MR. H. B. IRVINHG'S SEASON.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1346, 25 January 1912, Page 2

MR. H. B. IRVINHG'S SEASON.

Although" there was' nil excellent doniiinil'for scuts at the , Dresden yesterday wheirlh" box plans wore opened for the ■first- m'x nights of Sir. .H. B. Irvinfe's production (if "Hamlet," which is to be. staged at the Opera House on Saturday night next, there are, it is stilted, plenty of spills in x contral positions which can be selected nt the Dresden from 9 .o'clock this morning. It will l>3 interesting to know that the demand for scats was not so large for the opening performances as for subsequent ones. One of the features' of Mr. lrving's conception nf Hamlet is said to 1)0 his keen sense of humonr that distinguishes the Bane, and makes him less melancholy than other exponents of the parts have made him. The Irving Hamlet, it is said, not infrequently smiles, and his manner, satirical ut times though it lie, illumines the gloom of the production like rays of sunshine. Needless to say, this interpretation of the part is much more acceptable than the goneral renderings, which have ■ been inclined to make Hamlet so moody and melancholy, as to be more of a creature of imagination—an emblem of sorrow—than a human being. . Mr, Irving, does not,regard it as sacrilege to depart from the traditional rendering of the works of the great dramatist in order to make them more enjoyable, interesting, and entertaining. But the spirit of .Shakespeasois retained: in every respect; and the lights and shades of the production are more pronounced. Miss-Dorothea Baird, is said to have completely captured Sydney audiences in tlie mad scenes, which are, it is stated, really plaintive, and not, as is customary, dragged out to wearying length. The scenery, mounting, and dressing of "Hamlet" is said to lifi'a feature of the production, which is staged under the general supervision of Mr. 'Irving. .If r. H. H. Irvinsr's provincial tour, .which terminates this evening at Palmerston North, lias proven Tomarkably •successful. Til New Plymouth, Eltham. : .and Wanganiii, so great way the demand for seats-that the wlxde. of,the theatre in each nf those centres w*as sold out entirety days nripr 'to tjit* night,, on which, the eompany was booked to appear." " This is stated'by the nianagemonfc tfl 1«? unprecedented in New Z«a-. /lnnrt'ls" theatrical, history. 'Mr. Trving 'and the other, members of his company :will arrive in "Wellington.'to-morrow by. :the Main Trunk express. '•..-' .. ..