THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1593, 9 November 1912, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

(Br SILVIUB.)

The World's a theatre;-the Earth a Btage.—Heywood. "The Turning Point." During the third week in September Sir George Alexander was in Pans to see "La Flambee," a -new drama by Henri Kistemaeckers, in whioh he was to appear at St; James's Theatre with Miss Bthel Irving on October 1. This play, which will be known as "The Turning Point," proved a decided success, a- cablegram to that effect having been sent to ■Mr.' Allan Hamilton last week by his London agent, who has purchased the ! Australian rights for that manager and Mr. Harry Plimmer. Sir George Alexander, having duly "read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested" the French manner of acting "La Flambee" ( The Singed One!"), hurried back to the rehearsals of "The Turning Point," but. not before stating how much he Was impressed by the subsidised theatres of France, with their lofty standard of taste, both educating the audience and .-digu"?,ing the stage. He maintains that England is equally ripe for a municipal theatre, and that the London CoUnty Council, with its municipal art schools, po ytechnics, even a school for waiters, should lead the way. Sir George suggests 'an extra I penny or so in the pound' as a. .thing that ratepayers would not object- to, smpo they willingly subscribe to the upkeep ol I municipal bands. The actor, who is himself on the London County Council, intends to urge the matter on his colleagues, and he seems confident that the commercial theatres will not surfer by it,.w*"st actors who love their, art will find in it constant, employment in presenting classic ;pieces. Bernhardt the Wonderful. | Madame Sarah Bernhardt, who has just I received a great birthday tribute from the English people, is still 'young-'-at Wf, as, according to the London critics, she demonstrated the, other day. in the extraordinary vitality-by her performance as Lucrece at the London Coliseum. , isno looked wonderfully young, the Chroni* cle" says. Accustomed though, she is to popular, applause, she seemed'.'for a mOr ment overwhelmed by the Volleys or cheering which greeted her on her first appearance, and again wrhen. she stfPfi*? before the curtain at the, close of _ the performance. During the engagement at the Coliseum, the celebrated actress will appear also in the second act of RaCmes "Phedfe," and in some of the scenes front Moreau's "Queen Elizabeth." It is stated that the sum paid to her is £igoo. a week, for this six weeks' season, and that she has been offered even more to appear in America. ... The Author and His Play. ,' On one occasion Mr. J. M. Barrie went to see his own play, "The Little Min-, ister," when an incident occurred which is characteristic of the-author, At the conclusion of the play, the manager i* formed the actress who was taking the, principal part that a gentleman wanted to see her. The actress' did not catch the name, and thought it was the representative of the iocnl paper desifin"- ,an -interview. When the, supposed newspaper man appeared she' did hot wait M .'a.» introduction, but :at once gave., of her career in order, to :get the.interview over, as quickly as possible. .'When she had rattled off a deal of miscellaneous information she said to the qiiieWpoking man: ■ ,„, , "I hope you are enjoying the play?" ' " "Oh, yes," he answered.' "Don't you think it is a pretty play?" askedtho actress. -.-. ' "Quite a. pretty play," was thfe.reply. "Did you see it when it was at the Haymarket?" .•'..'.-'• "Oh, yes, I saw quite a lot of it. I wrote it." '.'"'.' . .;..' Decline of-Acting. ;..,--H'---?\'-After his first appearance .on. Se'ptem ber 14 in.."The""Grealr^6hn'' Gantori" -at tho Aldwych Theatre, ''London, M}'V. ■Geoj'ge: Faivoett, a representative American,a:ctor, : : expressed himself more,in sorrow'■thah'-iii' anger;'on the decline'in the.art.of ■aotirig-:!.-"The demand for big '. acting has gone.. Picture theatres and that sort-of thing have. cultivated- a mental condition' different to:what it was. I believe iniaginar tion is being killed. There is a 'great mental change going on all over the world in politics, art, and everything else. When you see people painting stupidthingsiiko those Futurist pictures ' you. begin, to think—-What does this change"mean? I should not be surprised if the art of the theatre is going with it. The; trouble is to know now to, stop.it;-. I am :pessimistio about the matter, perhaps;, but one cannot help being so. I have'studied my art from .every angle. 'Sometimes I have, spent six'weeks ..studying the .psychology ;of a single scene. ■ I do jnot suppose the average member of the'- puhlic -knows 'how much we want to please;, and I think that a person who goes before the footlights and does gain the ap'ijlause hf the public has.\a very hajtSy ■■.■moment,. To go before the footlights,: and not; please -is . -worse' ! for us than for the public. Of course,. I do think it is a great pity that when a man has taken :to a phase of our' art. seriously, and studied it he cannot take a billet somewhere and continue to xporkat it .anddevelop it. If a man's mind grows, in this business'he naturally wants to do work which will stretch him out, but ho cannot always do so. Very often.he,has to play things—and possibly make money out of them—though he has,a- contempt for them. ■■,'•■'■ "It is more or ] less disappointirig,:'. be-, cause we.cannot''get the work we, want to do, and very often when we do get it they will not let. us play it as we Want to. The man who is an actonvalits to do things which are big. How often now* can yon go.to a theatre, arid come away at the end with that sense of .exaltation, which all, great acting produces? Ifofl may often see a performance which makes you say: 'That is a good photograth of life,' but it'lacks that lilt, that uplift, and you go away without that sense of. elevation. It is an easy thing to make the real seem real, but it is a most difficult thing to make the unreal seem real. 1 doubt if we have ever had any actor, who could completely, envelop the character of Macbeth, who could do it vitally and psychologically. To-day we are going further away than ever from the possibility of producing such a man. On the stage to-day a great, deal is. accepted as art which.'makes me ashamed." More Carrie Moore;Early in the New Year Miss Carrie ■ Moore will pay another visit to Wellington,, this time with' her own company, which she recently organised, in Australia, and with which she nas been touring.in New South Wales, with considerable 'sue* cess. Miss Moore opens, her Dominion tour on Monday at Auckland, .in the ooinediettiv "Chipps," which was written for tho late Willie EdoUin, and played by hiin in London for eight months at the Strand Theatre. Miss Moore's Wellington dates aro from January 16 to 24, the meanwhile she; will be making - a comprehensive tour of all the principal towns in the North Island. '• Miss Moore's Company numbers twelve,, and includes her sister Lily, and' Mr. Percy Clifton, late of tho "Arcadians." The tour of New Zealand, which will be under the direction of 'Mr.'Alf. Linley (who sd successfully directed the lour of "Tiny Town") will conclude iii Invereargill in February next, the company then crossing to Tasmania, Notes. A : big American circus is to pass through-Wellington in a week or two, en route from San .Francisco to Sydney, The circus is Coming' to Australia' under arrangement with Mr. Bud Atkinson, who was associated with Mr. J. D. Williams in tho erection of the Crystal Palace, Sydney. Tho performers include the Ten Martonis, a Cossack riding and'acrobatic troupe, the Four Katclus, Hungarian, rough riders, Ted M'Cloud (the lassoist), Johnnie Mullins (a rahchman who has figured for a long time in Selig's Wild West pictures), the Blanchetts (broncho "busters"), and Bert. Murphy (u'ho is said to be able to sing '-'to beat the band." Tho circus will visit Wellington next-year. The Christmas production in Sydney will be "Milestones," with Mr. Julius Knight in. tho principal, part, at tho Koyal, and "The Sunshine Girl," musical comedy, at Her Majesty's. In Melbourne, at Christmas, the attraction wilb be the production of "Antony and Cleopatra," by the Oscar Ascho company at the Theatre Koyal, and the "Puss in. Boots" pantomime, at Her Majesty's,