THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

" The world's a theatre, the earth a stage."— Heywood. (By Sylvius.) Theatrical Matters in Australia, Tho members of the company so abruptly disbanded by the death of the late Mr. Herbert Flemming have , (says our Sydney ■ correspondent) been gradually absorbed into other companies in Australia, with the notablo exception of Mr. Homewood, who is such a good actor that it was very much to be regretted that ho could not remain■in this part of the world. However, be has returned to England, where his talents have always found recognition.. Miss Beatrice Day, as is well known, has joined the Julius Knight Company as leading lady, and has been playing Mercia in "The Sign of tho Cross" in Sydney to the approval of the critics. Later ou she will appear as Josephine in "The Boyal Divorce." Miss Guildford Quin has also stopped from the-late Mr. FJemming's company into this one. Mr. Aubrey Mallalieu is in New Zealand under tho Williamson management, and now Mr. John F. Fordo and' Mr. W. J. Montgomery aro'to proceed next week to' Hobart ' as members of a company just organised by Mr. Harry Roberts for a tour of Australia, and probably New Zealand. ' This company will play "Struck Oil" (with Miss Maggie Moore as Lizzie Stofel), "The Prince Chap," "The Case of -'Rebellious Susan," "Tho Chinese Question" (in which Miss Maggie Moore will again appear), and other pieces. Mr. Walter Baker has joined the ranks of tho playwrights, and is to produce a piece he has written at Mr. William Anderson's King's Theatre in Melbourne. .-." It is a melodrama called "Sailor' Jack," said to be on the lines of "Harbour. Lights." Miss Frances Boss will'.be tho leading lady of the new company, '.which, will . include two w - ell-known New Zealanders, Miss Maggie Knight and Miss Kate Gair, formerly of Wellington, as well as Mr. Vivian Edwards, who played in "Brewster's Millions," and Messrs. -Bailey and Edmund Duggan (authors of."The Squatter's Daughter"). It is likely that Mr.' Anderson, who is to visit England in March next, wilt make arrangements for the production of "The-Squatter's Daughter" in London. Meanwhile, he is busy with a schemo for a new theatre' in Sydney. His . Melbourne . venture, the King's, has turned out extremely well, and proves that a home for melodrama is sure of a place, in a big city. Hence he proposes to repeat the. experiment here, and is considering half a dozen sites. So confident is ho that the, scheme will be carried out that he states that Sydney will have.its new theatre before tho end■: of the present year. It will- not be-before it is wanted, anyway; whether it is to he devoted to melodrama or not. "Sir Anthony." / After a long silenco Haddon Chambers, the Lqndonised Australian, dramatist, has conceived another play, not so good a play as his best, yet a good one. Says the London "Standard": —"Sir Anthony" is a play, p<-t of plot, but of character; it is , entirely natural; it contains no coincidences or stage devices. It is, within its limits, a bit of Life—with only just tho slight touch of ex-j aggeration necessary to a two hours' con-centration-of tho events of a longer period. "Sir Anthony" is a pleasant satire on "snobbery," from which, it seems, we are ■not.free from almost the highest to almost the lowest. Sir Anthony, does not appear in■'. the story.':'He; a little statesman and inferiorly notable; made a friend, of Clarence Chope, clerk at Bulger and Blount's, wholesale bacoii merchants, on board the Lucania-, which was taking them.to New York, whero Chope was to give evidence in some porkcuring case or other. In.his evidence, Chopo mentioned his friend, Sir Anthony—and after that had appeared in the. newspaper reports" Clarence was famous in..the.;south-east iJ ,o| London.' He returns to'England'ahdTlerne Hill, single eye-glassed and mannered, with the accent, and the deportment, of .the beau nlonde tempered;.by atavistic "gentility." But the dramatist is too artistic to'make him wholly a'"bounder." His deliglftfully'lowormiddle class mother, his, brick of a sister— the only non-snob iii the play—the simpering Olive, who is evo'ntually to ho his fiancee, adoro him more than ever. The local-Non-conformist minister and his baconic employer "run him" for all ho is worth.- There is only, one jealous and non-appreciative member of his circlo Mr. Robert Morrison, fellowclerk and amateur boxer, his rival for the affections .of <Sliss Olive-Bruton.-' He is distinctly snarling.and provocative. - Mr. Bulger,.his employer, who is; about ..to turn his.business into a limited-.