STAGELAND

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 872, 25 November 1916, Page 4

STAGELAND

BOOKINGS. Opera Houso. Nightly Fuller's Vaudeville. Theatro Royal. November 2!) 1o December s—"Pegs—"Peg o' My Heart Company. December (j to 0 (pencilled)— .T. Carroll. December 2d (o January O-llngh D. Mcintosh's Follies. ■ —■ —■ » .1. and X. Tail's great success, "Peg o' my Heart," with Miss Sara Allgood in the name part, will be presented at the Theatre Royal on Wednesday next. The Williamson new Musical Comedy Company, which includes Dorothy Brunton and Marie Eaton, is due in Ibis country next month. The repertoire consists of "So long, Leliy" and '"To-night's the Night." There will shortly arrive in Australia a new comedy company under die management of J. C. Williamson, Ltd. This company was organised in London, and contains several prominent comedians. A season in South Africa precedes the visit to Australia, with a repertoire which includes such pronounced comedy successes as "Fair and Warmer," and ft A Little Bit of Fluff." "Fair and Warmer." a sparkling farce comedy, will be the Christmas attraction at the Sydney Criterion. The War Ollicc has taken over the whole business of filming war scenes, previously in the hands of seven representatives of film firms. The War Office undertakes the tasks of kinemalographing, printing, and sale. If the matter be run on business lines the War Office ought to make substantial profits out of this side-line. William Farnum, who made his first appearance here in "The Plunderer," is recognised as one of America's leading motion picture actors. Next week, Starland will present him in the greatest success of his dramatic career, a five reel Fox plioto drama entitled "Samson." This is a modem story based upon the doings of strong man Samson of Biblical fame. It concerns a Samson of the financial world and is a powerful talc of love and brains. The other star feature will be a Famous Players production featuring the diminutive Marguerite Clark. Little Marguerite Clark is one of the most popular actresses of the screen, and each of the plays in which she appears seems even better than its predecessor. Next week j this artist will be seen in "Mice and: Men," a five part Famous Players film telling an unusual story. Next week Everybody's will present a Triangle Fine Arts film under the exciting title of "Hell-to-Pay Austin." Its plot is a powerful one and the various characters are in the hands of a very capable cast including winsome Bessie Love, who was last seen here in "Hate" with Wm. S. Hart. There are many thrills in this play which has just concluded a successful run in Wellington. The Australian tour of Miss Ellen Terry was mentioned in the King's Bench Division of the High Court on November 8, in connection with the' claim of Joseph Blascheck against Francis Bussell, an underwriter at Lloyd's. The plaintiff (under whose direction Miss Terry visited Australia) claimed £I3OO in respect to 13 failures to appear by Miss Terry j owing to illness. Mr Justice Sankey decided a preliminary point in favour of defendant, with costs. He held that the policy was an indemnity policy, and that Blascheck must prove that Miss Terry's non-appear-ance resulted in damage. Allan Wilkie's Shakespearean Company is at present playing "Hamlet" at the Melbourne Princess. After a revival of "Twelfth Night" the com- j pany will appear in Sheridan's; classic comedy, "The School for; Scandal." ; The dramatised version of Henry Lawson's "When the Billy Boils" has' attracted large audiences to the j King's Theatre, Melbourne. The drama is described as being not by j any means as good as "On Our Selection," owing to the circumstances of its composition. It is none the less a sound comedy drama, with plenty! of Australian colour and character, j Mr C. M. S. McLellan, the Amcri-j can playwright, who wrote the libretto of (The Belle of New York,"' died at Esher, Surrey, last month.! Eighteen years ago, when he went to! London from New York to see the j production at the Shaftesbury' Theatre of "The Belle of New York," Mr McLellan only ivanl his theatre! name, Hugh Morton. He was about I 33 at that lime, a delicate-looking,; undemonstrative man, not in the; least overcome by the phenomena! j success of this musical piece of j which lie had written the hook and 1

Iho lyrics. Tn New York he had been editor of "Town Topics," and playwriting was an after-thought, and a very happy one. Apart from the big bushfire in "The Bunyip," the Fuller management promises several other spectacles, including a huge aboriginal corroborcc which will lend additional atmosphere to Miss Ella Anlie's strictly Australian book. This time the principal boy will not be the usual son of the usual lone widow,

