THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1449, 25 May 1912, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

(Br Stlyiot.) The World's a theatre; tho Earth a 6tage.—Heywood. "Passers-by." "Passers-by," which is to bo staged by Miss Hilda Spong and Company at tho conclusion of the run of "Everywoman," is by lladdon Chambers, the Australian author. It is stated that over X'H0,()1!0 have been received by tho author in royalties, and the play 'is at present running in both England ami America. Its realistic plot and its comedy have conduced to its success on both sides of tho Atlantic. Human nature is human nature all the world over, and there is much of .it in "Passers-by." Of "Passers\,y," a recent New York "Jleralcl" says: "It now has to its credit one of the longest Now York runs, and one of the host records for attendance of any play produced this season. It is about as satisfying a comedy as anything typically human could be, and, as a production, it is an eloquent example of the joy that can 1» had from tho theatre when α-mny, perfect in its kind, is perfectly performed. "The Dandies." Edward Bnanscombo's bright little company of entertainers, who come forward as "The Dandies" are to commence a lengthy season in the Concert Chamber this evening. The style of entertainment they supply is closely allied to the very excellent style laid down by the Scarlet Troubadours (also a Branscombe venture), but rather inclined more to comedy. If their comedy business is as effective as the Troubadours, the show should suffice. However, lit is always good to see new faces in this clean refreshing style of entertainment now so much in vogue, and there is little doubt but "The Dandies" will make many friends during their sojourn at tho Town Hall. Sir. Leo do Chateau will manage on behalf of Sir. Branscombo.

Miss Margaret Cooper. Ono of tho several attractions which Messrs. J. and N. Tait are sending to New Zealand this year is Miss Margaret Cooper, the entertainer v.-ho commences in Wellington on July 12, who sings humorous songs at the piano. Miss Cooper's name in London is probably one of the best known in the music hails, nnd tho popularity which she has enjoyed for several years must bo gratifying to her, but, in a. recent interview in Melbourne, Miss Cooper say 3 that she hm> never been inoro delighted in all her life than at the conclusion of her remarkable three -weeks' season in Melbourne. Notes. Jules Verne's "Round the World in Eighty Days" is to be the subject of Herr Max Reinhardtfs principal spectacle for next winter at Beriin. The death occurred recently at Fulham, London, of Mr. Henry Trotere, tho composer of a number of popular songs, including "In Old Madrid," "Asthore," and "The Deathless Army." His first song was composed when lie was a band sergeant in the Army. For some years ho was director of the Fulham Theatre. "Bluo Bird" Effects. The original producer of "The Blue - Bird" in London must have been jus) as much of a genius in tho matter oi stage-craft as. Maeterlinck in pooiic drama. The vray in which the fairy plat is presented shows many touches of inspiration. The stage artist, has aimed at atmosphere, ..and this he has most successfully; created by beautiful lighting effects. Always there is poetic suggestion in the treatment of the scenes: The Land of Memory is a notable instance. It is approached by a inj'steriously lit forest, in which tho dance of the mists takes place. The dancers are mere filmy shadows and strangely ethereal. Then the mists are cleared away, apparently dissolving in the warm golden light in which the cottage of the dead grandparents is revealed. Again, in the Kingdom of tho Future, tho wonderful azure halls aro lighted with sky-blue, but move remarkable still is the fact that all W-e. shadows cast are cerulean. The'lighting' "plot" for the electrical staff has almost as much written in it as the play itself, and the directions cover 30 closely-typed pages of foolscap.

