ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1021, 10 January 1911, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

THEATRE ROYAL. . Messrs.tl'ulJcr and Sons needed no further evidence of the popularity of their vaudeville entertainments than the largo crowd that filled the Theatre Royal last evening. Bright and interesting, the prcgramme was an instantaneous success, and artists had to respond to encores. The. finest act of - the evening was that of Jules and„Marzon, ..the sensational athletes. • -'•Theso ' two-- are- strong men in every sense of the term, and, withal, their act is refreshingly original, 1 being in every way different from the ordinary * "strong-man" . act. An enthusiastic reception was accorded to Mr. ?ilf. Holt, a clover mimic, who made his re-appearance last evening. Ho imitated the bloi/ing of steam syrens of different boats in the Sydney Harbour ,the roaring of' a lion, and the sounds of various musical instruments willi realism. He was at his best, | perhaps, in an imitation of a dog light. Miss Oecilo Stephano sang "'Asleep 'Neath the l)ark Blue Wave," and as an encore, "Hoses," in a way that won for her the high appreciation of tiro largo audience. ' Mr. Bob Harper, a character specialist, was heard to .advantage in "Heroes of the Fire Brigade," and had to respond' to a well-merited encore. That charming duo, the Gibson Girls, fcong and danco/ artists, won the appreciation of the audience, their songs, "Herman" and "Why.Don't You Try!-" being particularly good. The Denos, a pair of clever comedians., appeared iu an original, sketch, "From Ireland to Scotland in Ten Seconds." Other artists whose "turns" were well received included Lily Hazel, Jessie Lee, Sim Howard, George Walton, Gus j Deno, Bob Woodland The Seyli'er Twins. HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. The star item on the new programme presented at .His Majesty's Tneatre last night was a film entitled "A Life for a Life," a picture the pathos of which stirred the large house as few screenings have had the power to do.. The story opened with a scene in a prisdn .call, where a toughened criminal was toying with a pet rat. A warder, glancing through tlu cell bars, notices tiio very evident enjoyment the prisoner is getting •.from--his pet,.and, opening the door, he catches the prisoner' in the act of hiding the rodent under his pillow. The warder throws it on the floor and kills it, whereupon the convict attacks liim violently, jaiul attempts to garrotte him. The result is an order for solitary confinement, and the prisoner is manacled and put away in a cell' liy ""himself until at length he is. visited by a clergyman, some ladies, and - a bright little girl toddler of five or six years. The .child sucooeds in touching the hardened criminal by a caress, where the stereotyped advice of elders had failed. The result is a plea for a chance to reclaim theconvict, and the maii is eventually'givcw a chance on parole." The influence of the little girl on the prisoner makes him take an interest in.life again. The climax is reached by a fire in'the house in which the child resides. The convict, seeing the imminent danger in whioh his little friend is, battles his way through smoke and flame and.rescues her. Tho final scene. depicts the child in a parox}*sm of grief., at ..the death-bed of her rescuer. The Adda River Rapids is a beautiful scenic study,, and the "Taking of Saragossa" is a! strong dramatic film, with a decided •military flavour, in which a maiden sacrifices her life to prevent her lover being blown, up. in a convent which is about to be'raided by the French army. "Jim the-Ranchman" is a humorous story of a .city clubman who is left a ranch in the wayback, and his' forceful management of !tho ranclrin spite'of the many difficulties!. "Carving in the Tyrol" gives an excellent idea of an, interesting industry! The programme will" be' repeated this-evening. -

