THE STAGE

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 760, 29 September 1904, Page 18

THE STAGE

(By

“Comus.”)

OPERA HOUSE.

FULLER’S EMPIRE COMPANY.

There is a really capital programme .at the Opera House this week, and no lover of vaudeville should miss it. Professor Victor, who has been amusing crowds nightly for some time past with ihis ventriloquism, has displayed his versatility by changing himself into a prestidigitateur, and performs by the quickness of the hand a number of things that the eye fails to detect. His act is an entertainment in itself. The nimble and graceful little McAuley Sisters continue to delight their admirers, and Miss Vida May Loder danfces to the ■complete gratification of every Scot in the house. Miss Kate Maher and Messrs Williams and Hart contribute several first-class vocal selections, and the ■comedy element is amply supplied by Will Stevens, Joe Rocks and Tod Calloway. The entertainment is one specially arranged to meet the popular taste, and the patronage of the public is in •due and proper proportion. On Monday next Messrs Cowan and Carlton will make their appearance in the bill.

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

JACK CARKEEK AND CD

The entertainment brought over from JSydney by Mr Allan Hamilton, has hit the taste of the public. The central figure is, of course, the champion wrestler, Carkeek himself, who is “a fine figure of a man,” and strips like a :gladiator of ancient Rome, according to the pictures of the period. He is .accompanied by Mourzouk, a Moorish wrestler, who runs him a very close .second, and the joint display' of the art given by the two is at once interesting and exciting. The rest of a long programme is filled in with vaudeville, of much the usual type, though embracing several items that are particularly novel. Of these the quaintest is the coon turn of Miss Ethel Whitesides, .assisted by her negro picaninnies. It is not exactly what these imps do, but the comical way they do it, that rouses the mirth of the audience. Then there is

the “egg-laying” act of Messrs Ford and Bentley, a daring innovation, but amusing withal. Miss Jeannie Fletcher, a young lady with a pleasant and powerful mezzo soprano, sings several Scotch ballads with great acceptance ; Miss Maggie Fraser sings serio-comic songs cleverly, and dances with much more than the average skill, and the Sisters Smith, who are old favourites here, showed that they have made strides in their profession as song and dance artists since we saw them last. But undoubtedly the pick of the vaudeville basket is the performance of Miss Ada Delroy and Mr James Bell. Both are genuine artists, who are able to compel mirth, and their turns are as clean and wholesome as they are humorous. the “patter” of Mr Bell is delicious, while Miss Delroy exhibits all those charms and graces that have made her a prime favourite all over the Colonies and in the Far East. The other remaining feature in the programme is the series of animated pictures, showing Canadian salmon fishing, and the pursuit and capture of a burglar. The latter is one of the cleverest series ever arranged for the biograph, and was greatly enjoyed. On Tuesday night Constable Skinner had a bout with Mourzouk, the conditions being that Skinner should receive a trophy valued at £lO if he stood up against the Moor for fifteen minutes. This he did, amidst the enthusiastic plaudits of the audience. When Carkeek two professional wrestlers/ Messrs Jenck Sir and Harry Hackenschmidt (brother of the Russian champion), who arrived in the Sierra, mounted the stage costumed for the fray, and demanded to have a “try,” but Mr Carkeek explained that 24 hours’ notice was required by 7 the management. Ultimately' it was arranged that the contests, Sir against Mourzouk, and Hackenschmidt against Carkeek, should come off last evening, so that the results cannot be regarded in this issue.

Considerable progress has, I learn, been made with the romantic comic opera upon which Mr Alfred Hill, the well-known composer, and Mr John Birch, of the “Herald,” are collaborating. The whole of the lyrics have found their appropriate setting, and the dialogue is nearing completion. The

work is said by' those who have heard specimens to possess no small merit. It is probable that early' arrangements will be made for putting the opera into rehearsal.

