THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1222, 2 September 1911, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

The World's a theatre; the Earth a stage.—lleywood.

(By Sylvius.)

J. and W, Tait's Activities, Ben Davies, who has b-en one of England's standard oratorical and ballad tenors for thirty years past, is to commence a tour ot' Australasia at Svdnev on September 23. After a brief tour of tho Australian cities he is to come to New Zealand. Tho Jlnddersfield IMlrinieis are to commence a tour of New Zealand a! the Garrison llall. llunedin, on October (i. ' _ Mr. Leonard Itonvick. the eminent English pianist, who has been earning golden opinions in Melbourne and Sydney, will give six recitals only in tho Dominion. Tho dates are:—Wellington, September 1-t- and 1G; Christchiirch, September 10 and 22; and Auckland, September 25 and 28. Edison on Moving Pictures. Mr. Edison's views on the probable development of the moving-picture theatre were recently stated in the London "Daily Telegraph." "Motion picture art," ho declared, "will eventually, if it has not already done so, supplement the art _of printing for the transmission and effusion of knowledge. It will be used for teaching many elementary subjects. What child, for example, has a very well-defin-ed idea of a foreign country or people merely from reading about them? For a child reading and study are generally irksome. . Now if geography were (aught by moving pictures, if foreign lands and cities were illustrated, if the topography and general characteristics were shown, tho habits aud demeanour of the people depicted, their occupation and methods of work visibly revealed, the child would have as clear an idea of everything as if tho original scenes wero viewed directly. . . . The development of tho moving picture in three veal's has been almost as great as the development of the stage, so far as technique is concerned, in three centuries. That development will continue. I believe that it will eventually be possiblo to make motion pictures stereoscopic so as to give tho thinl dimension. The experiments I havo made aud am still uialcing with the idea of combining them with the phonograph convince me that, this can bo done ill a way that will be startlingly realistic. Great actors and actresses have been able in their short lives to reach only a fraction of the public. If their gestures and words a.ro recorded by moving pictures and the phonograph tliey can be seen, heard, and appreciated by' every man, woman, and child in the country, not now, but for a hundred years to come."''

Not Very Gay Gordons. When travelling in Scotland year cr .two ago some members of "The Gay Gordons" Comic Opera Company were compelled to stay at a wayside inn on account of the leading hot-el accommodation being taken up by visitors to tho fair. On returning home after the performance they called for refreshments, and, after consuming one round at the counter, tliqy c.allcd Cor a "nightcap," comfortably seated themselves round the fire, and discussed "shop." After some time a burly Scotsman camo into the room, ta: down, and cost furtive glances at the actors. A ring of tho bell brought the proprietress with the "doch-an-dorrach," and She was asked a whispered inquiry concerning the interloper. "Oh! he's a' rieht,' the landlady, "that's only Jock, lie's waitill' to pit yo to bod.' "But wc shrill he quite capable of putting ourselves to "bed," replied the Thespians, with,indignation. "What's that?" said the astonished landlady. "I'hy-actors gncin to bed oil th&ir am feet? A\ec?l, what - s the wurrld coming tae, .Tock? Avo hairdo mony new-fangled ideas," said the lady, "but that beats a.'. An' ye ca yersel s Gay Gordons? Gang awa tae yer beds or A'll turn the lichts oot."

