THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 716, 15 January 1910, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

Tho World's a theatre; .the Earth a stage.—Hey wood. .. - (Br Sylvius.) "The King of Cadonia." On Saturday, January 29, at tho Opera House, Mr. J. C. Williamson will introduce to Wellington his now Comic Opera Company, comprising over • 100 people. 'Tho King of Cadonia," the initial production, will bo played by. identically tho same cast as has obtained in the original productions in Melbourne and Sydney. Messrs. Herbert Clayton, Frank Greene, and Victor Princeareallncwto Wellington, whilst in Mr. Bert Gilbert, as the cranky Duko Alexis, great things in the high-class comedy vein-may bo expected. Of tho ladies, Miss Dorothy.Court, specially engaged, and late prima; donna with Mr. Gcorgo Edwardes's company in London, takes pride of place.. Miss Court has been described as a vivid, intense, earnest artist, a,charming singer, and a delightful and natural actress. Miss Lottie. Sargent, tho comedienno of tho company, has been on the stage since a child, and is a; piquant artist and a. fine dancer. Of tho opera it would appear that. Australian critics had exhausted their vocabularies of' praised Eefincd, delightful, dignified, and magnificent are amongst some of the ■ many opinions'.of. this charming opera. ; '..'•: This king with trio. democratic tendonciesxand the heir-presumptive,. tho duke, I with the horticultural leanings, and their relatives, and attendants, and court,. to : gcthcr with tho wonderful Apache dance should fill the theatre for Mr. J. C. Williamson for many', nights. Tho quietness, refinement, and musical 1 charm of the work, it is said, gain in effect as tho taste for it grows. The palate, faded: by, tho sparkle, glitter.'and spectacular brilliancy of tho variety' order of modern musical comedy, 'sighs with; delight at such 'delectable fare as "Tho King of Cadonia," which, whilo embracing all these, refines and poetises to a degree that leaves nothing but a glorious remembrance: of colour, light, beauty, sweet sounds, and dulcet melodies, mosaiced by deft, hands, the hearing and seeing of which ennoble and dignify. '■' -; Rostand's Barnyard Play; i • Now .at last (says, the -Paris correspondent, of the "Daily. Telegraph") we know- all about .."Chanticleer," oyer which the universe has puzzled on tho tenter-: hooks of curiosity for nine' years'. -The "Gil Bias" has lot the.cat—or. should we not say the cock?—out of tho bag. This is tho sj'nopsis of the;play:—-'. '■'- : ■-■ '■Act I.—The -barnyard. ■ Guitry,' the cock, lording it over.his harem of hens. Enter fluttering .with, a:' wound on' hpr wing, Madame Simone, the hen pheasant, and flies, to. Chanticleer., for .The ; cock is.enslaved. '\-. ■; ' \' '■■ Act,'2—A wood by night.' The cock, basely deserting bis hens and his.farmyard, elopes with ,tho,hen.pheasant.''But tho watchful owl has his eye open, 'sees 'the- guilty pair,, and- thereupon 'hatches' with .other night-birds a plot against the cock of.the walk:and.tho:cb-respon-,dent. . ■ ".' . ',-'•', - ; Act 3.—Tho hen pheasant,, enthroned as Madame Chantipleer, holds court. :-; : - As. for Act i, tho >"Gil. Bios"' confessos that it laiows nothing- 'iibout \it. Only, tho managers of the Porto; St. Matrin,' M3l. Herty and Jean Coquclin,: and M. Guitrynro ns yet acquainted with it,'besides, presumably, tho author; ..M. Hostand;;. ..-.-' - : -'- :■ '..:.■ .. - v -- Immediatoly after the plot, in point of interest, eomo tho dresses. They have cost all concerned- sleepless nights, and one 'of tho . theatro' managers lias. lost 171b. in avoirdupois: .Eostand; insists ■ upon realism. ' In?tho caso' of M. Guitry tho achiovenierit is not; an- easy oho. -Tho actor's build is massive,;-yet his. lower •limbs ought to look slender.:' The oniy way discovered' out of the, difficulty has been to build up M.Guitry's upper, porinto great ■ bulk and height .with 'padding, feathers,, a: gigantic coxcomb, arid so''on. Hia legs by contrast' will seem:' slim, even -though 'encased in tights and wenring .hugo spurs at .the Tieols. '■ ■ .;■ v " . ... , -.' •■';'. .';..'