The “ Burra (S.A.) Record,” in a recent issue contained the following reference to the well-known representative the Steele-Payne Family : —“ Hr R. T. Tregaski, who has piloted the SteelePayne Family through their South Aus-, tralian tour, can claim to be the most shrewd of the furthest seeing representative of a 1 company that has been seen here for a very long time. ITis plan of campaign was remarkably well laid out, and his knowledge of how things ought to be done was exemplified. lie is an old public entertainer himself, and for many years ran a show of his own with marked success throughout the Australian colonies, and he has no»w given the benefit of his experience to the popular Steele-Payne Family. From the fact that he got a packed house together on Wednesday night ’proves that he is a representative possessing extraordinary 7 forethought, and ability regarding the management of travelling companies.” Mr Tregaski will soon be on the road again in this colonv for the same old firm.

A new Irish historical drama, “ Robert Emmett,” is going strong in America.

Tom Woof-well, Emily 7 Lyndale, and the Dumonts are at the Johannesburg Empire.

Howard Vernon has been favouring Ballarat with his finished performance of Rip Van Winkle, in Planquette’s opera of that name.

“ The Flying Dutchman,” the Wagnerian opera, has been revived on a big scale at Drurv Lane.

“The Orchid,” a musical comedy, by Ivan C’aryll and L. Monckton. with libretto by 7 J. Tanner, is the next novelty 7 of the Royal Comics. The costumes —one series recalling delicate orchid tints, another a rich array of fancy dresses —are to be a big feature.

In a late number of an Australian publication, the lamented Mel. B. Spurr put his ideals into form as follows :— “I started out some seventeen years ago to entertain the public with one fixed conviction —that I would give the

world of my best, and eschew all evil methods, if 1 died in a ditch, and I have not yet died in a ditch ! To such as essay to w 7 in the public favour by questionable means, I would say : ‘Think twice before you put an impure thought into a pure mind. Don’t sniff pollution; lift your eyes and see all the pure, good humour of which this world is full, and try to reproduce it for the benefit of that world (and yourself incidentally of course) ; give them a good laugh at a good thing ; lift the pall of gloom and depression under ■which suffering mankind is so often found lying, if only for a few moments, and whether what you do be called an ‘art’ or not, and whether you receive £lOO a week for your efforts, or a humble fiver, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have honestly earned what you receive, and bv pure and conscientious efforts have added to the gaiety of the nation without sullying its purity or insulting its intelligence.’ ”

The tragic story of the terrible misfortunes which dogged the juggler Anglo’s steps after his arrival in Australia is best made known bv extracts from his letter dated His’Majesty’s Gaol, Adelaide, May 11, 1904, and sent to Messrs Hamlev. London :—“Dear Messrs Hamley,—l thought that I would just drop you a line to tell vou of mv misfortune. Since I left London I have had varied luck. The first thing on landing in Adelaide I was greeted with the news of my wife’s death, which had taken place two days before. A few months after I married again, and then my troubles commenced afresh. My second marriage was in every way a complete failure. I had no idea what sort of a woman I was taking for my wife. Everything that I could do to trv and live with her in happiness was futile. She so worried me that I hardly knew what I was doing very often. After we had been married three and a-half months she left me and went home to her people. Had she been contented with leaving me all would have been well, but unfortunately for me such was not the case. She used to carry on with other men, and one Saturday night 1 met her in the street, and, getting wild, shot her dead. I, of course, was put on my trial, and the jury brought in a verdict against me, so to-morrow I die. Wishing you all success and a lons- farewell, I am, yours sincerely (signed).

