SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1359, 11 May 1916, Page 34

SOUTHERN STAGE NOTES.

(By

“Lorgnette.”)

WELLINGTON, May 9. The long-looked for season of the military drama “Under Fire” was inaugurated at the Grand Opera House this evening, and the first performance was witnessed by an audience that packed the theatre to the doors, many people having to be refused admission. “Under Fire” is from the pen of an American author, Roi Cooper Megrue, and is an ambitious

and strikingly successful effort to realise something of the widespread war, its thrill, its mechanism, and its horrors, upon the limited space of a theatre stage, and it is done with a success that is gratifying to all concerned in the production. “Under Fire” is wholly patriotic, and peculiarly suited to the air and attitude of the moment, and if the text is not particularly striking, the deeds and the denouement more than make up for the literary deficiences. The Germans who figure in the play are made to appear as vile as they have proved themselves. “Under Fire” indicates in significant fashion the terrible invasion of a peaceful country by troops foreign to its soil, the awe-inspiring march songs, the trumpet calls, the tramp of disciplined multitudes, the unscrupulous power of conquerors, and the heart-break they leave in their track. Finally, the action moves across the battlefield, pauses beneath the star-filled sky at “Trench 27,” and ultimately stops amidst the delirious ravings of

the wounded in a nave of a moon-lit cathedral, which is being used as a hospital. It is here, to the sound of distant music, that the curtain falls as the triumphant message from the front arrives stating that “The enemy is retreating, and Paris is saved.” The play is splendidly staged and acted, and the short season of seven nights ought to prove a phenomenal success, both from an artistic and financial standpoint. Mr. Robert Williamson, the touring representative of the “Under Fire” Company, leaves for Christchurch tomorrow night to complete arrangements for the South Island tour. It was originally intended that the military drama “Under Fire” would be played for an eight nights’ run in Wellington, but circumstances have occurred which have rendered it necessary to curtail the season one night. It has been decided that the company will visit three towns in the South Island, playing Dunedin from the 18th to the 22nd May; Timaru, the 23rd May; and Christchurch from the 24th to the 30th May. The projected return tour of the Julius Knight Company with a repertoire of old favourites has been abandoned for the present. The company return from Christchurch to Australia to finish the tour of “Under Fire,” after which it will be reorganised fpr seasons in Melbourne and Sydney, and will re-visit New Zealand later on in the year. The Fuller management contrive to maintain with remarkable success a bill of high-class vaudeville at His Majesty’s Theatre, and, judging by

the large audiences that nightly visit the theatre, the public are not slow to appreciate the efforts of the management. The Tivoli Follies open their Dominion tour at Auckland on July 10. The season will extend over seven nights. The combination will visit Wellington from August 2 to 9, and Christchurch from August 30 to September 5. The Wellington Amateur Operatic Society has engaged Miss Helen Gardiner, the well-known Dunedin amateur, to play the leading role in the coming production of the musical comedy “San Toy.” The society commence actual rehearsals this evening, and it has been decided to produce the musical play at the Grand Opera House on Saturday evening, August 12, for a season of seven nights. Mr. Baxter Buckley, the well-known pianist, has returned to Wellington from his trip to the Old Country. The Royal Strollers brought their 13 nights’ season at the Grand Opera

House to a close on Saturday evening. At each performance the seating capacity was taxed to its utmost, and on many occasions standing room was at a discount. Writing from Christchurch, Mr. W. A. Low, the popular manager, informs me that the Dominion tour of the Jess Willard-Jack Johnson fight picture has, from the very start, been a huge success. He hopes to let Auckland amusement lovers have the pleasure of seeing this fine picture in a few weeks’ time, having booked His Majesty’s Theatre for the occasion from June 3 to 10.