but will bo an Australian bush lad. Queenic Paul will play the part, and she certainly possesses the voice, appearance, and necessary physical attributes. Mary Pickford has begun an enthusiastic crusade for appropriate music in picture theatres. A while ago (the story goes) she looked in at a screening of her own "Madame Butterfly," on which occasion the genius who presided over the organ accompanied the sorrows of ChoGho San with a spirited rendering of "Alexander's Ragtime Band." Tom Burrows, the world's champion club-swinger and athlete, is hack in Sydney with the British Army Medical Corps. He is at present a staff-sergeant in charge of the massage department at No. 4 General Hospital, Bandwick. In Egypt lie was attacked with fever, which Mrs Burrows also contracted, Tom recovered, but his wife died within Ihree days of her first indisposition. I The new dramatic star for J. C, Williamson, Ltd., Miss Florence Rockwell, succeeded Margaret Anglin as leading lady with Henry Miller. Her career has been a wonderfully varied one. At the age of 14 she commenced by playing Ophelia, Desdemona, and Juliet, and was regarded as an infant prodigy. She has appeared as leading lady with such noted stars as Robert Mantel], the celebrated Shakespearean actor; Nat Goodwin, who will be well remembered in Australia, where he appeared with Maxine Elliott some years ago; and Richard Mansfield, who has been called the "Henry Irving of America." Miss Rockwell, who makes her first appearance on the Australian stage in "Common Clay" at the Sydney Criterion, has already been seen in this country—on the screen. General 11. Smith-! )orrien has been appealing to London managers lo improve the tone of their entertainments by freeing them from vulgarity and unwholesome features. "I made thai appeal in the interests of. the country," he said to an interviewer, "for my attention has been

j forcibly drawn to the danger of allowing our lighting men to come under the influence of a debasing atmosphere." For over three weeks not I a solitary amusement manager wrote ! to the General expressing any desire to co-operate towards the achievement of the end he had in view—not one of them wrote agreeing that the things he complained of should not be permitted; not dne sought information as to whether his complaint affected a particular production. "My protest did not refer

Ito productions that are over and I done with," says the general. "My protest referred and still refers to present-time entertainments. The I representations made lome referred ito vulgar songs, suggestive scena, [ scanty dresses, low moving-picture , comedies to be seen to-day. The letters I have received from people in I all stations of life, and largely from [mothers and wives of soldiers make I similar charges against .entertain- ! ments occurring now." To hand by the last mail is a copy of "Damaged Goods," the play around which such a lot of controversy has surged on account of its being, in effect, a sermon on what the newspapers, up to a few months ago, were wont to refer to as "The Social Evil." M. Eugene Brieux, the author, has certainly reached the limits of realism, as the modern stage knows it, and his play is bound lo tickle the popular palate, if only for that reason. It comes fortified with a "mission" and has pulpit patronage as its further recommendations as a money-maker. Mrs. Dion BoucicauU, The death was recently announced of Mrs Dion Boucicault (Agnes Kelly Robertson), widow of the late Dion Boucicault, dramatist, theatrical manager, and actor. Born a! Edinburgh on Christmas Day, 1833, Agnes Kelly Robertson, the daughter of Thomas Robertson, art publisher, was educated for the musical profession, and she first appeared as a child singer at concerts at Aberdeen. She made her debut on the stage at the age of 10 years, at Lhe Theatre Roval, Aberdeen, in 'The Spoiled Child." She next went io the Theatre Royal, Manchester, sividing children's parts with Marie Wilton (Lady Bancroft). She also ■.'layer! at Manchester with Fanny Kemblc and Macreadv. Going to "lull she played with the Terry "amily, including the part of one of 'he princes in "Richard 111.," with Kate Terry. At the age of 17 she was ngaged at Glasgow by Edmund "lover. Subsequently joining the r -'eans and (he Keeleys, she made her 'irst London appearance at the Princess's Theatre, opening as Neville in "A Wife's Secret," 1850, and play- ; ng in Kean's famous series of Shakespearean revivals. Here she met Dion Boucicault and subsequently married him. She appeared with the Keans in several of her future husband's plays, including "Love in a Maze." "Faust and Marguerite," "Louis Xl.,'" "The Corsican Brothers," and "The Vampire." It was lo see Dion Boucicault and Miss Hobertson playing in the latter piece that Queen Victoria went thrice in a fortnight and commissioned the artist Corbonld to paint their picture as Ihey .appeared in the piece. Subsequently Mrs Boucicault joined Madame Vestris and Charles MatShews at the Lyceum, and after three /ears went to America, appearing ■here first in 1853. Her American engagements covered a period of seven scars, and she returned lo England -.villi her husband in 185!), and for several years appeared in all his nosl popular plays, including "The Colleen Rawn," "The Octoroon," and "The Shaughraun." After a long absence from London she re-appeared at the Opera Comiuuc in 1889 for the benefit of J. A. Cave. After a urther interval she reappeared in ! 892 as Mrs Redmond in the "Life We Love." Her last important ap)earance was as Mrs Cregan in "The Colleen Rawn," in 1890, since when ;hc practically retired from the si age.