COMEDIANS' WORK.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1965, 23 January 1914, Page 8

COMEDIANS' WORK.

THE LIRE OF THE HALLS. REVUE THE COMING SHOW. "I can't say anything original or clever, or interesting," sr.id Air. Phil Smith, tho clever comedian of the Williamson Opera Company, now in Wellington, when a Dominion representative sought an interview with him yesterday. Mr. Smith was a little better than his word, but the remark waß none tho less characteristic of tho man. He fulfils all the traditions of tho professional fun-maker; that is to say, ho is quiet, unassuming, modest, almost sad, yet very pleasant and agreeable. He has been seventeen years on tho stage, having entered tho profession at twenty years of age, and he has had a most varied experience, from having ,been a picrrot on tho beach to performing in almost grand opera. Until he joined J. 0. Williamson, Ltd., about a year ago, he had been in .tho halls where all tho good artists at Home go nowadays at some period of their careers. _ "But I'd rather bo a coalminer or a North Sea fisherman than do a singlo turn in tho niusic halls in England," said Mr. Smith. "You travel every week there, and I assure you that an artist has to think every Monday whether ho is going to make Jits new audience, laugh or not. It is really very difficult. . You go to Eastbourne, where all the people are aristocrats, and .the next week you may go to AVigan, where most of the people work, underground, and you have to amuse* two lots of people as different as if they belonged to different races, with the same stuff. I like the theatre much better. You have a crowd of friendly people with you, and members of a company condolo with one another if a fellow can't make.his 'business' go. On the vaudeville stage is different. If an artist were to say, 'I don't seem to be able to mako my show go to-night,' tho others would be very glad to hear it, and like as not w;ould say, 'Oh, the' peoplo" are all right with me, old chap.' Such is the spirit of competition among them. ■ , . "For all that,' tho music-halls have been beating the 'theatres all to pieces in England of late years. In a musichall you can seo a splendid show in a.beautiful building, with a comfortablo seat as good as you would pay half a guinea for in a West End theatre, for two shillings. And at tho Coliseum you might seo such an artistas Bernhardt in a half-hour ..turn.- .The theatre proprietors aro waking .up now to the position, and it is said that the pendulum is swinging back, but tho music-halls havo'had a great run." ;Mr. Smith discussed for'a little the wiles, used by a comedian to "get laughs ' as ho tenned it. ... "There is a great deal of technical work in a comedian's business, not. apparent to tho inexperienced, of course, which has to bo very carefully prepared. Some of it is almost '..mechanical nowadays. Of course, I don't say that the man's temperamqnt or ability do not' matter, but it is a fact that .there are certain known and established methods recoguised of producing laughs at the right timermostly little tricks of .voice or gesture to indicate the exact' moment at which the laugh should come. . Particular lines which should bo mado funny aro tried over and over again,'perhaps in different ways, and generally, if the comedian knows his business, tho laugh comes all right. "Yes, tho revue is tho show of tho future." What precisely is a revue? ' "Thcro is nothing precise, about 'it. l That is its main characteristic' "' It'can bo anything. You can have songs, dances, beautiful scenes, topical gags, vaudevillo turns/ .anything, however you care to arranire them in it. • There is no theme at all. There may bo a couplo of' characters who appear right through, such as, for instance, a detective and a man ho wants to catcsh. Any idea, however flimsy, will do. The revue, in my opinion, will take tho place of pantomimo altogether. There has not been much plot in tho pantomimes lately, any way. Somo of them havo been pathetically weak in this respect, and the writers of the stuff have done what they like with the stories. You may see Cinderella without the two ugly sisters, for instance. Tho revue discards the plot idea altogether. One thing about tho revue will be. that it will give a lot moro opportunities to the musical comedy actor than to tho ' vaudeville artist, which has not been the case with pantomime lately. The revue-is booming in England. They are playing revues everywhere." Air. Smith is out here for two years longer. Ho intends shortly to bring his wifo and children out to Australia, probably to live in Sydney. At tho end of his engagement with J. C. Williamson, .Ltd., he goes Homo to keep an. engagement there, and after that he hopes to be able to come to Australia

to stay. . , . ■