The Stage.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume VIII, Issue 1, 1 April 1903, Page 68

The Stage.

Bt S. E GREVILLB- SMITH,

fONVENTION has long since 1 ceased to rule the stage, in no other profession is there a more welcome admission, or wider scope for the development of individual. talent. It is not a democracy, however, in the socialistic sense, but a community modelled on that fine type of benevolent despotism afforded by Raroun al Rasehid and Louis Quatorze.

Genius rises to the top, untrammelled in its growth, yet it does not flourish by the warrant of its own intrinsic merits, but by the favour of the monarch. And the monarch who bestows the accolade on the

actor is the Great Public. Tlie critical Grand Vizier or Grand Chamberlain may pat him on the back and tell him he is a fellow of excellent parts, but the smile of the King is the only passport to fame. Every actor of consequence nowadays is original. We applaud him, not because he reminds us of some other actor of the past, but because he is obviously giving, us* the best of himself. There is no market for imitators, and happily for themselves, and for us, people of that class do not trouble us overmuch. The fresh originality of Mr. Thornton, and of Mr. Cuyler Hastings, is repeated in the case 1 of Mr. W. F. Hawtrey. His " Sir John Bendwill " does not recall ?r>-- other stage barrister, nor was there ever another stage Frenchman, fitted to blur our recollection of his Baron de Longueville. And the reason for this is that both Sir John and the Baron are naturally what they would be had Mr. Hawtrey been a lawyer or a Frenchman with a " rattling past/ The actor who so takes our imagination captive must be well-equipped for his work. Mr. Hawtrey is an actor because he loves the business, but he is also a man of the world, a close student of character and manners, and a freeman of the kingdom of letters. He was born at Eton, where his father, the Rev. C. W. Hawtrey, was third master in the famous school, got his first big slice of wisdom there, and in 1880, after a course at Oxford, made the grand tour (which in modern days embraces the world almost), in charge of a , distinguished pupil. Mr. Hawtrey was then in his twenty-fourth year and kept his eyes open. New Zealand was in his itinerary and his three subsequent

visits have only strengthened the affection he conceived for these islands in his pedagogic days. His second visit was in 1898, with the " Prisoner of Zenda " Company, and his third in 1899, with the " Sign of the Cross/ Of the innumerable parts he has takera his own preference is for Colonel Sa.pt in " The Prisoner of Zehda," but it is not so easy to indicate the preference of the playgoers. Off the stage, Mr. Hawtrey is the most genial of men, and an optimist

without illusions. He is rather proud of his company, all of whom, with two conspicuous exceptions, have grown up under his hand, so to speak. Some of them have got the hall-mark of the Broughs on them, which is somewhat of a recommendation in itself, but they have more room to grow in the present company, and they are still growing. They are all Australians who have managed to keep clear of, or to emancipate themselves from the yoke of the Australian accent

that sets Mr. J. C. Williamson's teeth on edge. The Misses Austin and Miss Bancroft are not only clever but conscientious, and the combination produces a charm that one does not fully appreciate at the first blush, though it makes itself felt. Mr. McMahon .is a talentedi young comedian who is just beginning to feel his way, and will yet achieve a reputation. The

exceptions alluded to are, of course, Miss Bronton and Mr. Oily Deering, two sterling artists. Miss Bronton was no less than seven years in the exclusive Brough Company, and Mr. Deering' S career goes back further than the recollection of the present generation. People are in the habit of saying that he belongs to the " good old school/ but in truih there are none who belong more

essentially to the -present than this versatile actor, who simply revels in the possibilities of modern comedy. Miss Bronton began her professional life with the late Mr. William Greswick as one of the sinking witches in " Macbeth/' and she has since played under the management of Messrs. Williamson ;md Musgroye, Mr. George Rignoid, Miss Janet Achurch, Miss Olga Nethersole, Mr. Charles Cartwright

and, as beforementioned, Messrs. Brough and Boucicault. Miss Bronton's physical charms have greatly aided her success ; she is not only a sound actress, but a handsome woman also. . '

Mr. Gregan McMahon, like manyother actors, originally intended to devote himself to the Bar. He graduated with honours in classics at the Sydney University, and spent some time in the Faeultv of Law at

to Australia, in 1901, Mr. Hawtrey secured Mr. McMahon's servicos, by arrangement ,with Mr. Brough, in place of Mr. Herbert Ross. Since his connection with the Hawtrey Company, Mr. McMahon has played leading roles with increasing success, and has won a recognised place on the Colonial stage. His versatility approximates to that of his chief, and in the matter of make-up he is a veritable Proteus.

the same place, but the glamour of the footlights was upon him. Jle had been prominently connected with the University Dramatic Society, and on tl?e completion of his law course in 1900 he accepted an offer from Mr. Brough, and played with the Company during the ensuing Australian tour, and subsequently accompanied them to the Far East, appearing in the long line of comedies played by that best of companies., On returning

Madame Melba has set a high standard of vocal excellence, and the people of this colony have acknowledged their indebtedness by going in crowds to hear the Australian Diva's sweet sister-singer, Mademoiselle Antoinette Trebelli. who chooses to be known in public as Antonia Dolores. And there *re those who, while acknowledging the consummate power of Melba, are not

afraid to confess that they take more delight in the star of milder brilliancy. There is no perceptible difference in the absolute quality of their art. Both artistes have acquired all that nature has not given to them, but about their own separate innate degrees of perfection there will, we supoose, always be a diversity of opinion. The portrait of Mademoiselle Dolores in this issue is eminently characteristic.

Mr. W. F. Percy, the leadingcomedian of the Pollard Opera Company, has played many parts, and played them all well, but whenever his name- is mentioned, for some time to come at any-rate, it will conjure up a vision of that grotesquely original conception " Tweed lepunch,-' the phrenologist, in " Florodora." We laugh at the. mere mention of it, and all who have been lucky enough to witness the performance will be grateful to

Mr. Goldie, who has caught the idea and made it permanent on his canves. The likeness is uncommonly faithful, and if the artist has not seized his subject in one of his boisterous moments, it is, doubtless, because electricity lias not yet been harnessed to the painter's brush. The picture serves to demonstrate Mr. Goldie's versatility no less than that of the actor, and adds one more testimony to his skill as a portrait painter.