Janet Waldorf Dramatic Company.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11785, 7 October 1901, Page 2

Janet Waldorf Dramatic Company.

A.FTER modern melodrama and spineless musical comedy, Shakespeare came on !*atur^ay night like a strong wine after cold tea ; a tonic to tone irritated nerves. It is theiefot-e doubly a pity that the presentment of Romeo and Juliet, which might have been so great a pleasure was a little disappointing. Shakespeare however demands perfection if we are not to be dissatisfied. A dotibtf Ul interpreta- I tion cannot be bolstered up with nice dressing and fine scenic effects. Shake- I speare must be so spoken, felt, and acted by its interpreters that were it enacted in a bare barn the onlookers would see no incongruity. iThis is Shakespeare's genius; and this is why we so seldom have the pleasure of attending an interpretation of his work. Actors are wise and to a certain extent know their limitations, or if they do not the business manager does. Shakespeare is the final test of the actor ; the last jump, as it were, and how many get over it without battering the top rail ? Miss Waldorf's Juliet was a good one insofar as it was consistent and well worked out on the lines she ohoge. But, in some respects, it was a disappointing conception. In the balcony sceno especially did she fall short. She was not the tender childlike maiden, made suddenly a woman- of passion and'possi bihttes by a g r eat love. There was not the childlike trust, the sweet gravity in the abandonment of all subterfuge, there was not the tender boding sadness that should distinguish the scene between this woman, who was a child but an hour before, and her lover, who is yet her blood' enemy. Miss Waldorf was too vivacious, too conversational, if we may so describe it. At times the scene was almost more like a flirtation than one of the finest love passages in drama. A notable exception to anything that could be criticised adversely was scene 2 of act IV. From " Wilt thou be gone ? It is not yet near day " to Lady Capulet's entrance, and on further to the double entendre of the passage beginning " Indeed, I never shall be satisfied with Romeo till I behold him— dead," there was no gesture, no inflection of tone that one would have had otherwise. Miss Waldorf excelled herself. t Mr McGregor, too, was more nearly satisfying in this Bcene than in any other. -We have nothing but praise for Miss Maria D' Alton's -acting as " the nurse." It was a clever and artistic bit of work all through. Mr Lawrence Hanray's Meroutio savoured perhaps a little too much of what would in these modern days be called a v bounder." Mr Fred Patey, as •tae Friar, was very successful indeed. He gave p forceful and realistic interpretation. Mr Paul Scardon, too, was good, playing the part of Paris with rehnoment and feeling. . The comptny is a strong and ev2n ope, the dressing is satisfactory and the soenery is good, and a very good reoeption should await the presentation of " Camille " to-night. All the company understand the art of elocution. Mias Waldorf is a perfect elocutionist and it is a delight to listen to her. Though one catches an occasional affectation of pronunciation, no syllable is obscured. Her voice, too, is capable of expressing much, and she stood out w«ll in tho more intensely draaatio scenes ; to particularise, in the latter part of scene 1 act V.. where Juliet takes the sleeping potion. The final death scene in the tomb, however, was Bomewhat un convincing. TO-NIGHT Dumas' realistic tragedy " Camille " will be staged. This play, wben'eY.er it has been staged, has met 'with the most phenomenal reception. Miss Waldorf's first appearance in it was at Eureka, California. The critics next day raved about her, and this marked the first of a long line of successes in various parts of the States, and throughout her present tour. In India, China, Japan, and Straits Settlements, nothing but praise was showered on Miss Waldorf's " Camille " in particular, and the whole presentation of the tragedy in general. The dressing in " Camille " is magnificent, and the play affords opportunities for the appearance of the company's full strength. Specially is this so in the gambling scene, which is quite a feature of the performance. The dumb show and clever makeup of the company in this scene, which is often given over to the tender mercies of " supers," never fail to earn special applause. It is carried out with the art of the trained actor, and some fine character sketches are given. This play is instinct with realism ; not the so-called realism of the realist's novel, but the realism which shows us tho heart of the world's bitterness, the world wbero human beings sin, love, and suffer with pitiful imnotony. Camille is eminently suited to M«s Waldorf s genius, and we look forward with great pleasure to her interpretation of the part to-night. That there will be a crowded house to-night is a very certain prophesy for the opening performance was "very woll attended on Satuiday and the audience was obviously delighted.