THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1931, 13 December 1913, Page 11

THE THEATRE.

Si'LVIUS.] The* .World's■ a : theatre; tho Uju'th a stage.—-lloywood. ■■ . .. "EvansoUrw" on the Stage. . ■ Longfellow's "Jiivangeline," adapted for,tho stage by Thomas jiroadhurst, was presented in New York, at tho Paris Theatre, on October 11. ...-."Mr. Uroadhurst (says an American paper) has ingeniously woven into his test many of the beautiful lines, similes, and sentences of Longfellow anil Sits os'ii contributions are poetical in spirit and execution, but the tale of tho parted lovers, and the woman's persistent search for her beloved, only to be-de-feated at every point, provide little that is dramatic, and much that is hopelessly reiterative in its unrelieved gloom." "Hamlet" in N«w York. It is ten years since Forbes-Robertson played "J-lanilet" in this city (says the New York "Theatre"). The. impression, which ho originally created was ono of - profound theatrical moment. ■ For poetry and beauty he was universally accepted as the one .to tahe up the mantle Edwin Booth had laid down. Has a decadc worked any change in this impersonation!' ■ The voice is still there, tho voice that Shelley declares: ."Jlakes giddy the dim brain, faint ■

With intoxication of keen jov." And what real mental rapture it is to hear Shakespearean verse expressed with such refined intonation, distinction, expression, and, above ail, with tho vivid mentality that lurks behind. The outward bearing is still the samo a Prince. Yot to ilioso who saw it before it is not quite, what it was, nor is it quite as good. Has not a cortaiu fiissiness of movement and gesticulation crept in to take tho place of that classic serenity that marked the lirst jjotfurinnnccsy -Have not some of the most predominant features, and the worst, forgiven becausn they woro so personol in Irving, become now a part, of a characterisation that hitherto was beautiful in its simplicity? It' force and vigor at momentsbbit> t lacking, let Time upon i'ts shoulders taiio tho charge.

Yet this later want makes ForbcsKobertson's performance nearer tho Goethe idea tliini it was before; because if criticism hold play, hia sophistication now is offset by tho want of physical capacity. But for these who lave the poet of the centuries, let them >ee this impersonation. It's equal is not extant. 'When comes there such another?

Stanley Houghtcn Again. If good writing, splendid stago management, and linisiied acting are still appreciated in this borough, then tho new double bill at tho Lyceum is in for a long and profitable run (says the New York "'theatre.") Ths combination of Stanley Houghton and J. MBarrio in the make-up of a programme gives admirable promise, which in this case. is really fulfilled. Houghton would seem to be one of tho coming English dramatists. "llindJc Wakes" and

"Fancy Free" arc from the pen of this young author, who displays on every sido qualities of .invention, observation and the capacity to put them into brilliant and effective stasre shape. "The Younger' Generation" dpais with the' revolt of youth against the stem prejudices, religious and social, of a strict lion-conformist father and mother. Tb« scene is laid in one of tho suburbs of Manchester, and in style and treatment and fine characterisation resembles "Rutherford and Son" and "Buntv Pulls the Strings." The character drawing js quite remarkable. Thf?re is true individuality ill the dialogue apportioned to each role. They are living types, and et-cn though tho conditions and the surroundings arc not overfamiliar to local theatre-goers, the application is so general that the appeal meets with instant recognition. The prim, puritanical father is playc-d with grim dryness by Stanley Drcwitt, and tho.wife; complacent to her husband's stern view of life, is expressed with sweet, motherly feeling by fios-o Beaudot. Then there is tho grandmother, a still stonier figure of a life that used to be, the woman dictator of the son and his grown-up household, acted with tiuo distinction and austerity by Ida Waterman.