ANOTHER COMES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 811, 7 May 1910, Page 6

ANOTHER COMES.

m THE TrTKATTUOAL FIBMAMEOT, - "THE WEB OF. FATE.* Halley*s is. not . the ..only comefi that is to attract public- attention daring the next few days; Mr.' Edmund Montgomery, a man of ideas and high" ideals, having a .firm conviction that New Zealand should not be backward even in the matter of comets has exerted his necromantic powers in such a way that even in celestial the Dominion''shall 'not * lag " behind. Mr. Montgomery, whose name is veil known under the Southern Cross, has arranged that his comet is to illuminate the theatrical firmament, which is perhaps of more immediate interest to many people than Halley's comet, Some twenty million miles away. It will take the form of the productka on on elaborate, scale of a.new melodrama', entitled "The Web of .-.,' Fate,", in connection with which, fate baa played no unimportant part; but that. is another story. It will nave many, points to commend it to the. public attention. The play was. .written in New Zealand, the company was formed in Wellington, and all the.scenery .and effects are being made in this cityj' which speaks' volumes .for, ".. Mr. . Montgomery's pluck-and enterprise. (i A ic DoraMQH'J>represeritativo, - carious to learn- something of the l oreatire process in respect to the production of the drama, visited Mr. Montgomery't studio in Brooklyn yesterday. There, in a maze of "wings," ."borders,* "back-cloths," "ground rows," and "set pieces," he inhaled tie very aroma of the. drama in embryo. These, and a regiment of paint pots and litter of sketches, and. miniature models of scene, enabled' one .to- form a dim idea of the huge 'amount of work entailed in staging such a play as, "The Web of There the . reporter saw, a large frame built, the canvas stretched tightly across it and tacked down, then the whole white area was \ treated to a coat of sizej by. which time it wa» made ready for the scenic artist., Ha has to "paint big" to get his effects, and bis work viewed closely .looks crude and ' quite unconvincing, but draw away gradually to a distance of ■20 or 30ft. and- every splash and dab appears to take form and order, as pari of the complete stage picture .to ba represented. / ■ Nor .were the preparations restricted to the scenery and effects. Mr. Mont, gomery is supplying himself with a perfect acetylene light equipment, which will furnish an ideal flluminant for footlights, "limes," ground ; and border lights, so necessary 'for tie display of the scenery, and inadentally, the players who move in the little mimic world. , In another corner clever designs in cardboard were being defHy cut out, to display in an enfarely original manner the photographs of the company who will in due course play, -"The Web of Fate," which will be produced under the direction of Mr.' Frank Davenport. The drama is to ba produced at the Town HaD, Lower Hutt, on Monday evening next, and! at the Skating Kink Hall (between Hutt and Petone), on Tuesday evening. Then follows a tour through the district. The latest comet has two tails. Mr. Montgomery has realised that Brooklyn is not a place to bo neglected by showmen of experience, and has arranged to rive picture, song, and story entertainments in Fullford's HalL every ! Monday, Wednesday, ,-and Saturday, commencing ' next • week. This wiD 'enable the residents of Brooklyn to see an up-to-date picture-show without the inconvenience of a long walk and .the expense of tram fares.