- company, wants Sir Anthony'as chairman of directors;the Rev. Wilkin Delniar desires Sir Anthony to open his "sale of work," and Clarence writes to his "friend" on their behalf. He and his family are invited to the Bulger mansion in Balham—which, says Mrs. Chope, is so much more go-a'ead than 'Erne '111. We have a delightful scene in the Bulger conservatory—which is a deliciously Bulgerian conservatory. Mrs. Bulger is exquisitely Balham:' Sho is nouveau riche from curls to flounces. She is the perfect porcino . parvenue. This, the second act, is the gem of the piece. It is lifelike, and it is very funny. Chope is the hero of tho hour, but the moment of his fall is at hand. He routs the oily minister, who, after a vjsit to the house of Sir Anthony, thinks he has found him out; but.he is'beaten when Sir Anthony's letter, to Mr. Bulger arrives. Sir Anthony repudiates Clarence, and Mr. Robert Morrison triumphantly escorts Miss Bruton home in tho tram. In the last act, Clarence is himself again. He destroys his eye-glass, writes a "snorter" to Sir Anthony—who is' himself a snob and : has'treated his, protege with _ somewhat caddish. contumely—fights Morrison "off," brings Bulger to an admiring forgiveness,, Olive back to her allegiance, and Bob Morrison, whom he thrashes, to the old footing of friendship. This act is the weakest of tho three, and the end is tame, hut even here, by the description of the battle of. fists on the green hard, by, and the many touches of natural humour, Mr. Chambers maintains to a considerable extent tho interest of his play. The best work was done by Weedon Grossmith; and Nina Boucicault. Mr. Evelyn Beerbohm, a nephew of Mr. Tree's, made a promising first appearance. "Pirates" in London. "Pirates of Penzance," the popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera, was once moro revived at the Savoy Theatre, London, on December 1. Says tho London "Standard": "Perfectly rapturous receptions were given last, night -to the favourites, of the company —to Mr. C. H. Workman as the very pattorn of a modern major-general; to Mr. Henry A. Lytton as the'gentleman with tho skull and crossbones in his cap, whose ambition it is "to live and dio-a pirato king"; to charming Miss Jessie Rose, sweetest or Savoy lasses; and to Mr. Rutland Barrington, the-unctuous Sergeant of Police, who avers that, "take one consideration with another, a policeman's, lot is not a happy one. "Of theso principals—indeed, of all the members of tho present cast—only two, Mr. Harrington and Mr. Lytton, have played before in tho 'Pirates' at tho Savoy. Mr. Barrington last acted tho Sergeant shore exactly twenty years ago, and many must have revelled in recollections of his brilliant companions in that revival—Mr. George Grossmith, Mr. Richard Temple, Miss Goraldinc Ulmar, Miss Jcssio Bond, and Miss Rosina: Brandram. . » "Tho audience last night found tho performance delightful in every possible respect. Several of 'Sulliran's most sparkling;' numbers wore cheered-with such frantic enthusiasm that the action was literally "held up" until the irresistible demands for encores were complied with. Noticeably was this tho case with tho exquisite invocation, 'Hail,. Poetry, thou heaven-born maid!' Mr. Workman's 'Major-General' ditty, .rendered with amazing volubility, the policemen's rollicking 'Tarantare' chorus, and Mr. Barrington's roguish 'When a felon's not engaged in his employment.' Only two departures from the. thirty-year-old text were dotcctod: one a startling 'What Oh!' from the policemen, and the'other tho of King Edward's name for that of Queen Victoria'at the point where tho policemen conquer the pirates b.v'calling them to surrender in tho name of the King. Tho part

of Isabel, formerly played by-Misses Marion .; Hood, Geraldino TJlmar, and Isabel. Jay.,,was charmingly sung by a youthful;.newcomer, Miss Dorothy Court, and the tenor melodies : were pleasingly rendered:by Mr. Henry Horr. : bert. Thero were frautic calls for Mr. Gilbert at the end, but tho great librettist was : 'not in the house,' so Mr. Francois Cellier, the popular conductor, came in for a well- • deserved ovation in his Bteadi" - ; Notes. . -, Z-:,.; The' "Now .York Herald's" persistent car- . toonists have long ago'become famous for , their clever productions; eyofy Sunday, the week-end edition. Among "the- best-known characters which have been running- for years "Buster Brown and his Dog Tige" are perhaps the best known. "Buster" was : sta'ged long ago and proved quite a success.' The :dea has been followed up by'writing'a "smart comedy round "Fluffy.Ruffles."-: The. latest and greatest effort to place the-"Herald's" puppets on the stage is in -the comic opera-eum-pantomime (mnsic by Victor Herbert) entitled "Little Nemo in Slumberland." Miss Maud Thornton, the sprightly-little dancer of former has a leading part in " The'. Antelope," at the Waldorf Theatre. ' ■....;".:',■..':.:.:...: Miss Marie Lohr, the dramatic comet'.of the year, was engaged by Beerbohm.Treo for a Christmas play in London, entitled "Pinkie and the Fairies." . .•■■.'■■