KING’S THEATRE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1403, 15 March 1917, Page 34

KING’S THEATRE.

“THE COWARD.” The melodrama boom is in full swing under the Brandon-Cremer direction, and Saturday night saw another overflowing house when “The Coward,” an American-Indian military drama, was presented for the first time, and met with unmistakable signs of favour. The hero, Wallace Gray, alias Ralph Jordan, deserts from the army at a critical juncture and is branded as a coward, his enemies rejoicing in his downfall. Publicly disgraced by his father, who is a martinet for duty, he passes through many phases of degradation, but finally retrieves his honour by an heroic act in the defence of white women and children against the Indians. Mr. Maurice Tuohy, the central figure, won generous sympathy and applause from the audience as they attentively watched his transition from coward to hero. Mr. Edga Kenna earned a complimentary share of odium for his palpable villainy as the regimental doctor, who sacrificed humanity for his pet theories. Miss Kathleen Arnold, as the doctor’s delicate wife, marked her work with her usual care and earnestness. Mr. Kenneth Carlisle gave an excellent study of the part of an educated Indian with a sound belief in the hero. Mr. Frank Neil and Miss Biddy Hawthorne, as usual, furnished the light situations. “ARRAH-NA-POGUE.” On Saturday the Brandon-Cremer Dramatic Company will offer as a St. Patrick’s Day attraction Dion Boucicault’s well-known Irish drama “Arrah-Na-Pogue,” which has not been produced in this city for several years. As a dramatist, Boucicault did much excellent work, but it was in Irish drama that he made his reputation, and in “Arrah-Na-Pogue” his most marked success. The drama is founded on the robbery of a mail coach by a gang of rebels, the arrest of Arrah herself lor the crime, and the confession of the innocent Shaun the Post, who to shield his sweetheart takes upon himself the consequencess of the crime. Mr. Brandon-Cremer may be relied upon to give a faithful presentation of the drama, which will be interpreted by the full strength of the company, and will be mounted in a most complete manner.