THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 651, 30 October 1909, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

"The world's a theatre,,tho earth a stage. "- Hcywood.' ;■:':••'

i .' '•■ 'Br, SVLyiDB.t-.,.

A Season of Melodrama. A new Anderson Dramatic Company is to initiate a tour of New Zealand at tho Opera House on 'Wednesday evening next with "Walter Melville's melodrama: "Tho Great World (if London." If anyone wero asked what is tho most popular of theatrical entertainment in Australia, thero would be but one answer on tho part of he who knows—melodrama. Lam not so sure that this applies to Now Zealand-if it does, I am positive that tho craving for the lively incident that is usually associated with'popular melodrama is not nearly so clearly defined as in tho large cities across the Tasman Sea, whore a company plays for a twelvemonth at a time in one ■theatre and. then gn-es way probably to another company performing tho same type of play. New Zealand is just as fond of' light opera, musical comedy, romantic drama, and good comedy as it is of melodrama, and in that it may credit, as it denotes a liking tor something rather: less crudo than melodrama. Still not strong melodrama, with tho colour dabbed on in bright assertive patches, has,a following in this country,- and managers who havo exploited it in the past have, as a rulo, had little cause to complain of the patronage .accorded. Tho.productions of Mr.- Wm. Anderson are usually well up to' the mark both as regards scenery and those fearful and wonderful mechanical effects inseparable from melodrama, and,-if they make no great claims on art in its higher sense, amaze and enter-, tain by the flights' of. constructive imagination and the.daring innovations of their aut i hors --, 1 J ho ,', Groat World of, London" is described .frankly .as " a melodramatic sensation. It is said to bo packed with tense situations of a moving chaxactor, and the story embracing is one that makes a strong emotional appeal. Mr. Vivian Edwards, who plays-tho hero, ■;is a-young actor ..who has-had a good schooling in histrionics in Australasia, and is happy ma physique eminently adapted to such.parte., Tho leading lady is Miss Kate Gair (formerly. Miss katoWrigglesworth) who, at ono time, was a resident of Wellington. She has made considerable strides in ' her profession, and. her appearance next week will be regarded with no little interest bv many in Wellington. ■ ' ■'■■.■• .

„2. ur 'y? * ne season the companv will nln'v

G..8, Tiiheradse'on .Acting.

The name of, Mr., George, S. Tithoradge is well.known in. the theatrical world. It has been associated with three striking parts-Wil-fred Denver of "The Silver King''; Abbe Dubois, in A Village Priest"; and Aubrey Tan[Tho Second Mrs. Tanaueray." Because: of his .all-round excellence, an inquiry into his methods cannot fail to interest. Tho distinguished actor was questioned on the subject by a Sydney "Sunday Times" representative during Jus, waits" at a matinee performance of. .The Flag Lieutenant" at tho Theatre Royal. ■ > ■■~'.

■ You are generally regarded, Mr. Tithe-' radge,-as the. first to' introduce to the-Aus-tralian stage' 'natural acting.'," ' /; "In the first place/' he gave'answer, "there ■is no such thing as natural acting; The: most natural setting is really the most stagey'. No, it.is not a parados. What I.meauiis it is the most studied. The most effective;acting, how/ ever.is.the acting that, is apparently natural, but which is not really, natural. .Ono of the pest exponents-of this.school is Miss DorothyGnmston's mother (Mrs. Kendal). She is perfect m what we call the technique of dramatic art; and apparently is thb most natural actress in England. .'■ - '. ■li , h *d ,a lesson, while a young man', in the pitfalls that await the .actor who would" be natural. • I was playing an important ipart at .this tune of William in 'Black-Eyed Susan.' I .was.loaving England forthe'nrst;time, and was ■very much 'upset'-.and'nervous;" "T-'played the sceno where William-takes leave of his wife be'tween. decks. He is going.'to be hanged for striking a superior officer. I played that parting with real sobs and tears. Still, I could feel in niy. bones : that it was ineffective. And there.was the real thing!. As a matter of fact, all real human-emotion'lis'monotonous. That is why/ art is required;to mako' it suit the stage, and in doing actor has to allow of course, for the/ distancb he is; from the audience—to grt : 4t/bver~the;feotlights. so that it there appears, to be.natural.. Nowadays you frequently/find that .'actors :have got into a style known to theatrical slang as 'chucking it off their chests',? nnd.-ifypu say. to thoiu,:'Be natural,'. they//affect' a- lackadaisical 1 . -.. tono ' of; voice, giving, neither spirit: hor. moaning'•:to the .lines, they speak. .-' The apparently natural acting, on' the other.hand, is not only full of 'go,'' but it has light, and shade as' well. Thero •is a general idea 'that power is noise. Just as' in engineering text-book noise-, is defined as waste,energy,' so it-is in acting; There are some actors, who; if told to 'lift up' a scone, and by 'letting himself go,' is'all go, and that is just as ineffective, as being too tamo. The art of acting is to blend .these things, and it is impossible to .teach.it.; A man must know, intuitively, principally. by',' long experience, where.to pause...The,, whole/secret of acting.is summed up in 'where,to/pause.' Nothing is so .effective'as .pausing ..in.;.the right ; ,place. -It is a'imatter/of [timing it' to' tlio'.finest' point. "•■ A man who starts a speech'on a'/top/note under the impression that'.he is 'putting l go' in it-has nothing in reserve.'' ■'■ v l '- ...

