The Stage.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume V, Issue 1, 1 October 1901, Page 66

The Stage.

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Bt Hugh McLeod

Y r OVERSj'OF SHAKESPEKE. and it is to lie regretted there are not more of them in / J-*» Auckland, have had an intellectual treat during the past month in the visit of the talented young American actress Miss Janet Wnldorf, who is destined to make a name for herself in the

dramatic world. Three of the| " great master's" plays were staged during the Auckland season .— "The Winter's Tale," " Romeo and Juliet," and " As You Like It,"thus afford, ing playgoers the opportunity of seeing Miss Waldorf in three such diverse characters as Viola, Juliet, and Rosalind. "All Shakespere's women, being essentially women, either love or have loved or are capable of loving," but the 1 o v e of Juliet is of an entirely different character to that of Viola or Rosalind,

and it was in the portrayal of the ill starred heroine that Miss Waldorf scored her greatest su cces. Love as a passion is the keynote of the drama, and this the youngAmerican fully recognises, for she harmonises her whole being — body, heart, and soul — w it h the character she portrays until one feels that it is " the soul within her soul ; the pulse within her heart ; the life blood alongher vein s, blending with every atom of her frame." "The true artistic power is to lose oneself in the being of

another," re

marks Lady Martin, and Miss Waldorf has evidently grasped the truth of this saying in her " Juliet." As Rosalind, Miss Waldorf captivated many more hearts than that of Orlando. Her pensiveness in the opening scenes was in delightful contrast with her spi'ightliness, gaiety, and archness in the forest of Arden when she has, in self defence, donned the male attire. Everything about her Rosalind breathes " of youth and youth's sweet prime." She is full of the buoyancy of youth ; she sparkles like new

wine. Her voice is sweet and her enunciation remarkably distinct. " There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip, Nay her foot speaks ; her wanton spirit looks out At every joint and motion of her body " This delightful comedy in ever suggestivo of a land of romance wifch its waving forests and streams of Arden. To these Arcadian retreats Miss Waldorf gives life and compels one unhesitatingly to agree with Orlando — " There is none like Rosalind." At tho close of the play Miss Waldorf might truthfully

have said " I set her before your eyes, human as she is." " Twelfth Night," a genuine comedy, but not so well known as many of the other works of the " divine William," gave Miss Waldorf an opportunity of showing her versatility in the character of Viola. It has been well remarked that " in Viola love is more a sentiment than a passion — a compound of impulse and fancy— while the reflective powers and moral energies are more faintly developed." This fact Miss Waldorf seems hardly to have grasped, and though the rendering of some of her lines was very fine, there was a want of evenness about the tout ensemble which placed her Viola on a distinctly lower plane than that of her Juliet and her Rosalind. Mr. Norval McGregor, who has been Miss Waldorf's main support, has been seen in the characters of Malvolio, Borneo and Orlando. The palm must unhesitatingly be awarded tqV.his Malvolio, of which difficult character he' has; made a perfect study. The part is on^ -which it is so easy to buffoon,

that it was [quite refreshing to find Mr. McGregor realising the best ideals of the character. Malvolio, though possessing an inordinate idea of. his own importance, and though puffed up with vanity, is no fool, and has his ambitions, which are clearly revealed through his cloak of self sufficiency. Mr. McGregor realises this, and makes his impersonation of a high and refined nature. His conception of Orlando, too, was one to merit high praise. Both in the quarrel scene with his brother and the softer passages in the forest of Arden, he showed himself, not only a thorough and conscientious student of Shakespere, but also an able interpreter of the great dramatist. The most disappointing of his triple roles was his Romeo, which was lacking in that fire which one always associates .with the young lover. In conclusion, it may be said that the work of Miss Waldorf and Mr, McGregor in Auckland has left a pleasant memory behind, upon which one may spend many a delightful reverie when the plays which they presented are re-read in the study.