THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1354, 3 February 1912, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

The World's a theatre; the Kiirtli a stage.- Ileywood. (liy Svf.viu.i.) Irving aj Louis XI. In "Ijouis XI," which is to follow the product ion of "Hamlet" on Tui"-<lay next, ■Mr. 11. 11. Irving has achieved one of hi.-, great successes, not only by rea-on of his possession of the versa! ilily Ilia I. Hie many-sided role of the tyrannical King demands, but also on account of his remarknhie vitality. For the part is one of the most strenuous that an actor could undertake, j.ouis XI rises from a .jijaking i|uorulousnrss lo the frenzied heights of rage and tnrror, which leave him weak and shaking and loitering, with decrepit steps. There is no more remarkable character on the stage to-day than this i|in or mixture ol malevolence, humour, l'anacicwm, and religious zeal. Tragic though (he role is, and nrcesvirily llie play, there is yet a strong element of hum.iur throughout by reason of the remarkable phases of Louis' character. He lias a keen sense of humour, and his biting philosophy sjKirkles with epigram, and what makes the audience smile is the easy transition which he make* from phase to phase. Whilst plotting and discussing a gruesome end for an enemy, lie pauses at the sound of tho Angeliis" Jiell to pray devoutly, and then resumes his sinister plotting*. Scarcely could an act unave a greater opportunity for (lie display of versatility, vitality, and nbililv tl.an the role of J/ouis XI affords. Ethel Irvinj. In, the course of n column "appreciation in the "Sydney Morning llcrald," 'A.M." says:— "Ltliel Irving will bo remembered here by all who have seen hor as a gnat ar'I s '' that many of the subtleties of her art have not- jmssed by uniliscerned and unhonoured. Indeed they have. It is th<" prico we pay for loi;;; years of stage medioei ity. both in plays and in players. It is also tho penalty inseparable from art. For art is not only long, but wide, and deep. Its inner core of treasure eludes even tho patient seeker to whom Life itself is a pursuit of it. It is by no means to be yielded to the casual wanderer within its borders. Probably not one person in fitly who have heard her can give any rational definition, for example, of the art which has pinnacled Madame Melba above all the singers of twenty years past. Not one in fifty, similarly, in tho audiences which have fallen within the spell of Ethel Irving could dissect tho charm of her way with them. Hut the magic of art has many facsts. The surface appeal of a lovely voice suffices for those, even, who are wholly ignorant of !iie subtlety of singing; and tho l-igh, distinctive, surface charm of lOthel Irving's acting establishes' her even with those who quite fail to catch the shooting lights of genius which are its inspiration mid impulse. From her sincerity all else (lows. For one thing, she h;is filled our stage 'or months past with the supreme acting rirtue of naturalness. It would be wrong to say that we had not already had gliii-pses of that refreshment of i-tage rc-l fulness. But they had been occasional, merely. They were submerged in I lie frivolity of comic entertainment, and the din of aggressive melodrama. These had long ago reduced the art of acting, as we know it, to poor affectation, and the stage to a house of valueless mumming. The glaring defects of our stage are two; it is a self-conscious stage, and it is a noisy stage. Its exponents claim that it gives what its patrons demand. Its patrons protest that they demand all that they have been taught by the stage to desire. That difference must Ijo patched up as it may, but it is clear, at any rale, that into the midst of tho nncuituro of our stage, and the half-know-ledge of our audicnccs, has descended with Ethel Irving an unfamiliar influence. It is the magic of true art. She is girt about with it. and from her as from every great artist the eternal freshness of art has conve dropping like a morning dew of invigoration.

Christmas in London Theatres. The London Christmas H?ason found pantomime installed at historic Drury Lane—"llop 0' My Thumb," with Mr. George Groves as chief comedian and Miss Daisy Dormer, well known at the "Halls," a.s principlo bov—and the Lyceum "Dick Whittingtwi." The attempt at Christmas production of something other than the conventional annual, which has been in evidence for a few years past, brings forward this year "Orpheus in the Underground"—a topical, adaptation of Oifenbach's opera, "Orplieo and Knfers" the eighth revival of "Peter Pan,'' and a second revival of "The Blue Bird." "Orpheus" is at Ilis Majesty's, where it has had the advantage of Beerbohm Trees assistance towards gorg<?ousness of mounting. For all that, criticism to hand rather dismisses it as so clieap in its appeal as to be no frt-.it advance. 011 the humours of pantomime proper. "Peter Pan"—and Pauline Chase—not forgetting the delightful Wendy of Hilda Trevelyan, is alwavs sure of its season; while "Tho Bluo Bird" will have 110 difficulty in surviving the six weeks allotted to it. A new and interesting Christmas revival is that of "A Message from Mars," with Mr. Charles Haw trey in his original character. For the rest, London theatres have most of their usual interest. "Bella Donna" at the St. James—J. B. Pagan's adaptation of the popular Uichens novel —is well served by Mrs. Patrick Campbell and .Sir George Alexander in tho leading parts. It has not pleased the critics as a play, but the acting, in particular that of Mrs. Campbell, is highly regarded. "Bunty Pulls the Strings" (bread Scotch) is a great success of the Ihavmarket, the new Sutro play—"The Perplexed Husband"— with Gorald du Maurier's help, seems to have outlived its original uncertainty. Bernard Shaw is in strong evidonoe with "Fanny's First I'lay," and "Man and Superman" in simultaneous running; Mario Tempest is persevering with Arnold Bennett's "The Honeymoon;" Cyril Maude has a new comedy, "Dad," at tho Playhouse; and Sir John Hare's return to tho stage at the Coined v with 1 "The Marionettes" is an outstanding interest, jrlie musical comedies runniiijj are; "The Quaker Girl," which has just pn.ssed its 400 th performance; "Tho Motisme," and "The Count of Tho farcecomedy, "Baby Mine," with Weedon Grossmith"ns its chief conspirator, has settled down into a long run; while "Peggy." the last Gaiety production, has just finished, as also has "The Chocolate Soldier," after eighteen months' possession of the l.yric Theatre.