■-;' '.'.' Only M. ■; Guitry's nosoWill, .bo ~'converledinto a.beak..; At first. M. Eostand insisted that.tho ■ beak should cover-the eiitivo: faco, arid be moved by-a..string held .in• ono hand,' but M,-: Guitry struck.; ■His. mouth- accordingly -will not.'btf.' ,cov- r ered,.;aiid- lio will.bo able 'to: speak 1 his lines'without impediment: : iis it 1 is, had sonio difficulty in accastoming himself to spout verso without'a. gesture of his arms, which . are - iinprisoned beneath his'wings.. Ho has also, had a'hard time learning to strut like .a,.cede. -■. O .M. EostauQ insists that all his birds and beasts shall walk like-birds-arid beasts, and IT.. Galipiuix,.. for .instance, .who-,,is' to Tilay tho; magpie,':,is. assiduously learning to hop. :Ho hops'.down the Champs Elysees of. a.'» morning to, practise.': Besides; Chanticleer Guitry, tho only genuine : .Gallic, cock, a .rival - appears in the play.'' "An- Ainerican' Cock," ; described as a fearsome, beast, - is '■■ played by an-Australian-actor, Mr. >.Sidney.- The" two cocks-: fight after tho 'following: Homeric challenge, according to . the newspaper already mentioned:— . American Cock, "Ivatakoil Quoij Quoi, Quoi?" "'Gallic' Cock, , "Quoi, ; Quoi, Qnoi!" ': '■.',' .:'; : -,':■ ■''! ":';;■■': '~:■ Tho whole, when . verified, . will:. bo found-to-.bo a proper Alexandrine verse, containing twelve, syllables without-hia-tus or irregular-caesura. Tho'cock fight has alroady turned the stago manager's hair white, and not yet been completely '■■; worked out:.. Tho: difficulty . is to make the two cocks :prod each other realistically. Then there is the watchdog,' and for a -long : . time M.. Eostand. was troubled because the'dog-.was larger than tho cock. M. Jeau Coquelin is half a head or so shorter than. M. Guitry, and the latter, dressed up as ' the .cock, is considerably, bigger than, in ordinary clothes.' '■ But thero .was', no help ; fiy it, and the author'has agreed-to-lunip it. .The cock will have to.bo bigger than. tho watchdog. How the latter'.' should walk was another problem! ■ M. Eos-, tarid at first insisted ' that; M. Jeari; Coquclin should crawl on all'fours. He tried it: for a rehearsal: or; two,, and then said that power on earth could compel him to recito verse in,that position. ; Ho will tb'e'reforo bo.seen, in tho nttitudo of a poodlo begging ■ for sugar. Tho hen pheasant is, of course,'-.-Madame. Simone, now Madamo .Claude. CasimirPerier,; Sho is said to bo delighted with' her. part,' Her great sceno is.alovo. duet .with M. Guitry,. tho cock. ~ li.',. Irving I ] : .: ■ "■_'.;;,. ''.'. -;-'f--:-Mr. H.B. Irving .seems to bo:steadily .growing. - If nothing, happens' 1 to .bar his:progress, it will not be longibefore hoWill be generally the legitimate heir to liisf a trier's c position as head o£ the English stage. -Ho.will probably, advance more rapidly when ho escapes from the troublesomo- compari : 'sons, suggested by bis present identification with "some of his father's most famous parts. Just now ho'has. made ft great hit in a revival of "The;-Lyons Mail" in. tho London Queen's' Theatre. .The London "Times" (the Words, of course, ;ire not Mr.. Walklcy's) says: "Mr.- Irvine's performance last - night, when" for the second time ho.revived'tho play,, was. in-: tensely powerful,: and' moved tho whole .audience, and not only.':the pit and the gallery, ■ to a display of tho real old Lyceum feeling.