THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 562, 17 July 1909, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

"The world's a theatre, tho earth a etago."— Heywood. ~ (By Bxlvibb.), "Tho Earth." l , This is the grandiloquent title of a play w which Miss Lena Ashwell has succeeded with in London. Rightly or wrongly .(says the "Review of Reviews"), persist in seeing in it a skit upon Harmsworth and the Daily Mail." ' As in "An Englishman's Home' tho audience always talk of Germans, so n,t the Kingsway no one speaks of Sir Felix Janion; it is always Harmsworth, Northcliffe, or Keimedy Jones. Half of "The Earth" is clever, a realistic portraiture, not much exaggerated, of the actual happenings in any, up-to-date -newspaper office. Tho i other half is unreal, stagey, libellous and fantastic. Lord Northcliffc "is not a 'and the suggestion 'that his counterpart of the first act could stop to the ineffable blackguardism of using information acquired as a host in order to ruin his guest, merely in order to defeat a Bill of Parliament, is preposterous. , Lord • Northcliffo would have scorned to" do' such a thing even to smash the Soap Trust—on which much advertising It is quite unthinkable that ho could even-have felt tempted to proceed to such infamy merely to defeat a' legislative proposal which would in nc- way have affected tho advertising revenue of "The Earth." / Thero is no attempt' to identify tho baronot proprietor editor of "The Earth" with Lord Northcliffe 'by the make-up of the actor. But the spirit of tho play is the spirit of Carmelite House, always" barring the blackmail excrescence. The keen,alertness of the chief director, the enthusiastic and, obedient devotion of the manager, tho telephone in every room, and even in the garden, the ruthless infliction of dismissal on those who.do not make the paper go, the immense circulation ? the series of related papers, the unsparing use of the gramophone' press, are all so characteristic, that the imputation of blackmailing practices to the journalistic hero jars upon us almost as if it were a personal libel. Of course everything is exaggerated for the purpose of canon ture.. 'But the caricature is not so extreme as to disguise- the .likeness. , In nothing is "The Earth" so true to : nature as when it represents the Napoleon of the Press on the morning of his victory over the sweating Bill. The art of forgetting the things'that are'past and pressing forward to/those that are before was surely never more effectively illustrated than when, on the-very day on"which the world is ring* ing with the announcement of his victory over'the Government, he cruelly silences the, jubilations of'his staff over a thing that is past, and summons then to listen to his new of an "Infants' Encyclopedia,' in which everything in the world is to be illustrated in colours and described in the five chief- languages of the; .world—English, French, German, Japanese, and Esperanto. This is Harmsworth all over, and a very great compliment ■ it is to the presiding genius of Carmelite Street. ..-•■• %•',

"Agnes.". ',■ , , , . I note the production of this play for two reasons: (1) Because it is the medium . by itfnch Miss Nance O'Neil, well-known , in New Zealand, has.shot into stardom in New, York, •■■ hinder the ■ management of the Shuberts, and:(2) the strength and novelty of its plot. Of the play, an authoritative New York journal 'says: - ' ' . 1 : "This play recalls the story of Enoch Arden. who returned after many years to find his wife married to another man. Herej however, everything hangs on a delicate operation performed by husband No. 2, a surgeon, on the brain of : husband No. .1, who has lost his memory after,! a shipwreck at sea. Agnes, goaded by an ambitious mother into marriage with a rich man-she does'not'love, weds her' former lover, medical student; • when sho .supposes. her' first husband dead. ; In time her new husband becomes a.famous surgeon, and one day. a man comes, to be treated. Agnes recognises her former'husband, but Jiehaa forgotten everything; ■ She beseeches her' husband (the surgeon) not to perform the operation that will restore the first husband s memory. Her prayers are unheeded, as.she beats frantically at.the d6ors of the room where '-. tho operation, is, going on. /When it is'overj th'e wifo confronts "the': surgeon. 'Yor know?.' sho gasps. , ''Does' bo know what he was before i"' The surgeon . shakos his head.. . 'He didn't live long- enough. Agnes, this is my first failure.! , ; ' _ '■■- s "Tho foregoing situation asstrong, and after, a rather feeble first act, the play holds tho interest -well '.to ~the end. Miss 0 Neil, as the melancholy heroine, exhibited once more all the merits and demerits of her acting. This actress, whose physical • and- general equipment ishould enable her_ to the greatest rojes, ■ is an extraordinary • combination of talent and mediocrity. . At 'moments she has flashes .'.of.-, positive genius, then she does 'something of which an amateur would hardly be guilty. With proper training Miss O'Neil might become one of the .finest emotional actresses on tho English-speaking stage, but at present her, work is marred by many crudities." ■ ■■ '.--• • , From Slxponny "Pops", to Grand Opera. ■ In an interesting chat with an Auckland "Herald" representative, Mr. John Fuller, sen., who has just purchased the Auckland Opera House, stated that if was jhis firms intention to continue 1 in the picture line, until the public showed they wanted'a change, : and then they would rovert to tho vaudeville business. The. picture line .was a better paying game than the vaudeville; thero wore not nearly so many expenses attached to it,' and there, was none- or tho trouble experienced in-performers failing to turn up, demanding higher salaries, and indulging.in other little peccadilloes peculiar to their craft. ■ Moreover, it had' been proved thai, in towns where vaudeville shows were ■ running, counter picture shows seriously cut into them.- Another reason was that there were no new artists coining on in Australia worthy of filling the .shoes of those who had 'come, conquered, and then had gone—to London, America, and other parts of the earth,''far away from Australasia. In Mr. Fuller's opinion,'vaudeville in Australia.had sunk to a very low-ebb, and the performers that/were obtainable were of a, very poor class. Tho public were sick' of fifth-rate singers and dancers, trick cyclists, patter comedians, jugglers, and contortionists What they wanted was.'something that would really keep them interested and amused, something that was genuinely of a clever and distinctive character. , It was a pity there were none coming on to take the places of. the performers of a few years ago. "We have now been in business 16.years, concluded Mr. Fuller. "Wo started with sixpenny pops; then commenced a bioraraa show, thence drifted into 'waxworks,' then vaudeville, and finally pictures. Who knows but that we may finish up with grand opera yet?". .. ~ | ■•;■" Another Disappointment. - Poor- New Zealand—the Tom Tiddler's "round! We did not see.Nat Goodwin, nor Wm. Collier—that'was long ago. Margaret Anglin .was denied us only a few months ago, and we had to put up with a poor makeshift.' And now we are not to seo Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton—the strongest dramatic double that has visited Australia for many years. What is the use of the managements agreeing that New Zealand for its population is the best show country jn tho world, when they will not consider their patrons'in the-Dominion to the extent of inserting.a clause in the agreement covering so many appearances in Isew Zealand. Thousands take their theatrical pleasures as, they come, but there is a wide circle of intellectual playgoers who-like to see tho best that is to bo seen within reason. And it is reason for a people so faithful to tho playhouse to ask for this much. It is no concession—it 'is aright.. . . His Body Drlvas Him. , Paul Cinqucvalli on Juno 30 was fifty years of age. In an interview ho snidfhe has tried tn retire twice, once'sixteen' years ago, and-again fivo years ago. But ho s,iys ; his body will not allow, him to retire. For thirty-eight years he has mastered his body, and it has been his slave. When ho stopped work sonic years ago he lost appetite and strength; he was sicl;,_yet.well. A doctor told him he was killing himself with retirement! A: month's work, and ho was well again. Dace more ho will try to rotao, Mid