T. HORTON.”

DEATH OF MEL. B. SPURR

Not a single soul of the vast crowds who have listened with delight to the marvellous recitals of .Mr Spurr but will receive the news of the death of the talented entertainer with a sense of personal loss. Mr Spurr appeared here in May last, under the management of Mr Herbert Flemming, and showed how easy it was for him to amuse the world without making it blush. He had completed his tour of New Zealand, and had almost finished his return season in Australia, preparatory to embarking for the Far East, when an old complaint, diabetes, asserted itself in an acute form, and he died at Sydney on Sunday, passing peacefully away in a condition of coma- Mr Spurr was of fragile appearance, and when he passed through Auckland last month on his way to Melbourne, it struck several persons who saw him. that he was looking extremely ill. It seems that he consulted Dr. De Clive Lowe on that occasion. and the Dr. was one of the last to see him off. The late Mr Spurr was about 60 years of age. From a contemporary I quote the following brief sketch of his career “He was born at Hull, Yorkshire, and was educated for the law (his father’s profession), and practised as a barrister for about eight years, during which time he earned a reputation for himself as a wit of the first order even in the dry and dusty precincts of the Courthouse. After hearing '• Corney Grain, the great English entertainer, Mr Spurr was seized with the desire to follow the profession of society entertainer, and so strong was the impulse that he deserted the bar for the platform.. He knew himself to possess a marvellous memory—he could recite such poems as ‘Enoch Arden’ and Tennyson’s ‘ln Memoriam’ by heart, and such plays as W. S. Gilbert’s ‘Pygmalion and Galatea’ —and he had the further powers of mimicry, music, and humour, besides the ready gift of a writer, combined with that of a composer. After a short period of acting in a provincial company, Mr Spurr got his first chance at the Egyptian Hall, London, with . Messrs Maskelyne and Cook,- where for over 11 years he appeared daily and nightly in his own sketches, giving altogether over 7000 performances. During that time Mr Spurr worked up a repertoire of over 300 selections. He composed upwards of 100 himself, in addition to 25 musical sketches, and 60 or . more recitals. Amongst the most celebrated of his own songs are ‘The Little Tin Gee Gee,’ ‘The Nipper’s Lullaby,’ and ‘The World Went Very Well Then.’ The publishers of the ‘Tin Gee Gee’ (Messrs Day and Son) presented Mr Spurr with a breastpin representing the little horse and its rider, worked in diamonds, and this the clever humourist always wore. He not only composed humorous songs and sketches, but also did a deal of excellent serious w T ork. So vast was his repertoire that he was said to have been capable of playing a four-months’ season and giving . a change of programme every night. In other words, he had enough material to give an up-to-date Arabian Nights’ Entertainment. As an entertainer he was one of the most gifted the Old Country has produced. A notable feature of his performances was the absolute absence of anything approaching vulgarity or inuendo. He believed in giving the public ‘a laugh at a good thing.’ He always made a feature of humour, but ever aimed at balancing gaiety with sentiment, as, for instance, his memorable recitations to the accompaniment of the zither.”

The Musical Johnstons, who will shortly appear here, under the auspices of the Messrs Fuller, furnish one of the best turns ever seen behind the footlights in this part of the world (writes “Pasquin,” in the Otago “ Witness ”), and nightly arouse considerable enthusiasm amongst their audiences, albeit their selections are usually above the heads of the people who are in the habit of noisily demonstrating their approval of anything theatrical which wins their fancy. If the Johnstons were to play cake-walk, ragtime ballads, etc., their turn would win more. applause, but would not, of course, constitute the musical treat which is furnished by the high-class items in their repertoire. The team have won great kudos wherever they have appeared, and it may be of interest to know that amongst the companies in which they have appeared are : —Weber and Field’s Vesta Tilley Company, in 1897-8 ; Weber and Field’s Pousse Cafe Company. 1898-9; Joseph Hart Company, 1900-1; Shea and Krietner’s Company, 1901-2 ; Fiddle Dee Dee Company, 1902-3 ; Ross and Fenton Company, Bon Ton Company, and in Australia with Mr Harry Rickards. At the conclusion of their New Zealand tour the Johnstons go back to Sydney, en route to England, where they are to open at the London Palace.

Mr Galway Herbert, who arrived in London last month from South Africa, where he has been playing since his departure from Australia, has secured an engagement as stage manager at the Royalty Theatre, where “ The Passing of a Dream,” a new play by R. Kennedy Cox, was announced for production on the 25th ult.

Those wonderful mystifiers the Howard Bros., concluded their engagement with Wirth’s Circus last week (says the Melbourne “ Sporting and Dramatic News”), and are now in Melbourne preparing to tour the States on their own account. The brothers are introducing a new act, •entitled a Silent Thought Transmission Act, which briefly is, that while one brother- is blindfolded the other goes amongst the audience, and any article he handles. is at once described by the blindfolded brother without any word or sign. The Howards were recently presented with handsome diamond rings by a number of their admirers at Adelaide, and it may also be mentioned that' during their forthcoming tour they will be supported by a strong conbination of first-class artists.