- in .the last scene cs-' pecia-lly, when Dubosc is , watching,, the execution from his garret window, gloating with-bestial ferocity ' over the impending downfall, of the innocent Lesur:ques, till he is trapped and brought to bay like a beast in a cage, ho reached a high pitch of really fine acting.. The genius "of the son is at all events, tho' samo . as. that' of his father in this respect, that ho .turns what in the hands of many good actors would bo mere,melodrama into a vivid; and real- tragedy. The, distinction between tho. two charac-.-' ters .was" preserved throughout, w.itha'ut a flaw..looking at Mr. Irving's.face, first, as.the good Lesurques, and.then as the vile Dubosc,'it is almost terrible to think that the samo face, with practically no chango of makc-np, can show such extremes of virtue and vice.":.. Julius Knight in Sydnoy. " "The Corsican Brothers" did not provo tho success anticipated in Sydney, and tho company,;.headed'.by..''Julius. Knight, fell'.back upon' that, solid, stand-by, "A Eoyal.'Divorce;" until- a new production is ready. "Arms and the Man," that interesting philosophical, play by'.Bernard Shaw, was to havo been played, and was in--rehearsal, biithas now been sholvcd in favour of'u.new play, entitled "Tho Lioiv and tlio Mouse," which has hud a most successful career in America. In tai.i piny Cuarlos Klein deals -with a .subject very much before trio public to-day,

trie power-of wealth in America. There is almost daily evidence of tho formation of: huge trusts, and American literature has for the. past few. years treated with a pcrsislanco that denotes an unrelenting light for the people this sauio subject of tho 'misuse of the influence of 'iS?-i l? ri - When.-Eoosovclt was, at White Houso hisf vigorous .declarations against the malpractices'of' Wall" Street magnates becamo famous. In all this vital material there was a powerful drama, and Charles Klein was ono of the ■ .'l u ;5 ib }' 01 ' tho stn 3o- "Tho Lion and tho Mouse' made an immediate efiect upon New- York, by reason of its dramatic directness and its appeal to public.imagination. A financial tyrant was depicted penalising an upright judge, ami strong love interest was infused into the story when the son of the.magnate foil ..in .love with tho daughter of the man whoso unjust impeachment was being engineered. Threo unusually -fine acting; parts, were thus provided. In Sydney, those wiir.be allotted 'to Mr. Julius Knight (tho magnate), Mr. Lan»ford lurby (luVson), and Miss Kathorin Uoy (Shirley atossmoro). The cast, will also include Messrs Eeynolds Dcnniston, u 11 . At , llolw °,?<, Leslie Victor, Winter Hall, Sydney Stirling, Gcorgo Chalmers, Muses Susie Vauglian,: Alma Taughan, l'lorrio Glecson,.- Elsio Wilson.: Bessie Major, Henrietta Nash, .and Millie Lcmpriero. --.*■- A New Liglit Opera Artist'':'." ._ A new member - for the Boy'al Comic Opera Company arrived in Melbourne bv tho.Mooltaa last week,, in the'perwn of Mr Langford Kirby. Mr.; Kirby is the nephew, o Mr. Dion- Boucicault, who in tho past did so much 'to.raise the status of the Irish drama. -\ Starting his theatrical career atDrury Lane, ho played there all the year .round, alternating dramatic work with pantomime, in the latter'class of production on ono occasion playing ■with the late.Dan Lcno. His next move '.™? er aa i est .v's Theatre, to play in .the Eternal .City," with Beerbobni , I reo s company. At the conclusion of that season . he determined to throw in : bis lot.-mth: trio lyricvartists,, and was next' to be found playing the part of' Frank Brudenell in "Tho . Dairymaids," •' an America... While, there was • seen by Mr. J. A. E. Malohe, who on his, return to London recommended ,him to Mr. Geo. •Edwardcs.. The latter'wrote offering him' an engagement with."The Waltz Dream" Company, which ho accepted. .