ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2340, 23 December 1914, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

"A ROYAL DIVORCE." This_ morning, at nine o'clock, the i box plana will be opened at the Dresden for the;severi;r6presentation6 of the Napoleonic military drama, "A Iloyal Divorce," in which: the popular actor, Mr. - Julius Knight, will commence his brief season at the Opera House on Saturday night next (Boxing night). Anticipating the same demand for seats as that wliiclr took place. in Christchuroh and (Auckland,.'the,management will have a staff ; of .ushers in attendance' from : an earlyVhoiir to form a queue, which will . ensurevtha't-the earliest arrivals shall have 'the,first choice of seats. Although "A -Royal' Divorce" • ias;been' revived . again and again in the Dominion, dur- < ing 'the- present' tour its triumphs have been .simply" extraordinary. J This may_ bo accounted for by two facts, firstly,' -' that it-is signalling tho farewell to New Zealand,of- Julius 1 Knight, and.secondly, the'general atmosphere of the ■ drama,. .with its picturesque and realistic war tableaux, -which present playgoers with an idea •of wLat a-real battle is like.

The .tableaux'- are speoial features cf tile representation. It; is. generally re- ! girded that Julius Knight is giving an \ cvenlbetter characterisation of Napoleon , than when he last'portrayed the role an Now Zealand. It is also stated that iheiflupportiiig company, which includes • (that - brilliant, actress, Miss Irene 'Browne, the talented young Australian artist, Miss Lizette Parkes, also Miss Emma Temple, Eardley Turner, Leslie Victor, Herbert J- Bentley, and Martin 'Lewis, is one of the" strongest'yet sent on tour by the J. C. Williamson, Ltd., ■management. .' The whole production will; - 'it is v said,_'be staged on a- scalo absolutely unparalleled in the history of the/Btage -in the Dominion..: "A Royal > iDivorce" will be'staged for'seven productions, arid it will be followed by .two';; representations of "The Scarlet 'Pimpernel," three revivals of "The Sign-of the Cross," two performances of "The Silver King," and the season will '.terminate : with. three productions cf 'jJMonsieur Beaucairc." • .IHIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. ' ; The Helen LeacVWallin Trio oontinsuccess" at- His Majesty's iThe'at-re . last' night. '.Their ; sensational: tlemo'nstration of the strength ; of;_ a .woman's . jaws .proved highly diverting. iTwo -members of the trio support a-tra-peze,wire by. their teeth, while the •other'performs clever work on therope.' have - a decidedly attractive appjjaraiice;;jM;.tte-stagei and their ,turn-met with«loud --applause. Mr. George Melrose's impersonations of well-kriown"'"actbYs"'is'~' an interesting study; Mr. George Hall gives a clever turn, his reciting of in the M.men Corner" particularly meeting with the approval ofth'e "house. Tho'Mag l pies are still on the programme, and their new'numbers are up to the high standard maintained by. this, talented company. - KING'S THEATRE. ■ John Bunny y.one,of-the .most iVersafciljj comedians in moving' pictures, is the star attraction; in the "Adventures tif Sliss Tomboy" at the King's Theatre tibfe'week. ti.ln this'.particularly, ,fuimy produced.by the Vitagraph Com- ' pany, -Bunny is. supported by Miss Lillian Walker^.who plays, the part,, of ' 'Bunay's" ""daughter. ~ " " The ' ' 'picture, is jfull--;.of incident J, from ; ' - start-; to finish, and scenes depicting yacht' and ■ motor-boat racing of the highest class ar£ shown. Other items on .the. programme include 6ome excellent-pictures iri 'the Pathe War Gazette, "Tho Chief of Tolice" (Kalem drama); "When Men Wgar.Skirts"„(Kalem.comedy), and "In I)aiiger|s Hour'' (Thannouser drama). '' * EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. ; The' three-rpart . military . drama : "jEronstadt, J ' -au absorbing and sensational'play, featuring the foreign secret service in all its details, is being produced; at Everybody's in Manners" Street at,the present time. The. plot pictures' a young girl engaged in securing plans of the Russian fortress. The whole film is well produced, the scenes jpeing„of . great interest at the present time; Some inspiring views of Cariatte's-Expeditionary' 'Force are shown iaa.film entitled "Cari- ■ ada's Call to Arms;" In -this picture the ships of the British Navy are to be seen escorting-the transports from Quebec'; Tho supporting pictures are many and varied, and they include' 6ome real good comedies.