Mr J. C. Williamson has arranged for a visit next year to Australia of the renowned Irish comedian, Andrew C. Mack, supported by a specially selected company, who will appear in Irish comedy. Mr Mack is described as young, of fine appearance, and the possessor of an excellent tenor voice.

“ Lorgnette ” writes, in the “ Mail — “ The following appears among ‘ Jacques ’ notes in the Launceston ‘ Courier ’ of September 3 : —‘ Reported ' that the Fullers are to pay the Uessems £lOO a week during their New Zealand tour. “ Very like a whale.” ’ For the information of ‘ Jacques ’ T might state that the terms on which the Uessems were engaged 'from Air Harry Rickards was £9O per week and three saloon fares from Sydney to Sydney, the engagement to extend over four playing weeks. When the fares are reckoned in it works out at £lO3 odd per week. Notwithstanding the large salary, the Messrs Fuller consider the Uessems the biggest money-making ‘turn’ they have yet had under their banner.”

London is fairly invaded by American managers. The latest syndicate are the Brothers Shubert, the well-known New York managers, who have acquired a twenty-one years’ lease of the Waldbrf Theatre, now in course of construction at Aldwych. The uuilding will be ready i Al ar ch, and will be opened with musical comedy. Aldwych is the new thoroughfare between Holborn and the Strand.

Miss Nellie Stewart and her new English Company are passengers by the R.M.S. Oroya, which is about due at Melbourne. The company includes Mrs Maesmore Morris, Miss Mamie Bennett, Miss Singleton, Miss Willard, and Miss E. Davenport, Messrs Harcourt Beatty. Malcolm Dunn,. Dudley .Clinton. Harry Parker (stage manager), and Lindsay, ’in addition to “ Pretty Peggy." with which the Melbourne season will open on .'October 8, Miss Stewart will stage “ Her Own Wav,” “Old Heidelberg,” and “ Dorothx Vernon of Haddon Hall.”

William and Walker’s “In Dahomey ” Company, which was a bare success in England, opened in Atlantic City (U.S.A.) on the 15th ult. The Company goes to New York in the spring and produces a new musical play, afterwards coming to Australia.

West’s Modern Marvel Company, which is about to tour Australia and New Zealand, will open their season here at His Majesty’s Theatre, in April next year. The Company includes colonial cinematograms and the Brescians Orchestral and Concert Company.

A new music hall has been erected at Manchester (England), at which two performances nightly are to be given. The prices of admission are probably the lowest in the world, viz., 2d for gallery patrons, and Is 6d for numbered and reserved stalls.

Air Arthur Greenaway, who arrived by the English mailboat, under engagement to Mr J. C. Williamson, is rehearsing with the dramatic company at Adelaide. He is accompanied by his wife (Aliss Ina Lawrence), and will make his first appearance with the company in Sydney.

Miss Tittel Brune will be seen here as the young Duke of Reichstadt in Rostand’s “L’Aiglon.” The whole drama is concerned with this son of Napoleon and the Archduchess Alarie Louise of Austria, and as the action takes place during the closing years of the pining eaglet’s life, the Alan of Destiny is necessarily exr-lud-ed from it, although he figures in a dream-vision.

Mr Beerbohm 'Tree’s “ Darling of the Gods ” Company was travelling in the Old Country, from Buxton to Yarmouth, when a luggage van was discovered to be on fire, and everything was absolutely consumed, including all the dresses necessary for the piece, a quantity of valuable armour and musical instruments which had been collected in Japan, and a quantity of private property belonging to members of the company, including a collection of souvenirs given to Air G. W. Anson while in Australia. The damage was estimated at £ 20(>o.

A man booked a seat in a Faris theatre the other day, and, having settled himself.quietly, took poison and expired. The question whether the crime was premeditated or was the result of witnessing the play does not appear to have been satisfactorily settled.

According to a London paper, Mr Percy Burton, who was assistant-mana-ger to the late Air Wilson Barrett . for the last tw’o years, and previously served Sir C. Wyndham and Miss Mary Aloore in a similar capacity, has been engaged by Sir Henry Irving for his farewell tours.

Sir Henry Irving’s plans for the remainder of the two years during which he intends to continue on the stage include a tour of Great Britain and Ireland ; and he has arranged for a final visit to America previous to his retirement in 1906. There is every hope that the eminent actor will be seen, for one season, at any rate, in London.