he wonders if his body will allow him. ■ It is tno muscles, tho blood vessels, the nerves. If it woro not for tho nerves ho might be ablo to retire; but they demand tho stimulus of an. audience. Many of his strong feats he can hardly do at a rehearsal, but they'come naturally at a performance. ' The excitement of the audience watering him is a tonic to the nerves. His body has been trained to such" s> pitch that when ho is juggling with the cannon-ball, tho champagne bottle, and a, piece of paper tho muscles relax and become tense automatically, so thathe often, wonders if the articles are all of the same weight., As a young man. ho could play the piano with , the * left hand, write a letter from dictation with the right hand; ho could whistle a different tune to tho one ho was playing, and listen to a conversation. He rotires at midnight and rises at'six o'clock daily. Ho finda audiences different in each in cold, countries and warm in warmer climates. In tho latter his body does best work. ' Notes. Advice from Melbourne statos tjiat a meeting was held there to consider a proposal to establish a repertory theatre \m- Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. The Chief Justice (Sir John Maddon) presided. It was explained that an agreement could come into operation between the proposed Repertory Theatre Society and Mr. J. C, Williamson, when, £4000 had been subscribed towards the working expenses .of a six months' season. The. following resolution was carried unanimously: "That those present form themselves'into a Repertory lheatjo Society, with-the object of endeavouring to secure subscribers in Victoria towards the 'capital of £4000, which is required ia order to comply with the proposed agreement."' ( . . Amongst the artists who arrived in Melbourne this week with Oscar Ashe and Lily J3rayton aio Athol Fordo, Caleb Porter, Gerald Kay Souper,, Reginald lan Penny, Tripp Edgar, R. F. Anson, r-J. Fritz Russell, Charles A. Doran, Ewan. Brook, Arthur Tranton,. Elfrida Clement, Constance Robertson, Muriel Hutchinson, and, B. A. Meyer, manager. Tares and freights, alone for tho company on their, visit.to Australia meant a preliminary expenditure 'of £2000. They begin early, with pantomimes; and) tho preparation of "Aladdin,", to be produced in Melbourne next Christmas, is already in progress. Mr. . Coleman has modelled a couple of tho more important scenes,' Miss Jennie Brenan is planning the dances, and Mr. Gorard Coventry is searching England, America, and Europe for new effects. , '•..-'■ . \ ... -V There is quite a ran of Shakespearean revivals in Australia. • Next week will see in STdneV Miss Nellie Stewart playing '.'Rosa-, lind" in. "As You Like It, , ', and. Waltei Bentloy in "Hamlet," and at tho same time Oscar Asche and Lily' Brayton wffl. be appearing in *'Tho Taming of • tho Shrew -w Melbourne. . ' ' , . , ■.'.

The Julius Knight Company is due in New

Zealand next. month; . "An Englishman's Home" will be included in tho repertoire. •'■■■■■