At Poverty Point. ■ Mr. Edmund Duggan, the Australian actor (and now manager), who helped to write "The Squatter's Daughter," has booh retailing some of h-s reminiscences in Sydney. One story is rather good. Many years ago Mr. IDuggau organised a company, and invaded Victoria one winter, with disastrous Tesults. ■At one town the exchequer was empty, and the stafcionmaster "franked" the party through to the next town. "Ah," says Mr. Dugpan, "tliose were the good old days! When they got to the placo, however, none of the local publicans would take them in. Word had been passed along that tho company was "broke." Duggan was playing "The Ticket of Leave Man, in which a lot of counterfeit bank notes are used. The resourceful manager rolled up a'.wad of these, and entering one of tho hotel bars said in a highly indignant voice: "I hear that you refuse to put the members of my company up because you think I'm broke. This roll of notes—pulling the wad from his walletis worth £m. If you don't want any of it, say so, and I'll go somewnere else. If you do, so much the less trouble. Anyway, let's have a drink!" H. A. Jones on Playwriting. Hsnry Arthur Jones, the author of many successful plays, has been discoursing on play-writing. In the course ot Ins interesting remarks, he says:— "I try to know my characters thorouguly bofove I make them talk and act; playwriting, in fact, demands more constructive power than any other art. Architecture is nine-tenths of dramatic composition, characterisation a':ul the' other eienients constituting the remaining ninetenths. Don't be alarmed; it requires fully eightcen-tenths to make a play. "The scenario I have found of great preliminary assistance; I generally carry it in my head, but when working always have beforo me an outline jolted down before the start is made cm a new act or scene. 'Lydia Giimore' has four acts^ '"Fourth acts arc the 'betes noires of the playwright. It takes mighty careful handling to make them successful. -Neither the English nor the American public, to-day cares much for the tragedy ot real life, "and has to he coaxed before even serious drama is accepted. You see, wo dramatists have ever liefiive us that bogey, 'the tired business man.' " The Morals of Carmen. Thus Madame Gerville-Resiche, a noted exponent of the role, discourses on the morals of •'Carmen." "Is Bizet's heroine a selhsh, treacherous, faithless creature? The majority of people think so. Sonic call her capricious; some only see in licr a moral pervert. I consider her as a perfectly frank, haisst, lovely, mid lovable young woman, with a morality and a point of view all her own, of course. "Xow remember that the loveliest pet cat is bound to strangle your pet canary without feeling any remorse for it; tho loveliest fox terrier will, if given a chance, break your pet cat's back, and the loveliest river may dro-.vu you unless you know how to swim.

"It's all a matter of point of view. If we imagine a middle-class Carmen, with a high school or college training, brought up in a set where regard I'nr other people's fceli'ngs and opinions generally regulates one's conduct, her actions could not be censured 100 severely.

"Even if Carmen liiul been born in a poor worl;ins;inan's homo, her behaviour, contrary to thc> current conventionalities, would appear rather Umthcsome. If we remember, linwcvcr, that she was a Ripty, noboily's cliilil* with I he complete lack ot principles and ethical beliefs characteristic of .ravin? tribes, that she had never bora tiuiiflit" the difference between good and bad," balweon what is moral and what is not, we can view her character from an entirely different: angle. "The wandering life of the gipsies being, in her estimation, the only life worth living, she cannot foci that .lose is sacrificing anything of import whoa lie forsakes his career, his homo, his bride, ami his family to follow her. She cannot feel any remorse when he is obliged to a.-.-nouite. with her shady companions. "A child of Nature, she does not reason, but follows her instincts, anil her instincts being those of a. healthy youn? animal, her )*> attachments into which 5118 neve; puts a particle of her sniil. After all, it i? .ill Jose's fault. He, the civilised man, has failed to reai-

ise that Carmen's love for him was a passing fancy, could not bo anything, in fact, but a parsing fancy. lie has a complex soul, which admits of duties, of responsibilities, which conceives faithfulness as a corollary of mutual love. She, the wild bird of the fields and forests, cannot linger with the. same lover any longer than her tribo would tarry in the same village. "She forsakes Jose for Escnmillo, without even a thought of there being something wrong in the act. She takes a new lover with the same case with which she pins n fresh rose in her dark hair. This implies no cruelty to the wiited flower. She breaks no moral law, since she knows nothing of our morality; she is, as I said before, a graceful young.animal without any devious ways or thoughts, blurting out her likes and dislikos, absolutely irresponsible, an elemental force that must not, and cannot, be judged by conventional standards, by the iron-bound rules of civilised communities. The visualisation and the interpretation of such a type is the most fascinating of artistic and psychological experiments."

Mr. Cyril Mackay, one of the most finished actors on the Australian stage, has severed his connection with J. C. Williamson, Ltd., and made his appearance under tho Anderson management in "While London Sleeps" in Sydney last Saturday evening. Many playgoers vnil remember his good work in "The Third Degree" and "Paid in Full" last year.