ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2339, 22 December 1914, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

ROYAL DIVORCE." ■ The box plans will be opened at tho Dresden at 9 a.m. to-morrow for the sevea performances. of "A Royal Divorce," whioh will signalise tho reappearance here on Saturday , night of Mr. Julius Knight. 'Never; previously," it is stated, ,-has there been so many inquiries - the box Office regarding "tho booking arrangements. ■ In order to ensure that the earliest arrivals shall have first choice of seats, the management will have a staif of ushers in attendance from an early hour to form a queue. Julius Knight is absolutely at his best in. thoirole of Napoleon, and the triumphs he has achieved as "The 3tajn of Destiny" aro remarkable. Although it is over 15 years ago since ho 'first- appeared in the part • in Australia, it is still as popular as ever with -play-goers. "A Royal Divorce" is the outcome of much stagecraft and experience, and tho authpr has accordingly; brought on tho central figure, chiefly at. stirring , crisis in the action. Julius Knight, aa he appears on the stagey' exactly resembles the appearance of the. Emperor as described by Meneval Masson, and other historians. Mr. Knight, it is said, brings home to the audicnce the dazzling power of the ■ soldier of fortune .who made and unmade lrihgs at "will. The British people's love for a'; brave soldier was never more exemplified: than tho love every Britisher has for the character of Napoleon, and it is the interest in him which to a .large extent is responsible for the fact that "A Royal Divorce" is the . most successful drama yet staged by the J. C. Williamson, Ltd.', manageThe history of-the unfortunate Josephine's life;'too; has a wonderful • fascination'for all-sections of the community. ' This character will bo played by Miss "Irene Browno.-; Eardley-Turner is said-to'be'very humorous as Grimaudj and»VLeslie ," Victor particularly good :in -the role .of Tallyraiid. Miss Lizette: Partes and Herbert J. Bentleyboth 'have congenial roles 'to portray. During the. season will also bo staged •' 'The;Scarlet''Pimpflrnel,'" : ' 'The: Sign of the Gfcosj,-". v'JThe; 1 .SiW':-King,!'- -.-.and--Beaucaire"." -The company will arrivoj'on Friday morning; . ! HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE; ''- The. Helen.v Leach Wallin Trio are the newest sensation' sn : the local vaude.ville world. ■ These clever-young ladies in' bridal, white give a very practical demonstration of the strength of .woman's l jaw.. ..Two of the, ladies, perched upon stands twelve feet apart, grip'the ends of a wire in their teeth, whiM -.the tjiifdigoes^through a wirewalking performance.: -'Then, to show tha¥ any posture serves them, they lie ■backwards rest, whilst the gymnast of .the. trio does a performance on the; slack wire. ; Finally a thick rope is requisitioned ■ and held by the teeth, as in the case of .tho -wire,, whilst, the gymnast of. tho_ trio, grasping the. rope in the middlo;; imitates >the action of a somersaulter in- mid-air. at such a rate .that she resembles, a-living, wheel. The trio'arc. attractive' in appearance/ and .understand the art of stage effect. Mr.l George* Melrose .presented a.few distantimitations of Australian actors more or known,"but was inclined to take ; liberties with. Jus iMr. Melrose gate an imitation;of^Blahd:Holt in lis famous. play,. '[The; World,!?;. His/imitation ~;;of- ; -'Mr.* Maurice •• Dudley --as Lively in "Sunday" was fairly faithful. Aii".able performer of .uncommon,attributes is Mr. George Hall. Last [evening .- he: : supplemented - his performance with: an admirable recital of "Trouble in the Amen Corner," and gave a,forceful treading of the monologue; " "The Green' Eye of "the Xittle" yellow 'God." Mr. CCharles -Bartholomew's recital .of, ■''The -Finest I ,; Man;; I' Knew," "barring accidents of accent, was quite good. It takes one back ,to the breezy jingle of Henry, Lawson and Barcroft Boake, of "Bulletin" identity. Mr. Neil Cant, ■Scottish vocalist,, also, reappeared after a brief,'absence. A bright first', part was supplied by '"The Magpies," who are 3iow\in :; t'heir last week; - Miss- Pearl Livingstone, ragtime specialist, monopolised the sparkle in "My Brudder Sylvest;" a lilt of American origin, and had' to produce two extra; lengths of ragtime. before the audience was satisfied., Mr. Clifford O'Keefe sang "My Old Shako" capitally, and.as an encore Bang ."Little Grey Home in the West." 'Miss Cissy "O'Jieefe, in good voictf, sang Huliah's "Three Fishers," one of the : best of English ballads, and was retained, for the melody in Sullivan's "Lost Chord," arranged for a trio, with 'cello obbligato. Mr. L-ou Vernon, Mr. Billy-Moloney, Mr. K. Black, and Miss Iris Edgar all worked well to preserve : .the harmony of the nest.• ; Next week the Comet Family, aro due at His Majesty's,, among other, new •artists.- ...

