THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1895, 1 November 1913, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

[BY BtLTIUS.]

The. World's a theatre; the Earth a stftge.—Heywood. On Meeting Coquelin. "I shall never forget the time I first met Coquelin, the famous French actor," said Miss Madge Titheradgo. "I was playing tho only woman's part in 'French as She is Spoke,' when Coquelin came to Loudon with a company of French actors to produco the same play. He sent for me, and during the •tsigagcment of tho two productions I played the part with the French company in the afternoons, and with the' English company at night. It was a most unusual experience, because tho part had to be given an altogether different interpretation with ( each company. Tho day I reported fpr rehearsal with Coquelin I called at the hotel, and was given tho number of a room. I went up in the elevator, knocked at the door, and was bidden in.French to enter. To my utter amazement it waß Ooquelia's bedroom, and there he was in bed, with his brother Jean, surrounded by eight or nine other men members of the company, and with that beautiful French unconventionality they proceeded with the rehearsal, unconscious that the proceeding was at ail out of the British order of things." The Rage for Ragtime. ■ "America is real ragtime mad. They are dancing ragtime, singing ragtime, and walking ragtime.' Tuey will be tooting their automobile horns to ragtime next.'-' 'This sweeping statement of the prevailing American erase was made by Miss Josephine Cohan (Mrs. Fred isiblo), who haa returned to Melbourne from a trip to the United States, and has been warmly welcomed back by her friends in Melbourne. , Miss Cohan will make her reappearance on the stage in "Officer 666,'' which will bo staged by Mr._ Niblo for tho first time in Australia at Adelaide Theatre Royal next month. "Wherever one added Miss Cohan, "ragtime was ragmg. At the eafes and restaurants, for example, every dance would be ragtime, or a- lot of the people would do steps in ragtime. Many wero walking about to tho ragtime. Sitting at the tables, the diners would get up, and join the throng, whilst tho music fairly 'jumped' all the time." "The Geisha." One of the coming theatrical attractions which is sure to create a good deal of local interest is the performance of that yefy tuneful comic opera "The Geisha." It has not been seen here '. since the days of the Pollard Opera Company. Strangely enough, the amateur production (now in rehearsal) will be given under the personal direction of Mr. Tom Pollard, who has probably stage-managed as many productions of the work as any one living. The fact that "Tho Gisha." is to be presented by the Amateur Operatic Society, under his eye, should guarantee an interesting performance. Rehearsals are now being held twice a week, and they are reported to be running smoothly. .."The Geisha" is to be staged for a week, commencing on Saturday, November 22.

Beauty in Demand. J. C. Williamson Ltd., are initiating a novel enterprise in connection, "with their patriotic spectacle, "Drums of All Nations," which is to be a feature of their Christmas pantomime, "Tho Forty Thieves," at Melbourne Her Majecty's. In' this will bo represented the ; women of various nations, and applica-. tions have been invited throughout Aub- ' tralia from ladies qualified by beauty to represent, Australia in the pageant. i Tho ladies selected will bo engaged for the complete run of tho pantomime throughout Australia and New Zealand, i extending over about ten months. Ar- ', r.lngcments have also been made to kinematoglaph them, and display the pictures abroad, in order to demonstrate that tho women of Australia can hold their own with those of any other nation. <!. C. Williamson Ltd.'s Activities, At the present time J. C. Williamson, Ltd., has a full hand as regards enter- ' prises. The Gilbert and Sullivan Opera : Company opens in Johannesburg, South Africa, oil December 26, and during its six months' tour in South Africa, will present- a repertoire comprising "Tho Mikado," "Tho Gondoliers," "The Yeomen of the Guard," "Pinafore," "The : Pirates of Penzance," "lolanthe," and "Patience." The company will then come on to Australia for a season embracing about nine months in the various States. The "Forty Thieves" pantoininio company is now being completed. At the Criterion Theatre, Sydney, "Within the Law" is in tho midst ' of a successful season. Tho American Farce-Comedy Company, headed by Fred. Niblo and Josephine Cohan, will open at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, on November 1, and will subsequently visit West Australia. The Royal Comic Opera Company are touring New Zealand. The Now Comic Opera Company has opened in Melbourne with "The Arcadians," which will bo followed by"Autumn Manoeuvres," and other musical plays. The Quinlan Grand Opera Company has repeated in Sydney the triumph it achieved during tho recent Melbourne season. The new company, which is to open in Sydney at Christmas in tho famous Revue, "Come Over Hero," transferred from the . London Opera House, is now being completed, while at Melbourne Theatre Royal Mr. Lewis Waller is enjoying a decided success with the romantic costume comedy, "A Marriage of Convenience." In addition, several other important enterprises are being promoted. Shaw and Shakespeare. Between the two plays at the Gaiety this week (says a London paper of recent date) a message from Mr. Bernard Shaw is thrown ou the screen. In it Mr. Shaw warns those who may be tempted to ridicule "The Admirable Bashvillo" that, by quoting from it, they will he in danger of quoting Shakespeare himself, tags of whose works are scattered through the comedy. But a Canadian who a, few years ago went into tho Shakespeare-Bacon business came out of it with a surprise of another kind. By taking the fourth letter from tho ends of eleven titles of the plays it became clear that tho author was nono other than Bernard Shaw. This is how it works out:— Mae B eth. Oth -E ilo. Comedy of Er R ors. Merchant of Ve N ice. . Coriol A mis. Midsummer Night's D R earn. Merry Wives of Win D sor. Measure for Mca Sure. Much Ado About No H ing. Antony and Clcop A tra. All's Weli That Ends W ell. Surely this is turning tho tables on our iconoclast with a vengeance. No Curtain Calls. Sir Herbert Tree, on the opening night of "Joseph and His Brethren." refused the curtain call; and, on the principle that without illusion the acted drama would lose half its meaning and all its vitality, Sir Herbert's lead may now bo followed. Mr. Matheson Lang, who has produced, and is tho leading artist in "The Borrior," the great reolistio play at tie Strand Theatre, stated peoonfcly

to a "Daily News" representative: "The question of curtain calls, unless tbey aro very carefully taken, do tend to. break the spell of tho play. At the, same time playgoers for so many years have becomo used to them aa an institution, that it is a. custom which it would be oxtremoly difficult to do away with. "Audiences will never forgo the only of showing their appreciation, and it is obviously wrong that such appreciation should not bo acknowledged in any way from .the stage, so that our present custom seems to mo the best possible. "But I would always strongly advocate the taking of curtain oaHsby the actors in front of the tableau curtains, and not, as is almost generally the custom now, in the scone in which they have just been depicting the characters they were called upon to impersonate. "If they step out of the scenic environments at tho end of an act, in front of the tableau curtain, which has shut out tho mimic scene, they are acknowledging the appreciation of the audience, m their own persons, as actors, but tho danger of taking calls in the scene in .which they have just been acting, is that very frequently a ludicrous and incongruous ell'oefc is created by, say, 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,' bowing . his acknowledgments to the applause, of a twentieth eontury v audience, instead! of 'Mr. Jones,' who is impersonating the character of 'Hamlet,' doing so." Notes. Several people well-known on the 'Australian stage, helped to mako "The Glad Eye" run for two years in Loudon. The leading lady, in fact, was an Adelaide girl known as Miss Ethel Spilier, who changed her name to Ethel Dane. She is tho wife of Cyril Keightley, who was also in tho "Glad Eye." Others in the big farcical success were Minnie Terry, wife of Edmund Gwenn, remembered in Australia for his brilliant character work, and Edyth Latimer, who was in Australia with Wilson Barrett,