"The Quaker Girl." "Tho Quaker wirl," prodncr-d for the iirj-l time in Australia on Saturday week, is I'snysi the Sydney "Telegraph") i an " other musical comedy— Ihree hours' bright trifling. levying no intellectual tax upon I he spectator, and neither inorc nor less amusing than scores of pieces of its class. Tho music, ably directod by Mr. Andrew MacCunu, proved fo be liprht and tuneful, without much variety, but with graceful effects for tho woodwind and strings, and the composer, Mr. Lionel Monckton, has followed the example of recent Continental writers in including a waltz air which is likely to be heard on barrel organs for some time to comc. Tho story is sumptuously mounted by the «l. C. Williamson management, and under Mr. Wybert-Starnford's direction this ranks amongst tho best-produced of tho musical comedies. For the tirst act there is a rural scene, in England, the village street, with its rustic bridge and old-fashioned gables, running to a pleasant distance and sloping green lulls, while in the foreground the cosy Chetjuurs Inn is laced by the Quaker meeting-house, beneath the grateful shade of a huge spreading tree. This picture, by iur. linanl, though inclined to tho photographic in detail, caught the eye at once by much artistic work. Mr. Ultie has designed a handsome interior lor the second act, which passes in Madame IMum's dressmaking establishment in Paris, and he has also secured a striking picture for the last scene, that ot a bait at Prince Carlo's palace, .whore brisk danciug proceeds in tho brilliantly-lighted grounds, while groups ot guests at the supper-tables in the spacious pavilion gaze upon the animated scene. From the rustic surroundings ot the earlier part of the comedy, where the stage is crowded with picturesque villagers ami Hie Quaker churns, in their severe!v simple brown g nlv white aprons, and caps, most ol the. principals arc whisked oif to I'aris, to plunge mlo a whirlwind of gaiety, and here the smart frocks of the customers and mannequins it Mad*me Blum's and tlie jorteoni tali

dresses ill' t In- palace will lie 1 ii!i 11 its (it iin 1 iiirliilKK in feminine eyes. 'Ilii' liiiiiiiurs it re carried nil' liy Miss I Hit mi'lii* llrmvii, who makes ii hit i'i|ii;il Id Hint ill "Dili 1 Miss dilibs." .Miss I' loreui e Vic. Mr, llerljn Wright, Mr. I.cslie Holliiihl, anil Mr. Fred Leslie. Miss Ivy Schilling anil .Mr. 1,c.-li<■ Holland inlm- • ilurr a viviil mill wonderful iluin'r, entitled "Till l Danse ilii Champagne." Nobility on the Stage. 'I'lii' l.iiiiiliiii stage is l.i-iii(j invailril by I'lii' nubility, perhaps in retaliation for tlif invasion ol the nobility by llii' sl.ige. Perhaps tho girls nl' Jielgravia ami Maylair ili'viili'il it was their only chance of ciipt urin;r I lie i;ilili'il youths of their mm set. Perhaps tliey wore merely bored, ami wanted In work for a i-li.-i ntri-. \\ hafc'HT il was. tinhit going on 11 if staje. of thi'iii go to tiio imiet.v Theatre, .so it ran lianlly lie a desire for anything serious. Tlio 'daiigliler nl Lady Sophie .Montgonioric, anil niece of Lord Hdrglington, is the latest "walking lady" of ran!;. Quito recently Miss J'lllaino Cecil, daughter of Uinl Montague uf Ilea ill leu, ami l.onl Christian Dangan, ton anil heir of Lord Cowley, joinoil the same company. •Most of those sprigs of the nobility get tlio laste in amateur theatricals. .Naturally Uio average stage manager is not averse lo taking them oil, if they arc al all presentable, if only for the sake of tlio friends who will come lo the theatre to see them. But it si-cms hard oil tin' tfii-Is who play for a living; tho ranks were already overcrowded. Also it may bo a little hard on tho public, lint most English pii-ls of pood birth liavp good looks to supplant it, fo tlio public may not suffer greatly. Together Anain, "(!. S. Tithorailge. as the bitterlv-eandid lllingworth—his old part—acts with tho delightful strength niul finish which characterised him of yore. W'it-.:hing him, you can sit back and revU in Hie sure touch of the artist—in his natural and unfaltering attention to the slightest details. -Mrs. ISrough, as .Mrs. Arbullinol—also her original role—plays up finely In her old associate, and cleverly maintains the tense atmosphere of tragedy in which the social recluse moves throughout, the play. The long anil rather wearisome appeal lo Gerald towards the end is cxcollenlly given. Beatrice Day, in a rod wig, is charming throughout as the irriftht, shallow and keen-witted Mrs. Allonby."— "Hullotin" on recent productim of "A Woman of No Importance," at the Palace Theatre, Sydney. W. W. Jacobs's charming comedy "Beauty and tho Jlarge" is to 1 a played through New Zealand shortly by a company organised by Mr. Allan Hamilton. The tour commences in Auckland on February Si, and the company will play in Wellington from March 111 to £6.