'.'■ Mr. ..Titheradgo's attention was drawn to a deprecation by Ellen. Terry [in her "Eeminisccnees" of the contemptuous uso of the word "theatrical"'as/applied ,tp acting.: "Just as we say music ismusical," she argnes, "why should we hot say [what is of the theatre is theatricalf": - ■■■ ' ',- •... ' , "That is the whole trouble at Home," said Mr.'Tithorddge;."b\it; that is the tone of ipre--Talent criticism. :Here is a criticism.of' a new plav in the' London 'Daily Telegraph.' Listen to it:— '-■ ;[:»"■•"'-

,: "'No*one could venture ! to'.'say that its characters were real characters, or that its episodes' were - likely; episodes.'. Its: .coincidences were startling, the management of the plot'seemed to lead one along, fantastic paths. It never ■ struck, anyone for a single moment that what he or she was looking at-on the stage was a chapter of human: life, full of terrible significance for- flesh and blood, mortal creatures, with all their good and their evil, .their passions,. their, ambitions, and their sins. ■Nb.-.lt-'was.j'ust ,a good piece of stage work, .whose very artificiahtv, on some wonderful: fashion, got. hold of ns, worked on our feelings, captured'our sympathies. We never-imag-ined that tho .story told us by the dra-' matist could.actually occur in the future or might have occurred in/the past; but it was a most moving and most harrowing tale, and we enjoyed it; Yes. we enjoyed-it— and that,: perhaps, .is the greatest proof that we never imagined it to be real. For the cssehcer-or part of the , essence—of a good melodrama is that'it"shpuld;bea wellco'ncocted story, with all'its' episodes and incidents neatly, dovetailed into ,the plot. ;Its .relation, to. life .does not 1 .bothex us, because, unlike a drama proper, it need have n" relation to life.'

"Tbat.in more"or,less tho, same w.ords,:ha9 been tho criticism of three-fourths cf thepieccs produced of late, years in London," added 'the actor. ' "They say.it is machine-made, a theatrical piece,-and 1 say. what, is ..the raison "d'etre of tho theatre but theatricality? It was that which' attracted-In the old days, and it is that which attracts now in crude form, merely showing 1 that the public is still to bo captured by tho same thing, in a better form."

Who is the Fool? ■ '-'People who are rude sometimes'say to me," remarked Mr. W. S. -Percy- to .a -. "Sunday Times" representative during the week, "that they wonder'how'.'. I can' play the fool every night for a living. T asked'one of .these th 6 other day had ho seen roe,; and ho replied that he had been a, couple of times to "fhe King of Cadoriia,' and had laughed heartily, at the Duke. i'Now,;l argued with him that ho,was,' on Uis own showing I ,' a grcator fool than' 1, for I am paid a good salary lor my fooling every evening, whereas he pays to see me. If it weren't for the money I receive I wouldn't act the fool,-and'he, as a theatregoer, supplies the Wherewithal to-the management to make it profitable to ongago. comedians. It is logically cause arid effect—he the cause, tho fooling the effect; or, again, it .is supply and demand—ho is one who creates the demand, arid I rush'in with the supoly. I think 1 have made it quite clear that is not so silly as ho looks." .

A correspondent, writing to Sydney from Kensington (London), states that there is much to be said 'for.'Miss- Fanny Bauer, the Sydnoy soprauo.'whb has''been engaged 1 by Mr..J. C. Williamson for his Opera Company. for 'Australia. Tho writer heard Miss Bauer srng on many occasions, mid also when Mr. Williamson was presentand cngagedher. This-ybung singer has' bcensilently working her way to an excellent position in her profession, and, better still, ;has advanced: principally on her own merits.. She. is, said to bo able to converse quito' fluently in live languages. Her. voice is describeil'-ns ''of ;an extraordinary, beautiful quality."-; /.:-.;;; ; : . -;;' • ;'''. ■-." ".';•■'•..."' ■'