KING'S THEATRE. ~ The now programme'which was screened at' the King's Theatre last night by the 'West's and Royal-,Pictures..Syndicate was received with enthusiasm by a.full house. The best scenic, subject. \was the Thames from Oxford downwards. The bright holiday aspects of life on tho royal river, as 'weir?hs" the noble', and<'.historic buildings of Oxford, Windsor, and Hampton were made to' seem 'Very' real and near. The programme 'Wis strong in dramatic films, such as those entitled : "Grandfather," "Clown and - Minstrel," and "Their .Child."' !■ Tho 'latter was a poignantly human story of a wife, - who is told .by her, husband' that "she has rnincd him by her. extravagance. To retrieve the situation she accepts a loan from an admirer,' and deceives her husband by telling him that' it i6-her uncle who'has been generous. When the husband effusively.thanks . the uncle, the truth comes out. , He takes -his little son, and is about to start for ft new country, but. the. boy .slips away from the .hotel .where his father has taken him, ,and returns to his mother. She repulses her admirer a'nd struggles against poverty, to earn a living for herself and the.boy, until tho latter, 'a--year- Jifter .the'separation, brings his parents together again. "Whiffle's Twin" is a story of the comic bewilderment that afflicts a respectable family owing to the close resemblance, between their shoemaker and! the suitor of the daughter of the house. The famous Red Indian romance of Pocahontas is told by means of a film,, in the making of which Costume, gesture, and setting have been -studied with a conscientious care. The "Australian Gazette" and the "Pathe Gazette" tomprise realistic glimpses of recent events in many lands. The programme will be repeated to-night. . 'STAR. PICTURES. St.' Thomas's Hall was filled to tho doors last night when the Star Pictures Proprietary, submitted their weekly change of programme. Host of tho pictures shown were excellent examples of kinematography, and there was no lack of. variety. The pictorial fare which was provided ranged from current events in the "Animated Gazette" to the historical episode. of the compact of ; Charles IX, from ladies; wrestling to, fishermen toiling for a living, from the pathetic story of "The Lighthouse-keeper's Daughter" to the : side-splittjng antics of , Mr. Punch. "Serious Sixteen" 'was a "comic" of an unusual type, the moclt-heroic, or ludicrous melodramatic, and it was thoroughly Successful. The same pictures will be screened to-night and fQllowing nights.

"THE LION. AND THE MOUSE.'" It was the triumphs' achieved in Aus-tralia-by Miss Margaret. Anglin which induced the J. C. U'illiamson management to send Mr. Harold Ashtou to America to engage Miss, Katheriiio ,Grey for" a tour' of the Commonwealth ' anil New Zealand. Miss Clrcy scorcd a distinct success, in her initial -appearance in Sydney as Shirley Rossmore in "The Lion and"- the Mouse," and it is stated that this and her subsequent triumphs in "The Third Degree" and "Paid in Full",, won for . her. the reputation, of being possibly tho- greatest emotional actress seen in -Australia since the days of Sarah Bernhardt. Jliss Grey is a Californian by. birth. . She began her theatrical career with Daly's at New York. Amonsst her triumphs are Marise Voysan ill "The Thief," with Mr. Kyrle Bellew as Richard-Voysan; the ingenue in "The Comforts of Home"; and Roxane io Mr. Richard Mansfield's Cyrano do Begerac.- Sho also , appeared in "Whirlpool" with Mr. Charles Waldron, who is at present a firm favourite in New York, and in "Wolfville" with Mr. Nat Goodwin. Miss , Grey, has' also been in management on her own behalf, having played, with great success, Bernard Shaw's plays at tho Lyceum Theatre, New York. Jliss Grey's/'leading man," who was engaged by Mr.' Williamson to take the place formerly occupied by Sir. Julius Knight in Australia, has a repertoire of over a hundred parts to his credit, including Marcus Supcrbus in "The Sign of the Cross." Napoleon in "A Royal Divorce," Charles II in "Sweet Nell of Old Drury." tho same part in "Sherlock Holmes," "Monsieur Beaucaire" and "The Prince Chap," D'Artagnan in "The Tlitcs Musketeers." and Paul Sylvainc in 'I.eah Kleschno." Fourteen nights only can l>e devoted to Jliss Grey's .Wellington season, but durin? that period sho will appear in four o'f her greatest productions. The season will be inaugurated on Wednesday, Januarv 18, with a production of "Tho Lion anil tho MouseV for five nights, which will be followed by "Tho Third Degree," five nights: "Paid in Full." two nights; and

"The Truth," two nights. The box plans will lie opened at the Dresden for the fivo of "The Lion and tho. Mouse" on. Friday morning nest.