THE THEATRE.
THE PLAY AND PLAYERS.
(By PROMPTER.)
" Another attraction arranged by J. C. TVilliamson for Australia about six months hence is tho production of the dramatised versions of Tolstoy. "Resurrection" and Hall Oaine 's "Eternal City," by a company headed by Julius Knight and Maud Jeffries. This venture is by arrangement with Beerbohih Tree/who produced 1 the pieces in England. The vMt (says " The Australasian ") willbe looked forward! to, especially by those Australians who were strongly impressed by -Miss Jeffries'- acting when .she came here as leading- l_dy in Wilson Barrett's first company. The companjr jg expected to arrive in, time to open Her Ma> jesty's Theatre, now rebuilding in Sydney. "Midsummer Night- Dream" (says Adelaide "Critic ") is receiving ecstatic and: indiscriminate praise, frc__ local inotioe writers,! and -it has to be admitted -that thing* is done remarkably well so far as scemc arti-fcs, stage-carpenters, and dressde_ig„eTß can do it. The scene-painting is here and there very fine, and effects are got in an unfamiliar way. The woodland bits are very striking, and Titania's fairies are pictur-eajue mites, and help the spectacle. Bub the excite- praise bestowed upon the pictures and "t_o mountings becomes absurd wheh extended to the acting. There is really noiMng extraordinary in the merit of t'h§' company t-lusgr»v- has brought to Australia ; ib is fairly and evenly good; but nt rio point does a member rise to excellence or. present work calling ion anything more than a mild pat of approval. The gorgeousnes- of the- spectacle got upon the minds of the Melbourne- critics on the first night, and they saw similar superlative beauties in the performers. In most cases tho enthusiasm 'has abated long ere this. Mu-grovo has given Australia a charming show, but his company strike no spariks from the anvil of dramatic art.
Mr M. St Leon, the oldest circus proprietor in Australia, died! very suddenly on April 15 at Oakleigh, where he had been living for some time -with a married daughter. The deceased, who was eighty-four years of age, was apparently in good health, and had just lighted a cigarette, when he turned 1 round, made an exclamation, and dropped dead. He was a remarkably clever trainer -of animals', and only recently had been negotiating for an engagement with Messr, Wirth brothers, with whose father he was associated in the circus business forty years ago. Two sons of the.deceased are travelling with Harmson's Circus in li:dia.
"Would it He possible," '..Acrjtes the ■' Sydney iMorhuig Herald," " to condiuct any newspaper on a basis which allowed theatrical manageM to dictate to the proprietors as tothe employment of their own "-Titers? Evidently not.* Of course this subject of criticism" is a very old' bone of contention. Mr Piricro's oft-quoted d-eonand for ' praise, .pr_^&e;;.prai;>C'' is echoed alike by artists au-vroanagera;' Unfortunately, .it forms a itauseat'ing diet for the general reader, who requires a fairly-balancei opinion. Sound judgment is, so to speak, the salt which nxakes the dish of dramatic criticism palatable to the general body of playgoers. Artists an.t authors, on the other Dana, seldom accept censure as merited— except in the case of 'the other fellow's -how' at a rival ,hou^e ( , when they invariably, think it m& ilia^-^jseijgl enough ! Theirv-^en-^ method is to -ttribute cenfure to some i>erEonal failing on the writer's part— stupidity, ill-health,, prejudice, or some fancied sligfct;" ' •Ellen, Terry's first appearance as a rnanager_3s took place at ' the Imperial Theatre on April 15, when she produced Ibsen's " The Vikings in Helgeland" Almost simnltunrously Sir Henry IrvingAswith the fre-liapss of his personal youth, begins a new chapter in his ananaierial. history at Di'Ury Lane by .the production of a play^ by the French" dramatist, f^ai'doUj and almost at the.sauxe time 'Mits Terry, who. has been associate- with his triumphs for so many years, will attempt- only for the second time in London to produce lbseri for a run at the Imperial. , How they pass!- '_u ragged and wretchedlooking woman ai'res^led- in Vienna a month or so back' for picking pockets in, a crowd claimed to be Carola Berger, andl inquiry substantiated her claim. When' -'Carola was only twenty the world was talking- about her, -she was ihe' most conspicuous figure in European Grand Opera. She was beautiful in face and- figure, and had a voice that promised to rival. the world's best, and her income was the largest ever paid to a prima ctonna. Then she suddenly disappeared, and was nob heard of 'again till the Vienna polica caught this misera_!ei creature stealing pennies from the pocket of a workwoman. Carola Berger ha>s been badly injured in a railway accident that marred her 'beauty, and so shattered her neives that she could never sing again. The rest followed. Such a thing as putting by for a rainy day— or a railway accident — never 'enters into an artiste's head.
' A gloomy play, unrelieved by any touches of humour,, such as distinguished the same author's "__ Message from Mars," Richard Ganthony's " The Prophecy," presented at the Avenue Theatre, London, on March 10, met with an equivocal reception.. The story deals with" the fortunes of twim thers, bonu at the time pf an eclipse i >i the sun, which is held to exercise potent influence upon their future. They are -ifferen't in nature and disposition, though, there are many points of communion, between them. But their affection is full and undivided until the arrival on the scene: of the inevitable woman dispels their . misogynistic views, a_4 heralds; 'the dawn of trouble. The heroine is of higher and nobler birth, and of curiously wayward disposition. She fools both the twin brothers, between whom, deadly feuds, jealousies, and misunderstandings arise. At the end, when | both have' sworn aJi oath to forsake her, the all-conquering passion asserts itself in the younger of the two men-, and "Th-* Prophecy" very nearly ends in- f raticide, lint another ejstips- of the sun takes place, and the impressiveness of the ome_! is not underrated. Before the audience is fully able to grasp its exact significance, the wilful heroine, who has caused such dura -distress between her rival lovers, stabs herself to the heart, and all ia over. Fraternal love for the men is thenceforth restored.
Sarah Bernhardt has appeared in another masculine character at her Paris theatre, viz., as the Werther of Goethe's melancholy work, expanded by M. Decourcelle into a five-act; playi It has not altogether pleased French taste. The Paris correspondent of the "Daily News," describing the production, says: — "The play is full of the rusticities of the Li.t.9 Trianon. We find in it a pretty. village that has its 'Bailli,' and a young girl simple, frank and natural as a field flower, apd just as refined. One can recognise in her Charlotte Steinbach, who is betrothed to ah excellent man of her own station, which is that of a well-born faapily. Tfte falling in love with her is repeated in the play, b«l>' the playright has given a loose ►rutt t^ ;h's imagination 1 in the drive with Chaxiotte pn. the sultry evening to the fete. <$ampetre, the intoxicating waltz at tnee_d of which Werther kisses her haaid with transport, and her eyes overflow with tears. There is another dunce af the Bailli Steinbach'- house, to amuse the little brothers and sisters of Charlotte. She andl 1 Werther again spin round to the music of a violin. Madame Sarah Bernhardt, in au -ighteenth, ofnfcury rait, tooflne, perhaps, for the «mdition of Wert_«r_; 4i-©BJ
with grace, and is an accomplished cavalier. Still, she is not quite satisfactory as a young lover. She has fuller play for her dramatic talents later."
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19030511.2.4
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 7702, 11 May 1903, Page 1
Word Count
1,271THE THEATRE. Star (Christchurch), Issue 7702, 11 May 1903, Page 1
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.