DRAMATIC.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4814, 30 November 1893, Page 3

DRAMATIC.

London, Sept. 22. The new musical comedy of the In Town —Morocco Bound school, called A Gaiety Girl, will outvie in grotesque realism both those successful productions. Albeit Chevalier has returned to the London Halls with pots of provincial coin, but only one new song. Thiß lyric, " Yer Never Arst'im for It," is a poor thing, and we are all desperately tired of Chivvy's ".Old Dutch." Unless he friskß up a bit, this lion comique will suddenly discover his day is over. Mr C. Haddon Chambers has completed the play for Mr Tree on which he has been working for the past twelvemonth, and hopes it may retrieve his somewhat blemished reputation as a dramatist. Should H. A. Jones' "Devil "—l should cay -Tempter — fail to draw, the Australian's piece would be wanted at once. The apparently incomprehensible failure of Liberty Hall to attract in Sydney "was due, T am told by one who saw it both there and in London, to a poor cast and careless rehearsal. Mr Terry's Company evidently expected the piece to act iteelf, whereas it wants the same minute care and finish as Caste and School. In Sweet Lavender on the other band, I am told Mr Terry scored as big a success as he did in London. Though Mr Santley is well satisfied with his South African tour he did not make nearly as much money as in Australia and New Zealand. All sorts of reports are current with regard to the pockets-full of gold and silver the teetotal and vegetarian vocalist Madame Antoinette Stirling is bringing Hofce from the Antipodes. Ie is stated, I see, that this lady's high moral character and general serious viewyness attracted large numbers to her concerts who do not usually patronise public entertainments. When Mr Sims Eeeves, aefcat seventy, bade farewell to the concert hall stage in May, 1891 it was naturally supposed the public had seen the last of the great tenor. Not at all. Public applause to a vocalist is like blood to a tiger or opium to the Heathen Chinee. Once its delirious joys have been tasted, the singer cannot live happily without it. Everyone could see it was. xapturous joy to Sims Beeves laat Monday evening to be warbling once more to a densely crowded house at the Promenade Concerts. And how wondrously well thiß old mas of seventy-two did sing, to be Bure. Ab of old, he invited Maud into the garden, and told of "Tom Bowling "and the " Bay of Biscay, Oh." The cheering was enthusiastic. ' My notice o£ A Life oj Pleasure, produced at Old Drury last night, must be postponed to next week. It is in five acta, the first of which takes place in Ireland, and includes a realistic eviction. Then come the water scenes, namely, the lawn at Skindles' at Maidenhead, Boulter's Lock, and finally a lovely reproduction of Cliveden Woods on a summer evening. Act 3 is laid in London, its feature being the vestibule (commonly called the " Tart's Parade") of the Empire Music Hal). Act 4 takes us to Eurmah, the three scenes being entitled " The Camp," " The Jungle" and "The Chasm." In the latter the hero (mounted) attempts a tremendous leap for life.- The last act contains no fewer than six changes of scene, the " Gardens at Clifford Hall" being the most effective. You can see from this A Life of Pleasure is on the usual huge Drury Lane scale. Clement Scott has such influence either | for good or ill in theatrical circles that he ought to choose his language with care, and especially be slow to censure. Instead, authors complain he is the most uncertain of critics, and that in some moods nothing would or could please him. On the first night of The Second Mrs Tanqueray for example, Mr Scott was | — possibly through indigestion — distinctly cantankerous. The chorus of eulogy which swelled as the piece advanced, left him cold and indifferent. Possibly because Mr W. Archer, loudly proclaimed Pinero'B work the " finest and most original play of the decade," Mr Scott felt impelled to take up an opposite view. The construction and characterisation of The Second Mrs Tanqueray the critic had to admit were excellent, but he objected to the introduction of ladies of flexible ethics, like the fair Paula, into . dramatic literature, and, altogether, he considered the i success of the piece " not of good augury for the future of the English, stage." Had Mr Scott stopped here nothing would have happened. Unfortunately ho subsequently pronounced Pinero's play much over- | rated and, worse than this, discovered a German drama by Lindau exactly like it. ' The article entitled " A Strange Coincidence," in which the two pieces were compared.appeared in the "Illustrated London News," and certainly hinted at plagiarism. Mr Pinero promptly disclaimed ever having seen or heard of Der Schatten. Clement Scott thereupon denied he had meant to suggest plagiarism. The likeness between the plays was simply, as he had stated, " a strange coincidence/ Pinero thereupon took legal proceedings, and Mr Scott has been served with a writ for slander, damages (nominally) .£IOOO. Many of Pinero's friends think he is making, a mistake. We shall see. Druriolanus, the august, is also bringing an action against the " World," the conductor of which does not admire the great manager and impresario, and constantly scoffs at his doings. Sir Augustus Harris attributes this deplorable attitude to his having refused a " leg up " to a friend or relative of Mr Yates. He endured the "World's" jibes for a time, but a few weeks back either Edmund or hia musical critic (George Bernard Shaw) accused him of "trying to intimidate the Press." " That," cried th 9 virtuous Knight of old Drury, " I could not stand. So we have taken legal proceedings."