THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1413, 13 April 1912, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

(Br Sylvius.) Tho World's a theatre; the Earth a stage.—Jlevuood. Cast of "The Blue Bird." flulr" CCa r *-'■ Williamson proCri£ri °'ri 110 Bh, ° Bir(1 " the Cr tenon I heat re, .Sydney, includes the fol owing:-. Maud Plunkett as Mummy j>l, I'redonck lieade as Daddy Tvl, ißilm Cremer as Tyltyl, Vera Spanll as tyl, Jj'ly Brough as tho Fairy Bervlune, Ldgar Higby as Bread, Lwan H, iT as *»«>> Kroert Hendrie as Tvl» r' ; lN °™ a » l ' a "° as Tvlette tho iitnn CTln<l -" as \\ ater, Llsie HamIton as Afillv, G. Dicksoii-Kpmvin as w.m ' Car ?"' e Uayley as Light, Harry Pri,r i ,al lf r , t,yl ' Amv Lamhorn as V ' iv il'lntosh as Night, A. h. U arburton as Time and the tfak. lie scenery IS by .Messrs. Joseph Ilarkei, telle Board, and W. Little. Mr. -Norman Pago produced the plav. The Byks dlrcctor is Jlr - 'Jackson "Dear Old Charlie" Gets It. ' audiences in London are not 1 nrnJi y in their disap--1 ?u-vn?i* ,l ,ut T wi t' ll n the past few days jwiota the London correspondent of tho hydney Morning Herald" on February i nLl K0 ? lays ,P ro <lMccd at West End treaties havo been booliooed. The erea,V,?lVit "IT record for London is not due to (ho sudden accession of anv marked degree-of the critical faculty' on the part of London playgoers, but to circumstances wjiich original!* lay outsido the m er1 1 l r ( ' e,ue, 'its of tho plays concerned. Alio later of the tiro disorderly demonstrations occurred cni Tuesday night U'obruary 20) at the Prince of Wales I heat re, when Mr. Charles Hawtrey, who !/V known in Australia, reproduced nii S ,ar ! ps * Brookfield's farce, "Dear UUI Charlie,-' which has been adapted from tho French of Labiche. When the curtain fell on the last act. there were boohoos, hoots, rat-calls, and (iiscordnnt notes from tin whistles. This resulted in a counter-demonstration of approve from another section of tho audiac)Som '' ill »«l by cries of "Author! Author! The hostile section responded with cries of "Censor! Censor!" t in humour of the situation lay in the tact that tho author and the consor (or, to v ?si ! the Examiner ot 1 laj's) are one and tho Name person. Mr. Hawtrey appeared beforo tho curtain, 2!li Ta ? K'T«t«d with shouts of "It's a filthy play!' "It's a disgusting show!" it was nearly five minutes before the noise died down sufficiently to enable Mr. Hawtrey to say a few words. He said it was considered courteous for a manager to come forward and say if an author was in the hnuso or not. In this case tho author was not. (Cries of "He is afraid. ) >,o, ho was not afraid. Poor Jlr. lirookfield was ill—he had suffered irom ung trouble for years. That was the sole reason he was not in the house. Air. Hawtrey, after thanking tho possossors of tho tin whistles for having reframed from informing on these instrutho end of the ploy, retired. VVhen Mr. Hawtrey announced his inreproduce the censor's farce, Dear Old Charlie/' considerable interest was aroused, and the play received a great deal of preliminary publicity, though not-of a favourable kind. It had ! been licensed many years ago when first produced, and therefore Mr. Urookfield as rensor had no control over its reproduc- ; tion. As author ho has 110 financial in- I terest in if, becauso the- Examiner of i Plays i s not allowed 1 to draw profits from • any theatre. The plot of the play is generally condemned by tho newspaper critics who witnessed tho first nicht's ' production. ''Tho Times" says:—"There realjy cannot bo two opinions about the cynical, shameless immorality that underlies the play—none tho. less cynical and ' shameless becauso it is conveyed by innuendo, by double meaning, by nods and winks, and, it must be added, by situations and conversations that are "often in themselves irresistibly droll." The "Dailv Chronicle." which has led the attack on Mr. Brookfield ns censor, describes tho play as "au cpen glorification of immorality." Pinero Play Hooted. Sir Arthur Pinero, who is regarded by many people as Liigiand's leading dramatist, had his latest play hooted by an unsympathetic gallery in London on Saturday night (February 17), says the London correspondent of tho "Sydney Morning Herald." Tho cause of the demonstration has not been made quite clear, but it is not difficult to form a iairly accurate opinion. Tho play, which is called "The '.Mind the Paint' Girl, is spoken of as a masterpiece of stage craft, but the subject it deals with Is regarded as of minor importance. The heroine is Lily Parradell, a musical comedy star, who niado her reputation with tho song, "Mind the Paint." wliich was so successful,'• that it travelled over the world in-phonographs and barrel organs. Mind tho paint! Mind tho paint!

