THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 598, 28 August 1909, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

"Tho world's a theatre, the earth a'alaco."— Hoywood.

(Br Hrtvios.)

I . — Mr. Shaw and the Censor. Mr. Bernard Shaw has once moro come into conflict with the Licenser of Plays. His sketch, "Press Cuttings," has been banned by the Lord Chamberlain, but, unlike "Tho Showing Up of Blanco Posnet," it has not been wholly suppressed. It was performed last month at the Court Theatre by the Civic and Dramatic Guild. The trifle, it appears, has been condemned on tho grounds that it contains "personalities expressed or understood," although these, "Mr. Shaw contends, are of tho most innocent description. As tho London "Daily Telegraph", points out, it seems fairly probable that had two of the principal characters not borno tho significant names of General Mitchener and Mr.' Balsquith, it might,havb been allowed to pasß. The Licenser has, at anyrate, "an excellent precedent in the case of Sir William Gilbert's "The Happy Land," for 'ruling • that tho living presentment of well-known political on tho stage should be forbidden. General Mitchener is a bluff, muddle-headed, fire-eating officer, whose principal idea is to shoot anyone who hag an opinion which differs from his, and Mr. Balsquith, a Prime Minister who is always endeavouring to evade suffragettes. London is terrorised by the suffragettes, notwithstanding the fact that martial law has been proclaimed. In order to reach the War Office the Prime Minister has to put on women's clothes and chain himself to the soraper. General Mitchener has a great plan, which is expounded in an amusing dialogue between these two: Mitchener: Let me explain. The suffragettes are a very small b<idy, but they are numerous, enough to be troublesome—even dangerous—when they are all' concentrated in one place—say, in Parliament Square. But by making a two-mile radius and pushing them beyond it, you scatter their attack over a circular line twelve miles long. Just what Wellington would liavo done! Balsquitli: But the women won't go. Mitchener: Nonsense; they must go. : ' ; BalsquitlK They won't; ■' Mitchener: What does Sandstone say? , Balsquith: He says, Shoot them down. Mitchener: Of course. ,

fiakguith.vYou're not serious. r :Mitonen©r.: :I'm perfectly serious. But you can't • shoot them down ! Women, yon know I; MitchenSr: Yes, you can. _ Strange'as it may seem to you as a civilian, Balsquith, if yon point a riflo. at a woman and fire'it she will drop exactly as a', man drops;

Another laughable character is tho War Office charwoman, Mrs. Farrell. Mitchener's rough orderly is a well-meaning fellow, with a poor opinion of his officers. "The, sergeant's orders is. all right, but the officers don't know what, they re- talking about. Why, the 'orses know better sometimes!" This man at the end of the play is 'recommended for a commission, Mitchener saying, '.'You're too utterly incompetent to discharge. the duties of a sergeant; you are only fit to bo a lioutenant." Walter Bentley oh Elocution. Speaking on elocntion. at Sydney,on August 17, Mr. Walter Bentley, the actor, said that . this, /was; an age of specialism, but specialists sometimes grew rusty unless they asked . the assistance of those who had profited hy their specialism,,gone out.into' the wdrld, _and come back again with tales stored ■in their wallets, which they would fain unfold. 1 The 'English language was ii language of anomalies; - and' one ; of the things least understood was. tho term Elocution; . there would seem to be something mysterious about the word. "I. would try to,convince you that every human being should be an elocutionist," said Mr. Bentley, but he hastened to explain that ho did not mean for public use. The vocal organs made up probably'tho wonderful and beautiful instrument, as complex; as wonderful. VT am soTry to say that: I am not an instance of that beauty," "remarked the .lecturer,'.explaining that he was suffering from a bad cold. . ; Elocution might be\ ! defined as : simply "the 'graces of voice and! movement,':'! and hero followed a short neoessarily technical description of the different constituent parts of the vocal organ, with an explanation of the commercial, and scientific values of elocution. The neoessity for deliberate and conscientious study was emphasised ; the only way to. overcome the difficulties-, might be summed up. as study, study, study. All this was but the' means to an end,'to a knowledge of the elocutionary sentence,which might be de-as-"any-',number of words containing meaning." The importance of proper emphasis and appropriate, gesture was referred to.' Actidn : had to be consonant with speech, th,e movement'of the body and i: mind had to ;bW consonant,land if speech was riot: that it would .fail! to achieve success. ,

