Holmes figures largely in the frustration of murderous designs. It will be remembered that "The Speckled Band" was presented on the ptage by a talented company a couple of years ago, and was very popular. The picture version does not fall short of the staged drama, either in point of view of dramatic intensity or excellence of acting. It is full of tense situations and is to be commended as a first-class pic+me-drama.-. "The Frontier Doctor" is also an excellent drama •pf another order, but is not less stirring in its human appeal. Other pictures supporting are the "Pathe Gazette, " and two hilarious comedies, "When Father had his Wav " and "The Vapour Bath." SYDENHAM PICTURES. The current programme at the Sydenham Picture Theatre was screened finally before a large audience last night, and for to-night a great attractiou is promised in "The Last Days

of Pompeii," and special supporting pictures. The film is an adaptation of Bulger Lytton's famous novel, the story lending itself most favourably to production by motion photography. The. setting of this., tragedy of Rome's! historic pleasure crcy is magnificent—and the first-class acting, scenic effects, and elaborate staging combine to make the picture one of the finest yet procured. Striking -situations abound, culminating in the destructionof the city by the eruption of Vesu-i vius. Altogether the film is one which! should not be missed. It "will bej screened for the remaining nights -of;' this week. i

OPERA HOUSE. Opera House patrons continue to be; entertained with the music that Brent! Hayes so skilfully -draws from his; banjo. Poster, Damont, and Foster pro-i vide new thrills with novelties in aero-; batics and justify their title of "the iron-jawed acrobats." Millie Doris has" achieved such popularity with her audacious singing that each night the audience seems to indicate that it would be quite content with a programme made up of Millie Doris. The two Strat-i tons earn decided approval with their songs and patter, the humour of the strayed "tenderfoot" in the Wild West saloon is made the most of by Captain Brunswick and his company, while they fill in intervals with sharpshooting and lariat-throwing displays. The Luxors make music from various instruments; Cunningham and Rose, Elsie Knowles, Carlton and Sutton, and Tom Leonard all give enjoyable turns and make an entertainment quite up to the usual excellence of Opera House programmes. Wednesday, April 22, is set down as a grand banjo orchestra night. Bloy's orchestra and others will appear under the direction of Brent Hayes.

COLOSSEUM. The -luxurious brutality of Rome in its decadence continues to be reproduced in truthful detail by the Kincmato,graph at the Colosseum. The tragedy of Rome's most fashionable seaside resort, the pleasure-city of Pompeii, makes an inspiring background to the loves and machinations of those characters which move through the plot of "The Last Days of Pompeii." The story, of course., has had to be shorn of a lot of its detail for the purposes of a pic-ture-play, but none of the essentials hag- been lost, and the human interest is properly sustained throughout, rising to spectacular magnificence in the scenes showing the great crowd at the arena and the awful doom of the city. It was a good idea of the management to revive this picture —the large audiences continue to justify that judgment.

HIS MAJESTY'S. "The Next Generation" is a picture of considerable interest, good dramatic situations, and a remarkably realistic, and effective climax, showing the foundering of a liner in mid-ocean. There is no doubt that this particular drama is a great attraction at His Majesty's Theatre, but there are other pictures which in their way are quite as worthy. "The Great Steel Beam," for instance, is notable in that its biggest incident is a fight high up in the steel skeleton of a skyscraper in course of erection, but this makes only one of the thrills. "Anguished Homes" slioavs some excellent acting by children, and besides those there are the seenies, '' Sicilian Cities" and "Grenoble to Aix-le-

Bains," the "Bathe Gazette," "A Bacchanalian Dance," and two comedies,, "Bunny for the Cause" and "Max kinder and a Daughter of Albion." "THE BEGGAR GIRL'S WEDDING.^! "Melodrama hot and strong. . . . A J succession of sensational happenings] and thrilling episodes. . . . Abundance j of comic relief. . .Mr Melville snows! himself a master of melodramatic tc-| source and ingenuity ... in 'The Beg-! gar Girl's Wedding' reveals his origin-j ality. ... A capital specimen of its particular kind." Such are a few quo-' tations from the column-long eulogy of{ "The Beggar Girl's Wedding," to be! played in the Theatre Royal for four' nights, commencing Monday next, by George Willoughby's Dramatic Company. Mr Willoughby has, by all accounts, sent over a particularly good company, and lover's of melodrama may be assured of a first-class interpretation; of this now famous play. Mr George Cross and Miss .Vera Remee are the principals of the company. Seats may; now be reserved at the Dresden-.