In an interview with Mr Charles Morton in the London “Daily Telegraph,” the veteran manager is reported to have said :—“Y’ariety people of merit are never out of an engagement. There are so many halls nowadays,” continues Air Morton, “not in this country only, but all over the civilised world, and entertainers will be continually making the round from city to city and town to town. The demand accounts for the high salaries the managers must pay.”

Says the latest “Era” : One of the Australian dancers, the twin Sisters Anderson, had a narrow escape on Thursday at the Afiddlesex. Suddenly, while dancing, her hair ignited and blazed away till it was extinguished. The cause of the trouble was a celluloid comb in the hair, which in some way or other began to burn. It is said that the electricity in the body will set these combs ablaze. Ihe lady had a narrow escape of being disfigured for life. The lady’s Australian friends will be pleased she got off so lightly. * -X- .u

Air Walter Pallant, chairman of the Gaiety Theatre Company, London, died last month at Birchington, near Margate. Mr Pallant, who made a fortune in the South African market before the Jameson Raid, suffered from chest trouble. He was unmarried, and was 46 years of age. Mr Pallant’s successor as chairman, of- the Gaiety Theatre Company will probably be Air George Daifee who is well-known to playgoers by his numerous , pieces, the most successful being “A Chinese Honeymoon.” This season he has twelve companies in the provinces.

According to the New Y’ork “Dramatic Alirror,” Julia Marlowe won, in Kingston, N.Y., in.suits brought against her by builders and workmen employed, in the construction of her Summer residence, Wild Acres,' in the Catskills.

A law-suit was brought against Sarah Bernhardt by a child actress ten years of. age, who had been engaged to play Madame Royale, the princess, in “Varennes,” but after rehearsing the part she merely came on in the crowd. As in the similar case in the English courts, against Mr Forbes Robertson, the child won her case. In its judgment, the Court of the Seine lays down that no one has a right to withdraw a role after ten rehearsals, even if there is no written contract, and if, as in the present instance,, another part is offered.

It is proposed that a bust of the late Mr Herbert Campbell should be placed, in the vestibule of Drury Lane Theatre. The scheme, it is reported, commends, itself greatly to the legion of the lamented comedian’s admirers. He found congenial scope for his comic abilities in the Christmas production at the National Theatre, and to perpetuate his memory with those who so heartily appreciated his truly British spirit of geniality and heartiness is a gracefuL thing to do.

Air George Musgrove has returned to Australia after his trip abroad. In thecourse of a Press interview he said : “I went away from Australia last Christmas, with the intention of going over the world to find something good enough to bring to Australia, and with the intention of remaining away until I did so. I first went to America, where I put in a most severe Winter. While there I saw r GO shows in two months, sometimes three places in one day. After seeing that lot I came to the conclusion that there were four pieces in America at least that were very fine. Then I went to London, and saw but one piece suitable to Australian audiences. I had a talk with Mr Beerbohm Tree and other leading managers, and they all complained of a dearth of good pieces, and asked me if I knew of any. 1 replied, ‘Yes ; go to America and see good pieces.’ There is an awful slump both in America and England in the theatrical business. Everybody is engaged in theatrical management and is losing money. The cause of it, as I did not hesitate to tell them, was simplybad plays and bad acting. Managers there make a star out of a chorus singer ; provided she is pretty and has a good figure, it does not matter what sort of an actress she is. Audiences the whole world over are the same, and they simply won’t stand it ; but give them something good and they will go to see it. Miss Stewart was with me in America, and agreed with me that three of the plays I selected there were certain of success. The reason why I got so many good actors and actresses is because of the slump there. We begin in Melbourne on October 8 with ‘Pretty Peggy,’ a beautiful historical piece, which we will produce just as it was in Loudon, with orchestra and 1 , everything.”

Mr George Edwardes, writing to MrWilliamson with regard to “The Duchess; of Dantzic,” which Air Williamson expects to produce during the next season of the Royal Comic Opera Company in Alclbourne, said : “I thought it the most perfect- piece I had ever offered to me. Nothing has ever, charmed me so much. But I am not sure that it will pay me, after all. ‘The Duchess’ cost £12,000 to produce. The most I cam make, if the house is full every night,, is £2OO a week over and above theweekly expense. You can easily figureout how long the opera must run beforeI begin to get my return.”