MmcTthe paint! Mind the paint! A girl is not a sinner just'because she's not a saint, . But my heart shall hold you dearer, iou may come a little nearer, If you'Jl only mind the paint, mind the paint. ; Lily, who comes of very vulgar stock, is of somewhat coarse mould, but she is good, natured and honest- She is able' to ■ protect herself from the pitfalls of the life into which her success has thrown uer. She has two lovers, Captain Jeyes, r who has thrown up his military careor in. order to.be near her as a watchdog, and viscount Farncombe. In the strong SC t ne TM f fcll P which is in the third aot, Lily, the captain, and the viscount, e-ach emerge with flying colours from a compromising situation, and the play ends with Lily- consenting to adorn the j British peerage as the viscount's bride. I It is l not a problem play unless on© can] find a problem in the question, "Is the Gaiety girl a blessing to the natiou, or is she a menace to society?" But what was the reason of the hostile demonstration? It will be found in the spectacle of the legitimate stage, dealing in an offensive, patronising tone- with the musical* comedy stage, and the private lite oi. the musical comedy "girls" nnd their following. The character* included besides several of the "girls," a few sprigs of nobility, who take tlieni to supper and give them presents, a Jewish theatrical manager, and a dilapidated musical composer. It is not difficult to conceive, that some of the theatrical people in London connected with musical comedy had developed .1 good deal of hostility to tlie piny before it had got beyond rehearsal. Sir Arthur Pinero, who has been interviewed regarding the hostile demonstration, denies that lie has indulged in personalities in his plav, though ho admits that some people belie\e ho has done so. The demonstration against the play was pre-arranged, for according to Sir Arthur Pinero, the actors and actresses engaged in the performance felt that there wasn' hostile element 111 the pit and pallerv from the ven- lwgmn.ng, and, therefore, were mini: le to do themselves justice nt the first night, s performance. Since then the plav has beon allowed to go along undisturbed.

Genee (a Memory), "^T e L ,l f . e dislimns and smothers In i unes eternal grey ; f ai ? M&mory mothers. \Vhat shall we toll and say lo those unlucky others "Who have not seen Genee? A sunlight fountain flingin o * It's waters to the light? I he "beaded bubbles" springing From goblets 'deep ami bright? The sound of sleigh bells ringing Across tho frozen night? A foam-flecked sunbeam prancing Along some wavelet's line? Aye—add to that the glancing Of all tho beams that shine— The soul of sunlight (lancing In a bowl of amber wine! "A Slice of Life." Tho revival of "Cousin Kale" at tho Umpire Theatre, New York, was followed by u new burlesque 011 (lie modern drama by J. iM. llarrie, untitled "A Slice of Life," which turned nut to bo a plav upon plays. "The Theatre" gives the following resume of the pint:—ll r. and Mrs. llypheufirown, n husband ::nd wife, have been deceiving each other nil their lives. Kach has withheld from the other an unbelievable past. Suspecting quite the contrary of ench other, they are finally forced In confess that even before they knew each other as husband and wife they have both lived absolutely moral lives. Their entire household is shaken to its foundations by tho revolution. Th«y would toll nui of Wait goiliji liici la e&sh other.,

