ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1726, 17 April 1913, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS.

' THEATRE ROYAL. The a(tractive programme .-if present or cupying the attention of vaudeville pa.trons at the Theatre Royal is exception; «lly blight and varied. "TheSeronaders avp.ii merry talented little company of entertainer.-;, excellent vocaliv. and smart in their comedy iiUMuejs. 'i he Uuvham.-. are n lower of .-lirnxth to the (imibin.i- ---; lion.. In bail' A.irlie and ( ampj bell -coiitvihtil'i a him Mini is well worth 'seeing. The liulv pert'ormer is pnrticui lavly talented iiml her piquant .-iiisrinsf "1 ! "Mr. <",'rocoili!o" i.» a serio-rouiic gem. ; "My.-to" niv-liEe.-, cl'n'crlv, and Murphy, ! the Yankee Juggler. is a laughable inek- I ' ster. New arti>ts are billed to appear, oil J Monday next. i JilS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. ' '■ "Our Navy" is the big feature anions - th" pictures in the programme being pre- ' sented this week at' His Majesty's Theatre. i It. shows a. series of. pictures of many ; types of war .vessels and more intimate .' .scenes of lifo in tin Navy. There is also •a very, good picture shown 'of H.M.S.. ; New ■ Zealand entering AYellington Har- ' bour, subsequently moving into Lambton ; Harlxuir, followed by a. ilag-fleckcrl fleet ;of smaller craft. This picture- is peculiarly appropriate at the present juncture. and is drawing large houses to the palatial theatre in C'ourteuay Place. "THE BLUE BIRD." "Have you-the grass here that sines, or the bird that js blue?" asks the good Fairy -Berylurie of the little children, Myty] and Tyltyl'. in Maeterlinck's fairy play. "The Blue Bird," which is to be staged at (ho Opera House for a brief season; (commencing on Saturday night next), by ,1. C. Williamson's company which numbers over 100 people. The children are, in reality, possessors of -fhe. magic treasures, but, like I lie rest of prosaic mortals, they do not know it. Vainly does the enchanted bird sing in I heir hearts. Tliev do not lieor it. And ?o, while happiness is there, within their own selves, tliey unconsciously lpavo the substance for the shadow, and set mit oa the. perilous finest.'in impossible regions. Such is the (heme of "The Blue Bird." the delightful old legend, which the author of "Pelleas and Melisande" has revived on the sta;;o, infusing into the story those elemc-.its of tender fantasy and hopeful mysticism which characterise his art. The importance of the coming production may tie judged from the circumstance.- that- the play contains uo fewer than eleven sets of scenery. There aro only live humans in the play—two children. their father and. mother, and a neighbour's little daughter. The rest of the cast is made ,uo of trees, animals, elements, and so oti, such as fire, water, fight, bread, night, (he oak, (ho sheep, and cold-in-the-head. Water is "a. young girl, streaming, dishevelled, and tearful." Milk, who appears from a milk-jug, is "a toll bashful figure," who seems to bo afraid of everything. Cold-in-the-Head is "a little girl sneezing, coughing, and blowing her nose," and so on. It is stated that great interest has been aroused amongst scholars over the prizes offered by (he J. C. Williamson, Ltd., management for the best essays .oil "The Blue Bird," and thero will bo keen .competition for the various prizes which are for scholars over 1.6 years of age, <£3 35.; over 12 and under. 16, £2 25.; and under 12 years, .-Gt Is. The plans aro now on view at the Dresden for the first six nights and for tho initial matinee performance which happens on Wednesday. The company will reach"Wellington by special train.

THE NEW THEATRE. A sensational circus drama, "The Bridge of Life," will head the change of programme to-day at the New Theatre continuous pictures. The story deals with the. experiences of n circus proprietor who is jealous of his wife's interest iu ono of his employees. Tho last-mentioned, unknown to tho husband, is the wife's brother, and is an ox-convict. The circus proprietor release.'! a bear from one of the csges, and it atlaeks the ex-convict. His sister and her little'child effect their escape winder exciting circumstances. The. minor films will include "Tho Red Stain" (Itolhmlish drams.), "The Boy and the Girl" (Edison drama), "Island of Jovu," and others.

KING'S THEATRE. Wellington's welcome to the gift, battleship ?ruiser New Zealand is an outstandingly interesting . picture at tho King's Theatre. The picture is one of the best locally-produced films to date. Other good pictures iu this week's programme are "A Daughter of Eve," and "Tho Awakening of Biunca."

THE EMPRESS THEATEE. There trill be an entire change of programme to-day and to-night at the Empress Theatre continuous pictures, which •trill include a. magnificent series of 1 the latest importations. The subjects . will comprise dramatic, comic, scenic, and travel films by tli ; leading makers of tha world.' New selections will be contributed this evening by the Empress full orchestra.

SHORT.TS? THEATEE. There will be a, complete change of programme presented at Shortts' Theatre to-day. The star picture will be an exciting dramatic picture entitled "Their Lives for Gold," front the Gaumont gallery. Other pictures to be presented will be "Faithful Unto Death," "Led by Little Hands," "The Amateur Poisoner," "Two Sides to a Story," and "Omens of the Mesa."

"CAE-MEN." The nest musical event of importance in Wellington is the' performance by the Royal Wellington Choral Society of Bizet's pioturesque opera "Carmen." This work is so well known, to all lovers < of grand opera that it is hardly necessary, to describe, (but so far it has never been heard in concert J'orm in Australasia, and a good deal of curiosity is bound to be evinced in the performance on that score, for it will test the capacity of the artists engaged in interpretive work. The music of "Carmeu" nu.kes a considerable demand for high-class .emotional and dramatic vocalisin, as it plays up and. down the gamut of the passions flesh is heir to. Miss Carmen Pinschof (who was a member of the German Opera Company), who is to appear in the title role, is due ,to arrive from Melbourne to-day. The box plau at the Dresden indicates that "Carmen" will be performed on Tuesday evening next before a. large audience?,