Cerard Coventry's Return. ; After a comprehensive tour of the world, Mr. Gerard Coventry has returned to Australia looking , "as fit as a fiddle," and ready 'to plunge into, work once more with his accustomed energy' and cohoentratioa.' During his holiday—which was a combination of business and pleasure—Mr. Coventry saw all :that was worth seeing.in. the way of theatrical attractions, both dramatic and lyrical, and_ ho has come back with the settled conviction that, in his particular branch of business, the rest of the' world has not' many points to give to Australia. In London the piece which pleased Mr. Coventry most was "Our Miss Gibbs" at. the Gaiety Theatre, and, in New York, he liked "The Climax." Both of'these plays have been secured for Australasia by J.. C. Williamson. ; .Of the pantomimes which he saw, Mr.. Coventry says that, though in the matter of a specialty here and there, or h particular,turn, the Old . World extravaganzas may be a . little bit ■ahead of-ours, yet as "tout ensembles"-they are not'.to bo compared with the last "Jack and Jill" pantomime, and Mr. Coventry is quite competent to judge, for he has visited ■not only Great Britain and the Continent, but also the United States,. which route he chose for ; his return journey. He will devote the greater part of his time now ,to preliminary preparations for the new J. C. Williamson pantomime—'"Aladdin,"—attending to the hundred and one details which have to be carefully thought out and arranged before the actual work of rehearsal begins.

An Interesting Matinee. ■ * • Ihe : "Robertson matinee," at St. James's (London), last month, in'compliment to Mrs Haslington .Russell (Miss Maud Robertson), the late Mr..T. W. Ilobeitson's only surviving child (cousin of Miss Dorothy Grimston, now in-. Australia), aroused scenes of "splendid and understandable enthusiasm," as the "Daily Chronicle" puts it. There was a grpat demand for seats,for this historic occasion; .when the chiefr event of the after'tfdbn was the performance of T.. W. Roberta's^.brilliant comedy "Caste," by a com,'pany almost. .entirely . comprised of actor maiiagers;aud star actresses. Mr. Georgp Alexander^,'in playing George d'Alroy, went back to' a part in which jho one ,of his,first successes; and the names of Miss Winifred Emery-as Esther, Jlr. Cyril Maude as Eccles, Mr. Frederick Kerr as Hawtree, Mr. Arthur Bourchier in the two-lino v part of Dixon, the valet, and Miss Marie Tempest in what is described as a remarkably successful interpretation of the rolo of Polly Eccles, sufficiently demonstrate tho excellence of this matinee'. Mrs. Haslington Russell, who played the proud Marquise de St. Maur, carried a bouquet presented by Sir Jollii' Hare. All the artists engaged in "Caste" were' summoned in. front of the footlights, a-nd heartily cheerixl;"and there was a pleasant little speech by Mr. George Alexander in.compliment to Sirs. Russell, who was tho, Esther on the occasion of his first appearance ill tho play. ,Sir' Herbert Tree appeared at tlio matinee in a monologue. Prime Minister and Actor. ' An interesting anniversary was celebrated on board the "China" on her voyage to.Eng-land-last July. Mr. Henry Kolker was a passenger, and, when the auspicious' date— the Glorious Fourth—arrived, ;a. dinner was given in honour of the occasion." Sir Joseph Ward, who was also, on board, delivered a fine, speech to the. toast of "Independence Day,", arid referred to Mr. Kolker as "a gentleman who had, within tho lastyear or two throughout Australia and. How Zealand,.

| most creditably upheld tho traditions of the I groat profession to which ho belonged." In response, Mr. Kolker dwelt upon the debt which America owed to England in the matter of literature, inspiration, and patriotism. Mr. Kolker, it will bo remembored, left his 'engagement with J. C. Wpamson in order to take tho loading role in a now drama by Eugene Walters in New York. Notes, . A new Pinero play, entitled "MidChaimel, is announced to be prodnoed by Mr. George Alexander at St. James's, London, on September 2. New plays by R. C. Carton and Cosmo Gordon Lennox have also been secured by Mr. Alexander:, Mr W Somerset Maugham will have a pieco entitled Smith ready for Mr. Charles Irohman at the Comedy next month, when Miss Marie Lolir will represent tho leading feminine character. < Miss Irene Dillon, formerly of the J C Williamson Company, is appearing in a now musical play, "The Yankee Mandarin," in Boston.' . Writing to Mr. Edwin Geacli from London last month, Mr. Frank Thornton, the wellknown comedian, says that things theatrically were never so bad as now, nor the outlook worse. Still there are some hopes of, improvement, as the spring season approaches. The Julius Knight-Beatrice Day Dramatio Company leave Sydney for Auckland lon Wednesday next.

j The I<ace at the Window," that melodramatic horror, lias been revived by Mr. William Anderson in Melbourne.

_ Louis Bradfield. once had . a somewhat trying experience while travelling with a theatrical company on a train, making a night journey by the shore of ono of the American rivers. Bradfield' was lying in his berth in the sleeping car,/thinking of the horror or the train running off tho lines into the water, when, all of a sudden, a'cold splash on his face made him jump up in alarm. Ho looked doWn at the floor of tho ° ar >, to his dismay, saw, that it was flooded, with water. A moment later he was drenched to tho skin. "We're lost," ho "We're in the river;' we're in tho river I "No, ear, we ain't," said the da-rkie porter. "They're just givin' the engine a drink, an' they swung the tube round over dis yar carriage. I, guess you're a little wet, sar, but dat's all.", .