Air Tom Woottwell wrote from theEmpire Palaee, Johannesburg, to Mr Bob Bell, with a request that the letter should be handed to “The Referee” :— “You see I am sending from South Africa. They are all grumbling about bad times', but they do that in every country . I’ve’ been in. I don’t think times can be bad when they can pay 2s 6d to go into the gallery of a -musichall (that is the lowest price here); 2s. for a glass of lager, and Is 6d lowest price for a cigar in the hall bar ; yet everybody’s grumbling about bad' times. There are heaps of Australians out here, so what with them and thepeople out here from home I was pretty well-known on arrival. Am’ doing verywell. but the, town. is. full of dust. Y"ou can’t wear a decent suit of clothes.. The side-walks are not paved, and thereisn’t a road in the town payed, They’ve got no drains,- but ■ they ' are beginning-, to lay them,, so half the roads pre im. There are no electric trams here yet, only the old slow horse, so that you can walk as quick as you can ride. T f‘ you ever settle to come here have a big salary or don’t come.”

GEORGE STEPHENSON'S MUSICAL COMEDY COMPANY.

The following notice of “The Skirt Dancer/' the third production of Mr Stephenson's Company, is from, the Melbourne “ Argus The new musical comedy presented at the Princess’s Theatre, on Saturday night, was interesting for two reasons—return of plot to the stage and reappearance of Miss May Beatty in propia persona. As a stranger the plot, slight though it proved to be, was given a respectful welcome, but as regards the Jady the audience told her emphatically how infinitely they preferred her in buttercup and white, crowned by .a hat like a Summer rose-bed, to the sooty-faced, draggletail, or wickedly decollete circusrider. The characters in “ The Skirt Dancer are all dear and respected old friends, fredh from rechristening at the author’s font; and so is the modest, timid little story that plucks up enough courage to appear in the first act, but thereafter is completely swallowed up in rattling business; burlesque situations, and strenuous word-tossing that goes on at break-neck pace unceasingly to the end. Erank Mildmay, a manly young lieutenant; has fallen desperately in love w’+h Mabel, Sir Benjamin Mapleton's daughter, and as she is represented by Miss Garstang, small blame to him. His uncle, Captain Bunting, will not consent to ,the match, for the curious reason that Mabel’s father has made a fortune out of ** pills for palid people,” and still glories in 1 t( the shop.” The path of true love to Frafik Mildmay and his sweetheart seems nothing but a dark and rutty road, when Frank suddenly discovers that his uncle has been paying marked attention to a divinity, one Flo Carruthers, a skirt dancer at the Frivolity Theatre. With this venerable firearm pointed at him, Captain Bunting descends from his perch at once, and bestows a first-class blessing on the young couple. The exalted personage Captain Bunting is most afraid of is Lady Parkton, his sister, a tall and elegant member of the old nobility, with high-class voice, stony British stare, and characteristic rudeness to everyone not in her set. It is the old Btory of Captain Ed’ard Cuttie (?) and Mrs M'Stinger anew, only in high life. Lao jarkton has a son, one of those delightful idiots that constitute the ridgepole of musical farce. Lord Harry Parkton is only a variant of the row of noble lords that have gone before, but Mr M'Naughton succeeds in making him very entertaining, and sings a capital song dealing with the folly of old proverbs, vastly to the liking of the audience. May the day be far distant when the “ Lord Berties ” and “ Lord Gussies ” disappear from the stage. They have taken our “ Mr Merriman ” from us at Christmas ; should