■'■ He has since played in that opera over and over again,- understudying Coyne in London, and talcing the principal iSaritone part on tour. Last May. he went to South Africa with,'a -Geo. Edwardcs '-.company, ■■" and played in "The Waltz Dream," "Havana," and "Our.Miss Gibbs." :. ': ;.' : A Newspaper Play. :• , "The IWth-Estate"-is-the title of: a' new and , successful-play .: written by Joseph M. Patterson and Harriott Ford, produced in New York on October (i last." Says the . .''Theatro Magazine":— Tho , newspaper' office, scenes, depicted with realistic effect; in '/Tho Fourth Estate," show certain aspects of nalism, .but it. is journalism as"- v yell6w as a quarantine flag.: Just howirVuck„tho normal playgoing.public is interested, in such exposures is,, problematical, 'and doubtless depends mainly, upon, the, sheer .dramatic interest' of: the ■•'particular piece offered and, thos'manner' of its presentation, irrespective, of ethical: balancb. or moral -This sort of. superficial appeal,, tho current play :at Wallaces . undoubtedly. .makes. t It -is,. however, unpleasant and unsympathetic to' a degree; and tho-.: fact:'.::that\ tho inconsistency and ."weakness: of, tho .intended hero not only, spoil his lovo story, but finally culminato' ■'.'•■in''' bis .suicide, . is damaging to his chances for'popularity. Wheeler Brand -is a ■ young .newspaper man,- who;believes in-writing tho. truth and taking' l a-high stand against corruption, of overy,'sort. This odd ■ propensity, .first costs him'" his: job,' and then. as suddenly raises him. to tho 'position of managing editor of,; the : paper, over tho head of tho';vory man.who'had been compelled to "firo" him as a concession to; a Federal Judgo commanding advertising patronage:. The . reason -for this. cha'ngo of policy is that Michael Nolan, the new proprietor'of, tho .paper, happens to havo a -personal grudge against: tho aforesaid magistrate. So; bo tells Brand to go as' far -as ho ..likes.-'-. Brand'., continues.'. to, hound,' tho Judge,' and'to ',shadow .him' personally- at dead of,; night, notwithstanding .':,'tho- fact,: that- .--the -corrupt Judge's daughter .is his Y own-' betrothed sweetheart. Haying '..caught- tho; Judge "with-the goodsi" Brand-proceeds to trap: I Uiin into paying -a:bribo of 10,000 dollars' as the'price of.silence. Of course this is .blackmail; but the newspaper is doing it in the. public interest, just ■;' to' expose |'corruption. - .Brand'- -has the story .all- in type, with a .flashlight .photograph of tho guilty. .Tndgo in tho act. of handing over ,tho bribo: money, and is'going to run ..it as a iirst-pago The Judge's daughter; hears, of-it,''rushes, down to the ;newspaper oifico at midnight,, just as tho; fatal.pago'is going to:press; and' begs her: lover, for., humanity's', sake,'- to-suppress tho awful;,story. For right's sako: (and his own personal glory -in., landing:: a '"scoop") 'Brand refuses.; Then "somebody finds Nolan,' tho proprietorr-who has been strangely, absent at this. crisis' in which." lie, .abovo all tho others, is interested— and ho orders the story, killed: Instead, tho desperate and disappointed managing editor . kills:, himself." His 'self-written, obituary. is flashed, on; the:final curtain, in a facsimile "news'special" of-brutal brevity.- ;':■■..;:'::;■:.,-"'■:'■'■ ' ■;'•■ .'.lf-this:;, sinister, and. cynical ; picture holds '.public'-' attention for; any length of time, -itwill bo thanks mainly, to'a :fine stage. setting, and-aV uniformly - adinirablo'. cast, is which tho principals are Charles Waldron (in. New. Zealand with "Tho Squaw Man") -as Brand, Charlcs.A. Stevenson as the Judge, Eobort M'Wadc, jun., as tho. deposed .. managing: editor, Thomas ■■ Findlay:' as: Nolan, Pauline ■ Frederick as .tho Judge's (laughter, and Alico Fischer as Nolan's wife.; -,