THE GREAT EASTERN A FLOATING THEATRE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 7170, 14 September 1886, Page 4

THE GREAT EASTERN A FLOATING THEATRE.

A destination probably never contemplated by tho original promoters haß at length been found for the Great Eastern steamship. Since her employment some 11 years ago in laying the Atlantic^ cable the great ship has remained inactive at Milford Haven. Many suggestions were made from time to time for utilising her, but nothing practical came of them, and in the month of October last the then owners put her up for Bale, and after some spirited competition,in which some French speculators took part, she passed into the hands of the London Traders (Limited), Of which Mr. Da Mattos, of Great St. Helens, is the managing director. She ■was subsequently brought round to Liverpool, and moored in the Mersey, where she now lies. The purohaserß originally intended to sond her to Gibraltar as a monster coaling hulk, where she could have coaled the great ocean steamers calling at " the rock," at the rate of 400 tons an hour ; but certain difficulties with regard to obtaining the necessary license were raised by the local authorities, and tho project was suspended. An offer to charter ths ship for b'ix months was then mado by Messrs. Lewis & Co., the universal providers of Liverpool, who proposed to convert her into an exhibition, providing a variety entertainment onboard for the amusement of the masses. The experiment has proved a great saccess, as, notwithstanding unfavourable climatic conditions, no fewer than 250,000 persons have visited the ship from the middle of May down to July 24. The amusements provided for the people are of wbat may be termed the popular description. Music, dancing, and "burlesque" enter largely into them, and when the weather is fine there are representations of a more or less dramatic and sensational description on-the spacious deck. One of the great tanks, in which 1,789 miles of Atlantic cable were ot one time 6tored, has been fitted up aB a theatre. Here accommodation is provided for several hundred persons, with all the necessary stage machinery of a regular playhouse oa terra firma. Among the attractions is a bazaar where a thousand novelties can bt, obtained, while ample provision has been made for feeding the multitude (sometimes numbering 12,000 a day) which throng the ship from early morning until sunset. The visitors aro admitted at a charge of Is. a head, which includes conveyance to and from tbe ship. As the charter to Messrs. Lewis & Co. expires in October next, the owners of the ship intend to take her over from that time, end continue the " show" (a3 our American friends say), but on a very superior scale. To secure that object Mr. William Holland, of the Albert Palace, has promised to give his services. Under bis experienced management the floating theatre will add another attraction not only to the metropolis, but to the great coast towHS of tho United Kingdom, and eventually of our own coloniss.