New Plays.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7177, 30 May 1891, Page 4

New Plays.

London, April 3. " DIAMOND DEANE." The danger of puffing a play overzealously beforehand is that tho first night audience expects" great things, and should the performance not come up to its anticipations, they are apt to be cross. This was what occurred at the Vaudeville last Thureday evening. We had all been told that the gentleman rejoicing in the peculiar patronymic of Dam (the " Telegraph " considering Dam too improper rechristened him Darn) was a genius, and that Diamond Dea-ne would wake up Pinero, Chambers, Jones and Co. When, therefore, this belauded piece proved to be a very ordinary melodrama, with a more than usually impossible plot we felt taken in and roundly anathematised Dava. The piece is not, however, wholly without good points. The plot hangs arouud the machinations of an adventuress, one Diamond Deane, an Ibseny girl, who believes that her hereditary tendencies to crime are too great to enable her to restrain them, and therefore (vulgarly speaking) lets herself go. Discovering that a wealthy but wicked nobleman loves her employer's wife, Miss Deane disguises herself as tßafc lady and gives tha enamoured nobleman Eecret interviews, in the course of which she extracts from him jewels and coin. Madam's hu.band, of course, gets jealous, and watches her. He sees Diamond, dressed up as his wife, meet the wicked nobleman by night, and jumps to most erroneous conclusions. The innocent wife, of course, denies her guilt, and finally appeals to her euppoaed paramour. "I adjure you tell the truth to my husband," she cries. " Was I with you ?" " Tou were," he replies solemnly, and down comes the curtain. In Act IV. Miss Deane incontinently repents and confesses all. The chief weakness of this plot, of course, lies in the supposition that the wicked nobleman could be taken in by Diamond Deane disguised. Even in the dark a man can usually tell the woman he loves from another. MARRIOTT WATSON'S PLAT. The rehearsals of Richard Savage have now been in full swing for nearly three weeks, and if things continue to go well the piece will be produced at the Criterion Theatre on April 9. Mr E. J. Henley (editor of the " National Observer") has written a prologue for Richard Savage, somewhat similar in character to that which prefaces his and Mr Stevenson's Beau Austin, but it seems doubtful at present if this will be used. Mr Watson has been hard pressed to find a suitabie exponent for the title role. Several leading jeunes premiers would have jumped at the opportunity, but the principal managers nowadays Bet their faces against letting members of their company play in stray malinies. MrWm.Terrisswasso enamoured of Richard Savage that he offered to play the part for nothing if the author would put off the matinee till September, and Mr J. Forbes Bobertson (whom the character would have suited to perfection) did his best to persuade Hare to read the piece. Unfortunately Mr Hare does not like costume plays. Mr Bernard Gould, who now takes Savage, is a good-looking picturesque actor, and will do his best, but it must be admitted he is not the ideal representative. Miss Louise Moodie, Miss Forsyth, Mr Cyril Maude and Miss Broughton are all the author could wish I in their respective roles. ! The occasion of the production of this | play is naturally one of great importance ito Mr Watson. Mr Barrie haß an assured position and a handsome income, but the New Zealanders name is not so well known, and a successful play to him means jumping (at a bound almost) into celebrity and money galore. One successful play is worth, from a pecuniary point of view, twenty novels. Therefore, let all Mr Watson's friends in the Colony wish him good luck, and breathe a prayer that that skittish, inexplicable thing, " the tasto of the British public," may incline to Richard Savage. " THB HENRIETTA." i It cannot be urged that there is no money in The Henrietta, for Mr Bronßon Howard's play is all money from end to end. It waa produced at the Avenue [ Theatre on Saturday last, and, despite | much Wall street jargon and many Ameri--1 can jokes which no one could see the point ! of, scored an indubitable succees. A sketch iof theplot of ThcHenrietta will scarcely give 1 a fair idea of the merits of the piece. It is ' really a very bitter and very telling satire on Stock Exchange gambling, and depends ! quite as much on wealth of subsidiary incident as on ita main story. This nar- ' rates a painful experience in the career of ! Nicholas Vallanstyne, millionaire and financial agent, into whose superb office, with its tapes and telephones, we are introd uced. Mr Yalanatyne haa a careworn son, who, we learn incidentally, has an em- ' barrasßing intrigue, though he is a married ' man. A younger brother, Bertie, is, on tho contrary, a vacuouß youth with never a soul above his club or the stage door of a burlesque theatre. But he is beloved by a pretty young protigie of old Valanstyne, Agnes Lock wood by name, and when the spoony young couple declare their intention of getting married the soft-hearted financier abußeß his idle boy, and presents him with a draft for 600,000d015. In the second act the elder son's victim dies, and sends a packet of letters to his wife ; but they do. not reach her hands, for a family physician intercepts them, and hands them to Bertie, who has been made to appear as the culprit by Nicholas, junr. For the sake of his sister-in-law, Bertie acts the part of a hero, and puts the packet in the fire. Nicholas, fils, is as bad as hiß* namesake who presides

over a certain tropical place, and in the p third act he does his best to ruin his own ii father, and very nearly aucceeds. But a a happy accident saves the credit of the firm ; n and youDg Nick dies of heart disea-se, <3 while dreaming of wealth untold, g Eighteen months elapse. Bertie has c proved himself a marvellously skilful t financier by subjecting his decision on every t spec to the gyrations of a coin of the realm, c his moral fame is cleared, his fiither gains c a charming widow, and all ends happily, t The closo of the third act, when young c Valanstyne is killed by the shock ot the news (conveyed to him through the tele- s phone) that the Henrietta stock which he 3 had arranged should fall ia rapidly rising, > proves highly effective. There we see him £ lying on the floor of the office alone and t dead, while the tape goes on clicking and < unwinding its message to his corpse. . 1 I !