_ .. • THE KING'S THEATRE. ■ ' 'Always to the foro with new ideas for , motion pictures, the Vitagraph Company. appears to have now excelled all previous efforts in the comedy line with its latest star subject, "Tho Adventures of Miss Tomboy. Not only is the play irresistibly funny .from start to finish, but it has the additional attraction of capital scenery, is crowded with excitement, and . has a decided sporting flavour. In one portion of the picture, yachts of tho highest class are to he seen racing' over an 'ideal fstrctch of water, and later' on two motor boatsare seen partly buried'in. clouds of wdter as they career along at an' almost incredible speed. Tho climax is reached when flying-boat and monoplane are pitted against each other to work out the plot of this very amusing story. The picture features the company's well-, known comedian, Johu Bunny, who is supported by Lillian Walker and Wallie Vau. Miss Walker plays ; the part of Bunny's daughter—an irrepressible tomboy, whose, pranks are encouraged by iWallie Vau, a wealthy young man, who wants to be her husband. Bunny would !rather that one Van Alstyne ehould onarry his daughter, and, his unsuccessful efforts to bring about the match form the basis of the comedy. With the principal parts in such good hands the picture runs along splendidly from a promising opening to a glorious finish. .Other .items on tlio programme include good war pictures in the Paths Gazette (topical), "Scenes in and Around Brussels" (topical), "The Chief of Police" (Kalemdrama), "When Men ' Wear Skirts' 1 -(Kalem comedy)/ "In Danger's Hour ' (Thanouser drama), and "The New Pork Police Carnival." Musical ! accompaniments are played by tho King's Orchestra. EVERYBODY'S PICTURES. The star picture at Everybody's Theatre is. of particular interest now as", it deals''.^rith',the methods of Bpies in: obtaining'military secrets from foreign powers. -The film is an adaptation of Max Pemberton's military drama "Kronstadt," and .the most interesting portions from an exciting - story ; havo been filmed. The principal character, a -young girl, is engaged in securing plana of the Russian fortress, and while so doing she falls in love with a Russian officer. While engaged in a particularly hazardous enterprise, she is captured by this same officer, and is; sentenced to imprisonment' in tlio dungeons of Kronstadt. The officer, however, decides to sacrifice his country to his love, .and the two escape in his yacht, eventually reaching Paris. There tho man is captured by Russian Secret'-: Sorvice agents, but as a dramatic climax the girl secures a pardon for him, by returning valuable secrets. The wholo film is well produced, the scenes of miitary life being of great interest at tho present time. A topical film in tho new programme is entitled "Canadians Rally Round the l |l lag." This shows tho 35.000 Canadian contingent ombarking at Quebec for England, and then gives scenes of the transports on the high seas. These

scenes are of exceptional merit, and give one a realisation of what our own Expeditionary Force, must have looked like while proceeding on its way to .Egypt. The comedy .element- is supplied by a Keystone comedy, '.'Mabel's Latest Prank," featuring tho comedy queen, Mabel Normiintl, in an exciting comedy-drama, in which the too-ardent attentions of a married man lead him into a .series of tight corners. "Wireless from the War" is another series of amusing cartoons, dealing with probable, events on the battlefields. "The Uaumont Graphic" contains' some new scenes from tho front, including pictyres' of tho German occupation of Antwerp,. taken by an English operator at tile risk of his.life. The programme IS of great interest. It will £e screened again to-day. 188 EMPRESS THEATRE. "Changing the Map of Europe" - was the feature of tho new programme at the Empress Theatre, yesterday. Tho subject displays many' new phases of the operations, and; episodes'in England and on the Continent, including the Tsar reviewing the pick of his army before it leaves for the front; the. Kiel Canal, with German warships at an-chor-Austrian battleships and sailors; mobilisation scenes in France and Germany; German artillery on the way to the front; the King of Bavaria inspecting volunteers for service;, the Austrian airship Victoria Louisa; French artillery; the, commander , inspecting German troops at Strasburg; British marines arriving at Ostend in a destroyer: refugees' camp at Ostend; the Irish Guards leaving for the front; Queen Alexandra receiving the officers of the 2nd Grenadier.Guards; British artillery on their wa/ to embark j French war- balloons; the London Times" office besieged by relatives of men at the front; Itoyal Horse Guards framing horses for active service; the Battle of Louvain, and 1 similar subjects. "Tho Topical War Budget". includes a view of the British artillery dashing up to 4ake up positions in action, Of the rest of-the items the pick is the Majestic drama, "A Chapter'of Life." The programme mil-be screened throughout to-day and to-night.' PETER DAWSON. Next Saturday evening the English Concert' Company, with Mr. Peter Dawson as its, star artist, .will give their first concert in the Town Hall, the box •plan of which and the two following concerts is open at the Dresden. Realising the advantages of a varied concert programme to suit all tastes, Mr. Dawson has a number of artists whose talents are unlimited in their respective spheres; Mr. Dawson is a tower of strength as a concert artist, and it is said that he treats his items with an artistry that compels admiration. His London;, and provincial successes have extended oyer a period of eight years, during which time he has accomplished that which few others have done. His name is now a household word; he has fought'his way up the ladder of fame m London, w For prices of seats see our advertisement columns.

PEOPLE'S PICTUKE PALACE. . The new'programme of pictures which, is now being _shown at the People's Picture Palace is Headed by, a very fine war- drama,, entitled "War and the AVomah.'i;.. The war in question was between: Seryia and Turkey. The woman was in love with the son of the Servian commander, but the old soldier, disapproved of the match, and said that his boy must marry a . Servian girl. Shortly after this paternal pronouncement, war broke out. The son went to the front, and the.-girl (who, by the way, was an espert aviator) ottered her services to tie Red Cross- Society. A vacancy for her could in the Servian hospitals, so she accepted an offer to joint one of the Turkish field hospitals. To this hospital one day there came a wounded soldier, whom she.recognised as tho Servian general's trusted servant. She realised that the mail had been a spy in the Servian camp, and decided at all risks to warn her lover's father that the Servian-plans had been divulged. She got through after trying and exciting experiences, riding, flying, swimming, and so on, and the documents she-brought enabled the Servians- to so alter their plans aa to : ensure victory. After this daring and noble exploit, the veteran soldier offered no' further resistance to the marriage. Among the other pictures in the bill is the fifteenth and last instalment of the Lucille Love series. This most interesting story is brought to what is undoubtedly a glorious finale. The remaining films are varied and very - iuj teresting.