LONG TACK SAM.

Wairarapa Age, 30 May 1936, Page 4

LONG TACK SAM.

CLEVER & ENTERTAINING COMPANY. ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION AT REGENT THEATRE. A packed house greeted Long Tack Sam and his remarkable company in the Regent Theatre last evening and all items ‘in an entertaining and varied programme were applauded most heartily. For two hours and a half item followed item at an astonishing pace. It was a whirlwind of notable acrobatic feats, clever dancing and bewildering magic. The last bars of the overture by Doris Burt and her orchestra had scarcely died away when, amidst a riot of colour, Jandy, a French musical clown, chattered hi* way on to the stage. He played music on the most unusual instruments. He blew the fingers of a pair of gloves, and music came. He did similar things with bottles, bells and anything else handy. Paul and Leon then tap-danced into view—on skates. For several minute* they went through a series of intricate steps. Astor, billed to provide a surprise, followed, and undoubtedly filled the bill. Grace and beauty were the keynotes of the dancing items contributed by Mascotte and Maurice, elever alike with ballroom and adagio movements.

Humour was provided in full measure by Doris Lindsay, a little lady of undeniably Scottish extraction. Her songs went with a merry swing. The first part of the programme concluded with an exhibition of amazingly clever skating by the Four La Salles. They closed a remarkable act with the “Death Whirl,” in which Fraulein La Salic looped the loop on skates in a large cylinder. Then came Long Tack Sam. He produced bowls of goldfish from nowhere, took parasols from where he had placed handkerchiefs, and tore newspapers into many pieces and then produced them intaet again. And all the time he entertained with an unending stream of amusing patter. His own particular tricks completed he then “stage-managed” his troupe of Chinese artists through innumerable feats of strength and acrobatics. Several of the acts were little short of sensational. A small Chinese boy, high up on a pole balanced on another’s shoulder, seemed to be able to do everything possible except fall off. A clear-eyed tumbler leapt through a small frame of knives, and did it again to prove his skill. A boy balanced on his head, upside down, on the crown of another, and then, with a “cigar” in his teeth, did the same feat, except that he balanced by placing the cigar on the end of another clenched in the teeth of hi* colleague. And so throughout the programme one amazing item followed close upon another. Occasionally Long Tack Sam’* daughter, Miss Nee Sa Long, would appear, and would provide first-class entertainment. She showed remarkable versatility. From dancing the South American “Carioca,” she would slip into a graceful waltz movement, and then again into a swinging foxtrot. Often she sang, with a charming and melodious voice. But her best item was when she played a violin and bent slowly backwards, still playing, until her head touched the floor.

Responding to salvoes of applause at the end of a most entertaining evening, Mr. Long Tack Sam thanked those present for attending and for the splendid reception given to his company. He also thanked the manager of the Regent Theatre for courteous assistance. Observing that it was twelve years since he and his company had last visited Masterton, Mr. Long Tack Sam congratulated the town on the magnificent theatre it now possessed. <