THEATRE ROYAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7009, 13 November 1890, Page 4

THEATRE ROYAL.

FEDORA. As Sardou's most haplebs heroine. Miss Janet Achurch last night gave the people of Christchurch another proof of her great power of emotional acting. The character of the Russian princess, at once loving and revengeful, determined and subtle, but superstitious, was portrayed with a dramatic power, a tragic force, which compelled the admiration of the audience. Especially artistic was the expression of the struggle in Fedora's mind between the wish to revenge her slain betrothed, and the love which gradually grows up in her heart for his slayer. The scene wherein she learns the dead man's unworthiness, . and exerts all her powers to save the man who had killed him from the snares she had herself laid, was a fine example of the representation of emotions harrowing in their intensity. The bright winsomeness with which Miss Achurch invested the princesß during the brief period of her happiness was very charming, and served as a foil to the terrible intensity with which she depicted the remorse, self-loathing, agonised entreaty and terror which rack the unhappy woman in the last hour of her life. The death scene was tragically effective. Mr Charles Charrington played Loris Ipanoff with great ability and power. The fortitude of the sorely tried man, his strong, affectionate nature, his manly grief, and the fearful revulsion of feeling he experiences on discovering in his wife the destroyer of those whom, next to her, he loved best, were represented by a fine display of emotional acting. Miss Helen Kinniard gave an excellent and charmingly amusing rendering of the character of the fickle and flighty, yet not by any means badhearted Countess Olga. As Jean de Siriex, Mr Herbert Flemming was admirable, acting with all the ease and abandon which might be expected in a, French diplomatic attach^. Mr Harry Power was good as the police officer, G retch, and the other characters were well rendered. The piece was well mounted, and the audience were hearty f in their expressions of approval. Fedora will be repeated tonight, and the programme for. to-morrow ■will be King Renfs Daughter, a farce ,and the sleep-walking scene from Macbeth, said to be one of Mie3 Achurch's greatest Euccesse*, On Saturday A Doll's House V.-131 be revived;, and repeated on Monday and Tueiiiy.