MIMES AND MUMMERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9535, 6 May 1909, Page 2

MIMES AND MUMMERS.

« — . — (By THE LIMELIGHT MAN.) Mr Harry Quealey last week cabled that he ifl the proud tf^ther of a daughter. Mr Bert Williamson left on Tuesday night to rejoin Pollard's Juveniles in the North Island. V ■ Pollard's are rehearsing "Manola," an. almost unknown opera in these days Of musical comedy whirls. Miss Nellie Stewart has . forwarded the last £100 to complete the sum required for the establishment of a " Nellie Stewart" cot in the new Children's Hospital in Sydney. Mr Winter Hall has been playing Tigellinus, the scowling, scheming And really bad 1 Roman in "The Sign of tJhe Cross," and his plotting against Marcus, Superbus (Knight) has been praised by the Australian critics. . . ■ ■ ■*•♦■• A new James Cassius Williamson has appeared in Australia in the form of a nephew of the great J.C.W. The younger bearer of the great 'letterings* has spent many of his k years in America, and, though he is said to resemble his uncle in appearance, ids accent is American. - '■■"•■■ *** •' i ! " For its size and population, Zealand is. the best theatrical country in the. world 1 . The x journeys are so short, and companies can. play in small towns for four and; five nights in succession, whereas in America' or England; it would be impossible to play even one. night in towns of the same size. — Tom Pollard. *•* Mf Loring Fernie, who was' here' with the Tittell Br^une Company, and played the part of Sonora Sam -in the " Maiden of the Occident," has gone back to. England, where he will be'Ved. Previous to his departure he was presented with, a spirit flask with these words inscribed thereon : — " From the Australian boys of the company. 'Ain't we got style enough for you.' " The words wk peculiar, and Mr Fernie will have to explain that they are the last words he speaks in " Th© Maiden of the Occident." • • . . %•■•■ ':■- ■ ■ It is not usually known that Miss Fanny Powers, who was here with the last Rickards's company, has played in London. It happened this wise: — Miss Powers had gone to England with Mr and Mrs Rick&rds for a holiday; and while she was in the City of 'Buses she expressed a desire to- play in the great place. No sooner said than doing. Mr Rickards took advantage of the illness of a " star " performer at a big musichall, and Miss Powers charmed London for ten nights. Her success was undoubted, but the trip home precluded any extension of her season. ••• According to a recent paragraph in the London "TatleT" a Russian gentleman went to see "The. Merry Widow" in London, and was deeply grieved because "The Swing Song" *was not included in .the presentation: It seems that in the production of the oraze in St Petersburg one of the numbers showed a number of girls who were swung out over the auditorium. Probably the idea was taken ,to Russia by an American who took it from the same production in Chicago that supplied the sensation for the Williamson production of "Mother Goose." * * Mr Tom Pollard has been talking about a subject upon which, he may well claim to be an authority — children on the stage. To an Auckland newspaper, man Mr Pollard said that the . New Zealanders had much better voices than the Australians, but the latter were more natural actors, and took better to legitimate stage work. He attributed this largely to the greater opportunities that existed? in Australia, where the theatrical .schools in both Sydney and Melbourne formed exceptionally good training grounds. . Horace Stewart, who is here with West's Pictures, was for some time with Thurston the . Great, , whose reputation as a magician is " pretty considerable," and takes, a couple of trunks on " moving day," and he speaks interestingly of the tour in the East. The matter of theatres in China, he says, is quite a conjuring feat. Twenty-four hours is sufficient to run up a building, fragile but strong enough and storm-proof, large enough, to accommodate as many •people as the biggest in. use in Australit, although the seating question is v rendered very easy by the habits of the Chinaman. With a 'good conj urihg company a manager could make China a veritable El Dorado, though the: chief difficulties are with the transport. • ■ Picture shows have great confidence in their own powers. In Christchurch at present, there are three seeking the nimble coins, and, 'judging by the houses, not one of them is losing money. At the Colosseum the Wide World Pictures have been showing a very strong programme, . and one to be introduced to-night promises to be even better. "The Red Hand," a cleverly worked picture, is the " star " turn at the West's Pictures, which are being projected at His Majesty's Theatre. At the Theatre Royal the Pathe Pictures rely on a beauty competition, in which the merits of the photographs from which the magic lantern slides are taken plays a more important part than the actual beauty of the subject. .■ V' ' . * * The censor, has banned a burlesque on "An Englishman's Home." The Follies, who have burlesqued everybody and everything worth burlesquing on the English stage, attempted to poke gentle fun at the great patriotic piece, but they were stayed. The idea of the (burlesque was clever, and it showed another menace to the home. According to the Follies the Germans landed, but found that every Englishman was a German, the commercial invasion having forestalled the martial gentlemen. Of course at present England is feeling ( intensely military, and such a paltry thing as commerce should not be thought of. The Follies, however, stage a burlesque in which the censor's banning supplies great humour^ The manager endeavours to stop his company playing the burlesque and the audience hears noises" behind a curtain. *»* At the Opera House "The Woman Pays " ! It could not Jbe anything else but melodrama, but Jt is drawing big houses, and it pleases the audiences. It is hopelessly crude even for a melodrama, the characters are got on to the stage and got off again, and in the interim they have opportunities to speak or to do murdered by the villain, who takes no half measures, but acquits himself as a villain right manfully. There are four Tpunds between Vice and Virtu© for the championship. The former scores heavily all through the first three rounds, and Virtue takes seveial counts, but in the fourth Virtue either lands a "lucky one" or hears that the match cannot be arranged, or perhaps it was arranged from the start, and after a clinch or two Vice " goes to the mat for ten." Virtue retains the championship, and " The Woman Pays" over the cheques. No one has claimed the rights of the moving pictures yet, and the whirl of purple and sparks does not show the combatants training,; the "Crowd leaving the Stadium," or the winner being interviewed. Still,. The Woman Pays and so does melodrama, and there is little use in poking fun at it — the Thousand wants purple arid sparks, and it certainly gets it in " The Woman Pays." .' .