Theatre Royal.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4742, 6 September 1893, Page 1

Theatre Royal.

SKIPPED BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. There was a very good house at the Theatre Eoyal last evening, when Messrs Gourlay and Walton'B Comedy Company opened in G. E. Sims' farcical comedy, Shipped by the Light of the Moon. The comedy is, without exception, the funniest production placed on the stage in Christchurch, and from the rise of the curtain to the closing scene the audience was simply convulsed with laughter. The plot is a slender one, and turns on the adventures of two clerks who leave their wives in London on the excuse of going to the Isle of Wight to a camp meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association. They, however, go down to Brighton to have a jolly time, and in doing bo get into a number of ludicrous scrspeß. Their wives also go down to the favourite watering place, and are equally unfortunate, the elder lady losing her baby, and the younger a sum of money; The erring husbands are eventually discovered by their spouses, and, with the aid of a detective and a policeman, the one recovers her offspring and the other her money. Messrs Gourlay and Walton supply most of the fun; thelaughable situations ia which they are placed are beyond description. The ecene in the oyster stall, where, by a series of doore, they elude capture by a policeman, is cleverly contrived, and brought down the house, while their topical duet, which contained some srnatt local hit 3, took immensely. Mr Gourlay, like his inimitable father, who was well-known here som9 twenty years ago, is a comic actor and mimic of a very high order, and he is ably seconded by Mr Walton, who proved that, whether in male I or female attire, he could thoroughly adapt himee'.f to the part. The former, as the elderly " spark," Obadiah Dingle, at once established himself with the audience by his singing of " Dear Old Dutch," and followed this up by his grotesque actions when in some very awkward predicaments. Mr Walton gained considerable applause for his " Shopwalker " song, and was most amusing in his parody on "Only a Pansy Blossom," while his song and skirt dance when disguised as a woman were very good. Mr G. Chalmers took the pait of a gouty old gentleman, and was very succes?f ill, his singing of " I'm as Young as I Used to Be" being greeted with great applause. Mr Harwood made an amusing policeman, and he was decidedly good in his singing of "The O'Houlighans." Mis 3 Evelyn Hart waß charming as Sarah, acting and dancing prettily. Her singing of "Sweet Violets" and the baby song, "He's Laughing in His Sleep," called forth enthusiastic encores. The part of Mi' 3 Obadiah Dingle, a simpering old lady, was well taken by Mies Georgie Leighford, and Mies Flora Hastings made a sufficiently frigid Mra Felix Crackle. The other characters were all in capable hands. Some of the items were encored over and over again. The occupants of the pit were extremely exacting, and perhaps showed a want of consideration in this respect. A good deal of the dialogue was drowned by their persistent efforts to obtain a third recall of one item. Skipped by the Light of the Moon will be repeated this evening, and those who want a good evening's enjoyment cannot do better than make a point of witnessing the performance.