“ Lord Noodle ” disappear the soul of the great theatre-going public will never be happy again. “Let learning, art, and commerce die, But leave, oh, leave us our comique nobility.” Mr Edward Lauri whirled through the part of Sir Benjamin Mapleton literally on his toes. He seems to skim the stage without touching it, and his movements are always full of grace, even when in the very whirlwind of his trickery. He has one clever duet with Miss Beatty, “ Puss and Bird,” in which he displays the remarkable agility one would naturally expect from a ravenous cat flirting round a canary's cage. Mr W. Bovis, as “ Teddy,” Captain Bunting’s tiger, is a good second to Mr Lauri. He laughs and collides himself through the piece. No man was ever cursed with such inability to see where he is going. At one time or other he bumps against every character on the stage, either going down himself or bringing them down —generally the former. A song with a clever laughing chorus redeems a good deal of his boisterous play, and he adds his share of commendable dancing. As Flo Carruthers, Miss Beatty is in her best form. She is quite a Romney picture in the first act, and a striking figure in crimson at one moment in the second. Her two solos were sung with an archness and feeling that made encores certain. Another well-played character in the earlier scenes is that of Mr F. Twitchen as Lieutenant Frank Mildmay, who was at his best in the “Go to Sea ” duet with Miss Garstang. Miss Ada Page, as Lady Parker, made a tall and distinguished figure, smartly dressed, and carried herself with dignity even under the most trying circumstances and distressful situations. Miss Alice 'Nixon is somewhat lost sight of in the cast. She appears only fitfully ; but, whether in shooting costume, armed with a fowlingpiece and carrying a brace of pheasants,

or in evening - gown, receiving the calf love of Lord Harry, she was a dainty little figure. A number of taking- ballets and specialty dancing by the Gibson girls and Rose quartette are sprinkled liberally throughout the comedy, and help to pass the time most pleasantly while the principals are changing or getting necessary breath-ing-space, as the speed of action and dialogue is at times astoundingly rapid. As a detective, Mr Roy Sydney is well placed, and Mr Lissant extracts all the humour possible from the role of a gorgeous, well-fed footman. Miss Ada Humphries makes of Lady Lilian a figure very closely resembling those drawn by Mr Charles Dana Gibson. The housemaids of the Misses Gollmick, Allen, White, and Bedford are not, unfortunately, met with off the stage. Did they exist in real life, they would be able to dictate terms to registry office keepers and mistresses. The deluge of rain that fell just as people were starting from their homes, of course, had its effect on the house, thinning it considerably, although the “let” was a splendid one. However, the piece was received enthusiastically by those who would not be denied their Saturday evening’s amusement.

THE LONDON SEASON.

Referring to the coming season a London critic writes, on August 12 :—Although the West End theatres are for the most part closed to the public, preparations for the coming season are being busily forwarded, and the middle of next month should find the majority of them in full swing again. At His Majesty’s, artists and stage carpenters are hurriedly getting ready for the autumn attraction—a grand revival of “ The Tempest.” Mr George Alexander, who has been roaming through Switzerland, will return to town this week and call his company together for the rehearsals of The Garden of Lies,” the first per-

formance of which is announced for September 3. At the Garrick Theatre Mr Henry Arthur Jones is personally conducting the rehearsals of his (as yet unnamed) play for Mr Arthur Bourchier, and at the Vaudeville Mr Seymour Hicks is at work with his company rehearsing the new ' comedy, “ The Catch of the Season,” the musical numbers of which are by Mr Cosmo Hamilton. The production is fixed for next month. Messrs Harrison and Maude have already had some rehearsals at the Haymarket of “‘ The Beauty and the Barge,” by Messrs W. W. Jacobs and Louis N. Parker, and these will be resumed on August 18 at the New Theatre, where the piece is due on the night of August 30. For the production of Mr J. Bernard Fagan’s “ The Prayer of the Sword,” at the Adelphi on September 17, Mr Oscar Asche will, without interfering with “ The Earl and the Girl,” begin rehearsals on August 15, and on the same date the company engaged to support the American actress, Miss Eleanor Robson, in Mr Israel Zangwill’s “ Merely Mary Ann,” to be produced early in September, begin work at the Duke of York’s. The Royalty will be' the first of the theatres to open the autumn season. The play is a comedy, entitled “ The Passing of a Dream,” by Mr Kennedy Cox ; it is a story of the present time, in three acts, and will be seen in or about the 25th instant. Mr Lewis Waller is motoring through the country previous to reopening at the Imperial with “ Miss Elizabeth’s Prisoner ” on September 1, and soon afterwards he will arrange rehearsals of his new play, “The Master of the King’s Company.” Miss Marie Tempest is at Aix-les-Bains, and will shortly return to London to prepare for her next season. Miss Ada Reeve will soon start rehearsals of “ Winnie Brooke, Widow,” for production at the Criterion early in September. The Court Theatre, which is being reconstructed and redecorated throughout, will restart operations on October 18, when a series of matinees will be given. Among the pro-