but that Iho confession could only* bo accomplished ill stage "asiilvs"—spoken to tho audience—and "asides" aro forbidden in the modern drama. Mr. JlvpheuJirowii realises this as kccnlv as' .Mrs. j'J l>hen-Hrnwn, and, in Iho of despair, grief-stricken at Iho thought thai he has aluays been it virluous matt, althoiitjh his w if/j had credited him with a last, lie is forced to beg ul' Mi's. "llvphonJ| ro, vii the courtesy of a single "aside"— that, tie may turn to tile audience and express the awful suspicion that "all, is discovered; the blow- lias fallen." Once it is clearly understood between Mr. and -Mrs. Hyplien-Hrowii thai neither lias a past to reveal to the other, it is plain that either husband or wife must go away from hero. Mr. Hyphen-Urown is thoughtJul enough to inquire about tin* child, but Mrs. liyphen-Brown reminds him that there is 110 chihl. Neither is there time, nor opportunity, for the husband or wilo to supply themselves with a dark and unholy past; so a coin is to be tossed to decide whether Jlr. Hyphen-Brown or Mrs. Hyphen-lSrown will go nway from here. The coin is tossed by tho husband moment tli.it the wife cries "Heads"—with a right-hand gesture that would appropriate the coin. But Mr. Hyphen-Brown scornfully recaptures the coin, returns it to his pocket, and announces hat he will go out into the night'. If his life has not a past, it must have a present. Mrs. Hyphen-Brown is for the future tense, not tho past or tho present. "Let ns go together/' she savs, "out into the night." t Joke Towns,

Mr. W. S. Percy, the Australian comedian who scored such a success as the President of the Court in "The Girl in >r ii rn,n " Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, states it as a fact that there is only one town in each of the three Eastern States the mention of which will raise a laugh. Melbourne audiences will rock at a reference to Lai Lai, while Sydney playgoers will shriek at the reference to A\ oy AVoy, and in Brisbane audienccs are thrown into convulsions when a comedian says that tho one spot in the world for him is Humpy Bong! One might add to Mr. Percy's list by relating that Taihape is Wellington City's joke town, just as much as Oshkosh and Kalamnzoo is to the average American. "The New Sin." Mr. Basil Macdonald Hastings, the author of "Tho New Sin," which was produced at the Royalty Theatre, London, by .Messrs. Yadrenno and Eadie, is a daring man. I Jiis is the first play Mr. Hastings has written, and it was accepted within 24 hours after the typist had written "curlG HMHNSCript. t rhero are 110 women in my play," he said to ail "Express" representative*. "It: concerns seve.ii men only—an artist, a i dramatist, a draper's assistant, a Labour M.1., a London countv councillor, a money-lender, and a flat porter. "People tell me that the public will not .go to see a play without a woman in it. My reply is that the pubb'c wants good plays, and does not care whether the members of the cast wear trousers or petticoats. "My play will succeed if it is a gcod play, and it will fail dismally if it is bad, I believe in tho public opinion." "Nightbirds," the successor to "The Chocolate Soldier" at tho Lyric Theatre, London, is doing enormous business, and promises to equal if not exceed the record put up by the Straus comic opera. Ui'-o ot tho principal characters. Prince Urtoilsky, is represented by John AV. JJeveroll, who last was seen in Australia in the. production of "The Taking of tho Third Floor Back." "Nightbiriis" has beou secured for Australia by J. C. u minmson. T Trail of the Lonesome Pine," John Fox s popular American novel, has been dramatised by Mr. Eugeno Walters, the author of "Paid in Full." Tho new play was produced at the New Amsterdam theatre, New York, oil January 29.