THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2416, 23 March 1915, Page 3

THE THEATRE.

The World's a tieatre; tha Eartb a stage.—Heywood. Patriotic Tour. Following are the dates of the Plim-mer-Hall Patriotic Comedy Company's tour through New Zealand: —Wellington, until March 27: I'almerston North, March 29 and 30; Marton. March 31; Taihape, April 1: Auckland, April 3 to 16; Hamilton, April 17; Wanganui, April 19, 20, and 21; Now Plymouth, April 22 and 23; liltham, April 24; Hawcra, April 26; Feilding, April 27 ; Dannevirke, April 28; Napier, April 29, 30, and May 1; Hastings, May 3; Jlasterton, May 4 and 5; Greytown, May 6; Christchurch, May 8 to 17; Timaru, May 18 <uid 19 .• Oamaru, May 20' Dun* edin, May 22 to 28; Invercargill, May 29 and 31; Gore, June 1. The Odd Trick. "It's a curious thing, Duchess, about the game of marriage—a game by the way that is going out of fashion —the wives hold all tho honours, and invariably lose the odd trick," said Lord Darlington. "The odd trick?" questioned the Duchess. "Is that the husband?" Lord Darlington smiled and said: "It would be a rather good name for the modern husbands'—From "Lady Windermere's Fan." Mary Plchford's Salary. "The Queen of the Movies," Miss Mary Pickford, caused a deal of talk a few weeks ago (says the New York "Theatre"). Her lawyers were reported to be in daily conferences with other people's lawyers. Bumours but whetted the appetite for solid facts, and, not receiving them, one imagined locked doors and serious men seated around a mahogany table littered with legal documents, quite like a Senate committee considering a new tariff saJiedule. Seemingly the question at issue wa6 simple enough—whether Miss Pickford would, or would not, leave the Famous Players—but it dragged along for nearly a week, and meanwhile various interesting, if contradictory, ■'lories were printed. Figures soared. One of the_wildest v flights credited Miss Pickford with signing a contract whereby she would receive a weekly salary of. 3000 dollars from the New York Motion Picture Company. Imagine 156,000 dollars a year, and the odd part of it is that such a salary .was not deemed improbable. And only a few years ago screen players _ received less than their follow actors in stock companies, say 75 dollars for leading roles, which was not so bad considering the steadiness of the employment in contrast to the usual short stage season. Miss Pickford finally decided to remain with the Famous Players at a salary generally supposed to be 2000 dollars (£400) a week

"High Jlnlis" a Winner. . "High Jinks" has hit the popular fancy m Sydney, and looks like establishing a war-time record. "High Jinks" is a musical comedy made out of one of the adaptations by Leo Ditriclistein, which had a limited voguo in its original form. The transformation to its present use was done with the collaboration of Otto Hauerbach. The story of the j)iece is immaterial. It is' sufficient to give occasion to a musical jollity. A specialist in nervous affections in Paris secures from a friend, a globe-trotter, a drug, administered as a perfume, which cures all kinds of .spiritual distempers. It is easy to see that ono of its virtues is that it relieves the authors of any great responsibility as to the plot. This perfume, however, sets tho paco in dancing very quickly, and the proceedings thereafter are easy enough. Against the Abhorrent In Drama. "What the British public needs more than anything else is education of its imaginative faculty," said Mr. Granville Barker in the course of a New York interview recently, "and although I am not in the position of one who knows, I, hazard the remark that the American public requires the same instruction. Anything that happens in , real life, anything that might happen under circumstances of real life, is my definition of the materials for the stage and even that I think may be too narrow - , 1 do not mean by 'real life' the sordid and the painful exclusively; I do not mean that whenever a real thing is put imaginatively on the stage it does good. No one is anything without imagination, and for those in whom this' god-like quality lies dormant the stage is the best thing to wake it up. To yisualise the ordinary is often to show it for the first time to many people, and the stage does this. I do not wish to criticise the men who have written and staged repellent and abhorrent and pathological facts; each man works in his own way, and that way is not mine, but I am willing to believe that these authors are animated by a purpose as high as they pretend. "Facts we must have, facts concerning the things that are happenings in our midst or society and government are in danger. Where can we get these facts ?' We ought to get them from the newspapers, but we don't. I have been looking for a long time for the newspaper which willgive this ir,formation. I haven't found it yet, aw l I think the stage comes nearest to making us all 6ee what is happening. That would be a sufficient reason for prolonging its existence. Of course, that is a form of words; nobody need worry about pro-longing-the existence of the theatre; it will take care of that itself, and since we cannot do away with the theatre, let us make it as good as we can."

Tommy's "Caff." "What a splendid creature is Mr. Thomas Atkins when he is really busy I" says a writer in the London "Sunday lloferee," in an entertaining description of a minstrel show at the front. "Proceedings were not very formal," he proceeds. "You can't be very formal when you recognise a perspiring gentleman in evening clothes as Corporal Nevermindwho, who ran the show. He used military, if unparliamentary, language, about an adjectival toe which had had a bit of lead in it, and crawled back on to the stage (getting in and out of that tent must lave reminded the performers of the trenohes) to ask funny riddles and makes his audience rock with laughter. Some of the riddles were of home manufacture, and these were the best. 'Why are the Germans like French tobacco. 3 ' was oho of them. Tho centre man didn't know. Of course the centre man never docs know, or it wouldn't be a minstrel show, would it? 'Well, we're a bit fed up with them both,' was the answer, and Tommy would have thrown his pipe on to the stage in his gleo if lie had been a Spaniard. There was much comparison between Gorman bombs and French matches, too, and, 'Why is tho Iron Cross?' 'Because the Kaiser is always giving it away,' wasn't a bad effort for a wounded mm, was it? A friend of mine apologised to the man next ber for sitting on his log (the tent was so crowded that we civilians had to share seats with Tommy and some of us lilted it). 'It's ail right, Miss,' said the Tommy to whom tho apology was made, 'there's very little of that left leg left, and your weight won't hurt that.' "