■ductions will be Professor Gilbert rav’s translation of “ The Hippolytus of Euripides ; Maeterlinck's “ Aglavame and Selysette ” (translated by Alfred Sutro) ; a new play by Bernard Shaw ; and the said Shaw’s “ Candida.” At Christmas the Court will have a fairy plav entitled “ Prunella ; or, Love in a Dutch Garden,” written by Messrs Granville Barker and Laurence Housman, and set to music by Mr Joseph Moorat. This will be played morning and evening. MiBarker will be general producer, and Mi J. E. Vedrenne general manager.

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN REVIVAL.

The “ Australasian,” of the 17th inst., has the following “An interesting correspondence in ‘ r lhe Argus from playgoers who are older than when they were vounger, and saw Gilbert and Sullivan in their first delightful freshness, has led Mr J. C. Williamson to give ‘ Patience ’ and * The Mikado ’ a trial, to discover if these praisers of a past time, will come forward and back their convictions to the tune of ss, 3s, and 2s a head in large enough numbers to repay the manage-, ment for its enterprise. ‘My Lady Molly ’ therefore was regretfully bowed off on Tuesday evening-, but it is to be hoped that we may see that charming opera again, for it had not even begun to get stale. In fact, the music bears a second or third hearing better than most. Miss Celia Ghiloni’s ‘ Trousseau ’ song in the second act was becoming more popular every night ; the lady has added much to her laurels by her Hester. Mr R. Roberts also scores in Lionel Brand. ‘ The Mikado ’ was produced at the matinee on Wednesday. ‘ Patience ’ will be produced this (Saturday) evening, Mr Howard Vernon in his original part of Reginald Bunthorne. It is ancient history that ‘ Patience ’ attacked and helped to kill the foolish aesthetic affectation, and as its satire was directed at a passing phase of fashion it might be thought that the vitality of the opera would die with it victim. But (it is not too much to say that as a comedy of manners, to say nothing of the exquisitely humorous quality of Sir Arthur Sullivan's music, ‘ Patience ’ is a piece that will live. The folly which it playfully lashes is perennial. The pose of culture is inherent as a human failing in those members of the ‘ cultured ’ classes, educated beyond their intelligence. The ‘aesthetes ’ are now replaced by the ‘ souls ’ in London society, who are almost identical, and their jargon is very much the same. ‘What a charming moment of exquisite colour,’ one ‘ soul ’ will exclaim on meeting another, and so on. ‘ Patience,’ therefore, ought to meet with a great success.”

That the public has become tired of the musical and dramatic non-sequitur business in the potless musical comedies of the recent past is evident by the way that all the playwrights are “ telling stories ” now for the stage. As an instance, the new play to be produced at the Vaudeville, by Mr Seymour Hicks and several other hands, “ The Catch of the Season,” is a comedy founded on the nursery story, “ Cinderella,” brought up-to-date. A curious revival in the cast is “Lord Dundreary,” played by Mr Sam Sothern, son of the original Dundreary. There is good precedent for thus introducing a favourite character a second time, °f or, of course, Shakespeare did it with Falstaff, but it is a novel idea for one author to annex a character by another.

The Brough Company, which is touring ;South Africa under the management of the Messrs Wheeler, opened a short season at the Opera House, Port Elizabeth, on August 8, with “ The Marriage of Kitty,” followed by “ The Duke of Killiecrankie ” and “ Mrs Dane’s Defence.” In addition to Mr and Mrs Robert Brough, the company included Miss Emma Temple, Miss Brenda Gibson, Miss Agness Miller, Mr and Mrs Reginald Dartrey, Messrs J. N. Mackay, Herbert Bentley and M. M‘Rae. * * * * The Frawley Co. have disbanded in South Africa. It says little for the public taste that this excellent combination should have met with such poor support. « * * * The famous Moody-Manners Opera Company shortly opens a season in South Africa. Amongst all our local managers is there not one enterpeising enough to bring the organisation on here ? says the Melbourne “ Sporting and Dramatic News."