HIS MAJESTY’S,

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1064, 28 July 1910, Page 16

HIS MAJESTY’S,

“THE GIRL FROM RECTOR’S.” The Hugh J. Ward Comedy Company has been presenting “ The Girl from Rector’s” to excellent houses .nightly, and last evening the final production of this great fun-maker was witnessed by another delighted audi- ■ ence. Miss Grace Palotta as Route Sedane (the girl from Rector’s), enacts the role of the leading society belle, whose double life leads to many amusing situations, in an admirable manner, and her bright and merry laughter invests the comedy (with irrepressible humour. Mr. Hugh Ward scores heavily all through the piece with his quaint fun and clever interpretation of the part of Professor Aubrey Maboon. His facial expression alone is responsible for sending the audience into the merriest of moods, the learned and shocked professor, who is not a stranger to the double life himself, always being in the limelight when the most comical situations arise. Miss Celia Ghiloni (Mrs- Witherspoon Copley), Mr. Aubrey Mallalieu (Mr- Richard O’Shaughnessy), Mr. Reginald Wykeham (Colonel Tandy), Miss Ruby Baxter (Marcia Singleton), Mr. Robert Greig (Judge Caperton), Miss Maud Chetwynd (the maid) and Mr. H. H. Wallace (Deacon Wiggleford) were all seen to good effect in their respective characters, the combination keeping the fun at fever heat from the rise to the fall of the curtain. “ The Girl from Rector’s” undoubtedly takes rank as one of the most laughable comedies ever presented to an Auckland audience, and cannot fail to enjoy the greatest popularity wherever produced.

“THE FENCING MASTER.”

“ The Fencing Master,” which is to replace “ The Girl from Rector’s” tonight, is a new and exceptionally vigorous comedy-drama by Herbert Hall Winslow, which abounds in situations of a highly humorous nature, while running through the artisticallyconceived theme there is a delicate thread of beautiful pathos- The scheme of the play is entirely different from that of “ The Girl from Rector’s,” and should in consequence be particularly attractive, because the characters have been cast with that rare skill which is such a great contributory factor to the popularity of every play Mr. Ward produces. Each member of this brilliant company will fill a congenial part and impersonate a character affording ample scope for a display of their blithesome versatility, and at the same time give full strength to the gentler sentiment which is the spirit of the piece. The staging of the play is also on a lavish scale. As Mr. Ward’s present season closes on Saturday night there will only be three performances of “ The Fencing Master,” but, judging from the active booking, the production is attracting very great attention and promises to be a notable success.