Titles That Tell, A lady of imagination has taken the trouble to compile for "Variations" a list of the current New York plays and has arranged their titles artfully to constitute a progressive drama in themselves: —"The Only Girl," "To-night's the Night," "llolio, Broadway," "Alidniulit. Frolic," "Dancing Around," "Ninety in llif Slut)#.'' "A Pair of Silk Stockjngfc'l •'•lke (ieo» Uu;.L'.» '-'vWatdi

Your Step," "Children of Earth," "'A Mix-Up," "Sinners," "Maternity." "The Fallen Idol," "Outcast," "The Marriage of Kitty," "The Law of the Land," "Experience," "Life." An Unlearned Lesson. _ Colonel Du Mauier. who wrote "An Englishman's Home, "anonymously," is dead. The colonel, who was a brother of Mr. Gerald Du Maurier, the well-known London actor, and a son of Mr. Geo. Du Maurier, formerly of the "Punch" staff of artists (and author of "Trilby"), was olio of the few who realised England's peril, just (as it turns out) when the Empire should have realised it, five years ago. His war/ins took the form of the play mentioned, a play which created a sensation and woke London up to the possibility of invasion !>J' an enemy in a most graphic and forcible manner. The play was witnessed by Cabinet Ministers, War Office officials, and hundreds of thousands of intelligent citizens, yet it never had the slightest effect on the authorities as far as one could gather. The play was performed originally in this part of the world at Sydney, with Mr. Julius Knight as Brown (the typical Londoner), and Mr. Harry Plimmer as Prince Pland, of the invading army. That Col. Du Maurier should die at the present juncture points' the lesson he sought to teach 6ix years ago. Lionel Macklnder's Death. The death of Mr. Lionel Mackinder has (says a London paper) come as a hard blow to numerous friends of the gonial comedian. And one fact in connection with his soldiering is uotj generally known. Mr. Mackinder was a good deal bpyond she age limit, and in spite of his suppleness and unimpaired activity of body—he was .one of tho nimblest dancers wo ever had—he was obviously a good deal more than thirty-five. But being determined to fight for his country, and to do it as quickly as possible, he went to the wigmakcrs, had a "toupet" fashioned to eke out his scanty locks, told a genial tarradiddle to the recruiting officer about his age, and was a private in no time. In a quiet 'iay there is a good deal of heroism in this—a man who would deserve nobody's reproaches by not enlisting going to tho wig-maker's in order that ho might be rejuvenated to fight for his country. Mr. Mackinder did not bother to wait for a commission, which he could easily have obtained, but took the line of least resistance to tho trenches. He was extremely popular amongst tho men he served with, and they felt his death keenly. This took place when they were evacuating a forward trench to enter a reserve trench slightly in the rear. Two platoons had done this successfully, and it was the turn of the platoon to which tho late actor belonged. These men also were retiring to the Teserve trench when somebody made a noise, the Germans, who were quite close, opened fire, and Mr. Mackinder was shot through the throat, and foil back into the trench he was just leaving. Later volunteers were called for to :• ecover his body, and one of the men who responded to this call was shot in doing it. There will be the keenest sympathy with Miss Gracie Leigh, Mr. Mackinder's wife, who is herself only just recovering from a serious attack of pneumouia. Notes.

It is stated that Mr. Julius Knight is later ou 'to make a comprehensive small-town tour of Australia under his own management, playing his old successes. The name of Mr. Chas. Berkeley is mentioned in connection with the idea. At present. Mr. Knight is rehearsing at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, a drama entitled "The Life Guardian," to be produced next Saturday week.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred. Niblo, the American players, who have been so very successful during the past three years in Australasia, leave Sydney for tho States on June 5. During that time they have produced nothing but American successes in farcical comedy, and have made them all go in these parts. These have been "Get-Rich-Quick Wallmrford » "Officer 666,'" "Excuse Me, _ Ihe Fortune-Hunter," "Never Say Die," "Broadway Jones," "The Sevon Keys to Baldpate," and "The Travelling Salesman." "Within tho Law" made a dramatic record at the Melbourne Theatre Royal by running for thirteen consecutive weeks. This, however, was in normal tunes, _ with everything in its favour, and with a compaiiy entirely new to Australia. Yet "Bought and Paid For," during war time, and in a period of almost general depressions, is now (says last Saturday's Sydney "Telegraph") _in its eleventh week. The play, which is to be presented at the Criterion Theatre on Saturday, March 27, has proved one of the strongest of tho recent J. C. Williamson attractions.

"The Sinners," Mr. Wm. Brady's latest dramatic .offering in New York, had "premiere" before an audience of convicts in the Sing Sing Prison. It is the first occasion on record where a play has been initially produced within the walls of a gaol.

Mr. Granville Barker, the gifted London producer, has gone to New York to produce some of his London successes at the New Theatre there, notably "Androcles and the Lion" (G. B. Shaw), "The Mali who Married a Dumb Wife" (Anatole France), "The Doctor' 6 Dilemma," "The Madras House," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." If he succeeds it iB stated that he may bo retained at tlie Now Theatre as producer indefinitely.