Mr. J. C. Williamson in New York. , Under the heading (amongst others!) of ; "Old Doctor Williamson of Australia." a i leading New York paper _ devotes three oolumns to an interview with that entrepreneur, who is pronounced "the licnon 1 theatrical manager in tho world, with a l fortune estimated conservatively at live i million dollars." The word "conservatively" is good, since (.he American scribe, ] as Sydney folk well know, would not ex- ( tract a liint from tho Australian visitor • as to his worldly possessions, brag being as remote from his custom as unnecessary talk. Indeed, Mr. AVilliamson began by steadily declining the request, "to give American managers a little good ad- 1 vice"—which was the opening move of the rash and unwary newspaper man. In | other directions the visitor s remarks upon his own Australian theatres, and ; the excellence of their productions, are such as might be reasonably expected. After 50 years' stage experience, Mr. AVilliamson still finds "giving playgoers what they want, and after that doing it in the best style that time and money can produce." is tho safe motto in theatrical management. He refers with prido to his artistic venture in connection with tho present Melba opera season, and declares that, at present the-iC arc not any dramatic authors of real importance in Australia, ■ This countrj is voung, and playwriting is generally the last of tho arts to be developed ill a nowly-scttled country. Mr. Williamson remarks tluit in this respect Australia is not more behind than was America, as he remembers it when acting at \Va.-la-k's theatre in the sixties. On the other hand, lie lauds the Australian stage as a great school for making capable artists, almost the only one in the world now left, he supposes. His own dramatic companies are all organised tor repertory work, and during the regular vcarlv contract of « weeks work guaranteed the actor ha= an opportunity ot playing, with reasonable leisure for study, eigiit or ten parts. Miss Florence I meson. Miss Florence Imeson, the lending lady of the "Gay Gordons" Comic Opera Company, which opens in Wellington this month under the Clarke anil Mcynell management, is a dainty artist who has made herself a favourite in Ausoralia. She has appeared in a long repertoire ot musical plavs, including flie Men) Widow," in which she apr;ared as . onia in South Africa. In the course of an interview Miss Imeson said: 1 dont quite know why I went on the stage, Jsuppose it was because I was brought up in the atmosohere, as my father owns several theatres in Yorkshire, tho principal one being in Ilarrcgate, my notne town. I went" to London to try my luck there, and I played some very good parts —Anita in 'Havana.' and Malita. m 'Tho King of Cadonia. Then X took Carrie Moore's part, Honor, m lom Jones,' when she came out here to iiUH 'The llerrv Widow.' Just bet ore I lett South Africa I played principal girl in 'Jack and the Beanstalk, with Ada Reeve as principal boy." "Silver Kinfl" Rcdivivus. "Mclb.," in tho ''Bulletin" writes:"The Silvet King" again! Original' Australian cast: Nellie Denver, Annie Mayor; Olive Skinner, Blanche Stammers; mlfrcd, Titheradge; .Taikes, Bay; Coqiubo, Redwood; Corker (Duke o£ New A ork), Phillips; Cripps. Leake; Ihe Spider, Garner; Baxter, Wliyle; Ware, Gates; tho Three Cronies, E. Marshall, Sefton, Daniels; Pottle, Iloskins. That cast was never equalled in London, though, possibly, it may have been in America. Silver King actors known to Australia have been Barie'.t, Titheradge.. Knight. Ilcdlcv. Bent ley. Plimmer. Inglis, \\. . Ifollowav; and of Jaikeses wo have had Dav. Hcskins. C. Holloway, Elton. Hodges, and Atholwood. Tho latest Mel- I bourne cast figures out betior than might | have been expected. Desmond ;breaks away from some of our traditions. Tither■id"e was the best. Barrett had petrified : by"the time he acted Denver in Australia. I remember having a lively argument i.-e----hinrl the scenes with Mr. and Mrs. Kignold, both of whom championed lhe Li"ht* o' London" against 'lhe Silver Kin®." Barrett, of course, had starred ill both plays in London, and in both ho ' had shown a gocd Saxon quality. In that respect ho compared well w-it.h the othor--5 wiso immeasurably superior Irving, who was always of the French school.

"The Guy Gordon-" Musical Comedy Company, which has bteu amusing Sydney for sDii'.e weeks past, are due in open in Wellington on■ Monday, September in. "The Gay Gordons" is one of -Mr. Seymour llicks's successes, and is raid to ho a bright specimen of the order to which it belongs. The Andersen Dramatic Company, which concludes its tour of Xov." Zealand iji: the Opera llou.-e (his evening, is disbanding. Tho memlKTs of I lit) company will return to Sydney on Friday next. Miss ISoatriee May, who is joining the Plimmcr-DennMon Company, left lor .Sydney yesterday. Lovers of George Bernard Hhav.'s works will be delighk-d to learn that the party of Shakespearean* to be brought down from .Auckland by .Mr. J. i". Montague at the end of the inoutli will probably give a reading of "Captain Conversion." Oscar Strau.-s's "Chovolnte Soldier," founded on George Ijernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man," was produced in Melbourne for the first time on Saturday last. The cast included: Mi?s Winifred O'Connor as Nadina, Tlita Presano as Aurelia, Mabel Graham as Masclia, Leslie Gaze as the Chocolate Soldier, Frank Wilson as Captain Mr.zeroti', Neil Fleming as Major Alexius Spiridnlf, and Albert Kavanagh as Colonel Popofi. Messrs. Gaze, Kavanagh, and I'leming have already played their parts in English productions. A dispute arose out of the engagement of non-union supernumeraries in conneotkn with the preparations for tile perlorinauce of "The Silver King" at tho Princess's Theatre. Six Mipers were employed, but tlirea members of the Australian Theatrical Employees' Federation refused to work with the other men. 'f'lio matter, however, was settled by tho engagement of unionists instead of nonunionists. A conference was held to discuss a log of wages and working conditions submitted by tho union, but tho proceedings were cf a friendly character.