PEOPLE'S-PICTURE PALACE. - 'An entertaining war drama entitled •"The War and the Woman," the cliief 'attraction at the. People's Picture Palaco this week, "continues to draw large audiences to this popular picture house. ,The story centres round a Servian girl,who offers her services to the Turkish (Army as a Red Cross" nurse' during a war between the rival-countries. The picturo contains some very beautiful photography, and- is exciting • throughout. The final series of "Lucille Love," .where Hugo Lebequo rates in his diary: "After having known both Lueilles, no grudge could exist with Sumpter Love." The latest war'news in pictnires is also being screened. : A . complete change, of programme is announced for Thursday. THE EMPRESS THEATRE. The final screening will take place to9ay and to-night of the current programme of the Empress Theatre continuous pictures, headed by the . war series, entitled "Changing the Map of Europe." Another interesting collection of war scenes are embraced, in "The Topical War Budget.", ; Among the supporting photo-plays there is'an Attractive Majestic drama," "A Chapter of Life." There will be ,a complete of programme to-morrow. On Christmas Day a programme of specially selected appropriate subjects will be presented, "commencing at 2.30 p.m. "THE MESSIAH." •On Christmas Night , at. the Town Hall the public will have another opportunity of hearing the Royal Choral (Society in Handel's famous oratorio, •"The Messiah." On this occasion the same principals will take part, and both chorus, and orchestra .will bo at their full strength. Oho is rarely privileged to hear -Mr. Peter Dawson in the fine ibass music of the oratorio, and'the fact that tho net proceeds of tho concert ■ will bo devoted to tho fund for the relief of the poor in Great Britain, Ireland arid Belgium is-an additional reason' why tho "performance should be well patronised. The other soloists taking;; partr; ato .Miss; Mina; Caldow (contralto), Miss Annetta George (soprano), and Mr. Martin Duff (tenor). The 2s. and 3s. seats can bo reserved at the Dresden, and a supply of Is. tickets; can now bo obtained at the box office. The plan will remain open at the Dresden till 8 o'clock on Christmas E*e. The doors will open at 7.15, and the concert conclude at 10. Arrange: ments have been made for late cars to 7all the principal termini, including Seatoun and Karori.

I CHRISTMAS MUSIC. Christmas music in Wellington has always had a strong devotee in Mr. Robert Parker, organist '.'and choirmaster of St. Paul's; Pro-Cathedral, and 0110 of the most pleasant littlo concerts associated with the festivo season has been that given by the choir of St. Paul's. Tho concert last evening in the Sydnoy Street Schoolroom was eminently' enjoyable, not perhaps for its musical excellcncc, so much as for the Christmassy spirit with which it was imbued, and for the memories it evoked of tho time when most adults oiico took pleasure in carol-singing, and the precious ioys. that were -associated j with tioso days. The first part of the pro-

I gramme was of a miscellaneous character, with a patriotic flavour, and tho second consisted of Christmas songs and carols. 1 Among tho old favourites sung were "God Rest You, Merry . Gentlei men," "A Virgin Unspotted," "Good ; King Winceslas," "Tho Wassail Song," , and "The. First- Noel," and among the [ more moderns were the "Cradle Song ofthe Blessed' Virgin" (Barnby), "This Holy Day" (Rev. Geoffrey Riley), and a'Gounod hymn. Mr, W. H.. Warren . sang, the song "Christmas Comes But ; Once a Year" (with chorus), Miss Edwards played the piano solo "Noel," and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson (piano and violin) • played two movements of a Handel Sonata for the violin. Mr. Kobt. Parker conducted. A feature of the concert was the sweet voices of the boy choristers, who sang the carols with great gusto, and sang "The British Grenadiers" with proper ardour. • MACMAHON'S NEW THEATRE. There, were holiday audiences at every' session. .at MacMahon'r New Theatre yesterday,' and the children had _ a. royal _ day out at the special matinees, which were accompanied by gifts to the Jittle ones. This will be continued to-Say and to-morrow, when every hundredth child will be given an extra prize. The change o" programme at night was much appreciated. The head liner, "The Spider and Her Web," is a strong social drama, with a sterling plot, whilst "Little He and She" is a charming domestio study. An excellent Keystone comedy lightens the programme, and there are a number of other dramatic, 6cenio, and comic features, To-day a magnificent scenio film of the weird wonderland of Rotorua will, be added to the programme. This picture ,is desoribed as a quite exceptional one in its fidelity to nature, and after being shown hero is;to be sent Home. On Christmas Day a special programme' will be shown, commencing at 2.30, the feature being a sublime historical religious play, entitled "The Power of the Cross." The Rotorua Sim will also be included in the programme, along with a number of specially, appropriate pictures. PETER DAWSON. Speaking of Peter Dawson the Brisbane "Telegraph" says:—"Mr. Peter Dawson found himself in happy mood for his second ooncert in the Exhibition Hall, and his performance was an exemplification of the sheer joy' of singing., It was a fortunate experience for the audience,; who warmed to the clever basso with ready responsivenoss, and enthusiasm reached a climax when he conceded,-no-.fewer than , four encores in his final ; "bracket, Purcell's 'Passing By' and Edward Perman's cleter setting of Kipling's Australian Lines, 'Kangaroo arid Dingo.' These encores brought some notable features, Mr. Dawson , reviving the lumorsome 'Rip Van Winkle'-'ballad, that was so popular; the merry lilting 'Floral Dance' (Katie Moss); 'The Blue Dragoons,' and 'Sincerity.' Here were contrasts indeed, and all alike in rollicking lay. He left the aiidience quite dazzlea with the rare merit of the singing." ■ Mr. , Dawson gives his first ooncert in the Town Hall on Boxing Night, when he will be supported by his Star English Concert Company. Box plan at the Dresden. For prices see our advertisement columns. "THE CLIMAX." ; Among the arrivals from Sydney yesterday'by the' Moeraki were Miss Florence Young, the well-known operatic artist, Messrs. Reg. Roberts, C. R. Bantock, and Edmund Sherras, all former popular members of the "Firm," who are to tour New Zealand with the vocal play "The Climas/' -v/hich bad a" successful run in America some six or seven years ago. The story of "The Climax" is strongly dramatic. It refers to a young lady singer, who is the sole support of her father until she suddenly loses her voice, and goes through a terrible ordeal until it is finally restored by a process of mental suggestion by a young doctor, who finally marries her. The tour commences at Christchuroh under the management of Messrs. Geo. Stephenson and A. Linley. Mr. John Griffiths, here with Mr. Paul Dufault, is the manager for the players.