DUNEDSN.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1247, 12 March 1914, Page 41

DUNEDSN.

(From Our Dunedin Correspondent.)

Mr. Dick Stewart, business manager, and Mr. John Farrell, touring manager of the New Comic Opera Company, who usuaTy remain in New Zealand after one Williamson tour is finished to take up the next, left for Australia with the members of the company on Monday last. Mr. Stewart will take the company through to Perth, where an eighteen-nights’ season will be played prior to opening at Adelaide at Easter. Brief visits will be paid to Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, thence Sydney, where rehearsals will be commenced of the new musical comedy “ Gipsy Love,” which will be included in the repertoire of the company for the next New Zealand tour. Mr. Dick Stewart and Mr. John Farrell will not return to New Zea-

land until the Pantomime Company is due in July next. The Kennedys, a musical combination from England, which has recently been touring in Australia, commenced a New Zealand tour at Invercargill last week and made good from the outset. The show is working its way north, and will be in Dunedin in the course of a week or two. The statement made in these notes recently that an American Musical Company, under Mr. William Anderson’s management, proposed touring New Zealand, has since been confirm ed by the arrival at the Bluff of the advance renresentative. The company is “The Grafters,” which has been playing with considerable success in Australia for some time. The Maoriland tour opens at Invercargill on Monday next, and the company will play north to Auckland. It is stated that “The Grafters” will open the new theatre in Wellington. That sweet-voiced vocalist, Madame Dolores, is once again with us and charming Dunedin audiences as of yore. There is no more popular artiste touring than Madame Dolores, and her recitals are always a treat. ;As usual, Madame is unaccomnanied. the on!y suonort being that afforded h y Irs de Cairos-Resro, the accompanist. Time has sat lightly on Madame, whose voice still possesses the rare clarity of tone. Two more concerts a~e to be given here before Dolores departs for the north. Mr. Wybert Stamford, the English producer, who was here last week with the New Comic Opera Company, proposes returning to England this year. He has had some years out in Australia with brief trips to London to see new productions. In a brief chat the other evening, Mr. Stamford eulogised Australians for the active interest they took in their work and their remarkable adaptabflitv for anything connected with the stage. The

Australian children pleased the English producer immensely. “No where in the world,” he said, “would you get the same results with less effort than in Australia. The children are wonderful-” The Austra’ian produc- , tions compare more than favourably 'with the English. The only difference is that plays are put on on a larger scale in London, where they have larger theatres. Musically the Australian musical comedy is as good as the English and the Austra iaa choruses take a power of beating. It is only when it comes to carrying clothes that the Australian chj.u-; suffers in comparison with the English. The English girls have better opportunities of seeing how clothes should be worn than her Australian sister, but there are many girls on the Australian stage to-day who would hold their own with the best in England.