AN ACTOR INTERVIEWED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1053, 16 February 1911, Page 3

AN ACTOR INTERVIEWED.

THE THEATRE IN NEW ZEALAND. "Von finish this week?" "Well, to be a littlo - more - explicit," said llr.. Harry PJimmcr, of the FlimmerDenniston Company, "when we ring down to-morrow night (to-night) on 'A Message from Mars' our first tour of New Zealand will conio to an end." "And has it been successful?" "Oh, yes," this with emphasis. "A great success, when you consider that it is our first venture. Wu had to. start in nnd work hard. It has not Iwen by any nicans easy work, but it has been exceedingly grateful, and having seen what wo could do the'public has been more than generous. So far we have been' true to our ideals—only good wholesome comedies nave been placed' in our repertoire I leave you to judge —-' Lovers' Lane,' sound nnd sweet to the core; 'The Passing of the Third Floor Back,' a remarkable play with n purpose, and one of the greatest dramatic, successes in England jjifd America of the past three years; Ibe Message from Mars,' everlastingly popular evidently; and in Auckland we played 'The Sccoind Mrs.. Tauqueray,' and 'The Profligate,' both good productions of Pinero's excellent plays. They nave been played better than we could no them in tho past—but not so very much better." , ~ "Then you think New Zealand still has a public for good plays?" the interviewer asked. "Certainly—l've always said that a really good play had a greater chance of success in j\ T ew Zealand than in Australia. The surest lines of' theatrical endeavour in Australia are musical comedy and melodrama. This is well known and acted upon. That is why there are so tew companies playing high-grade comedy in Australia. Ovor here it is, I venturo to say, different. A', good play has a chance, and a good chance. 'I doubt if New Zealand is oa tho whole quite as good a show country as it was say eight or ten years ago. Then the small towns, in tho North Island particularly, seemed to ba on. a boom, and you could hardly go wrong if your show was all right. Still .we've no cause to complain. We've made good, Ithink, and made friends, and we hope to come cack some day with 'Smith'!" "Smith, who's he?" '

t "Oh, I beg your pardon—l'm saturating myself in Somerset Maughan's brilliant comedy 'Smith' at present, and I fancy everybody knows--as--much, about it as I do. We will play it later—it is a stronpr comedy that grips, one that deals with the I.'.;"" side of modern society of n sort with 'Smith'—just plain 'Smith' to symbolic tho other life. A great comedy—yorill.'sec!"..