THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2540, 14 August 1915, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

[Bx StltiusJ ( The World's a theatro; tlio- Earth! -a stage.—Heywood. "Cat-Rloh-Qulck" M'lntosh. When Mr. Hugh D. M'lntosh! gave Tommy Burns £6000 to fight Johnson, win or lose, lie paid the biggest fee for a single performance given for anything in the history of the Show world. Such money is not for everyone, but with Mr. M'lntosh it is for the man who can pull a bit more than his wages. His management of the Stadium in Sydney opened: the eyes not only of Australia,'but of the Wholo world, for nothing so big had ever been attempted either in America or England. In Paris Mr. M'lntosh brought off the M'Vea-Langford fight, against the combined opposition of the Press, and it proved to be-the biggest boxing attraction Paris had evor known. In rehearsing what Mr. M'lntosh's present interests are, the Perth - (W.A.) "News" says:—"He is governing director of the Harry Rickards' Tivoli Theatres, Ltd., governing director of the .Great Eastern Tivoli Motor Garage, governing director of the Sydney Stadium, Ltd., governing" director of the World's Advertising, Ltd., governing director of the "Green Room" ■ newspaper, director of tie Brisbane Theatres, Ltd. The combined capital of these concerns is about one and l a half millions, and Mr. M'lntosh holds moro than, onehalf the stock, and the controlling interest in all these concerns. 'He !has accredited representatives in every part of the world looking out for fresh features for his theatres, and lie pays £30,000 a year for travelling expenses alone for his artists and companies. His purchase of the Tivoli Theatre was .the biggest deal ever brought off in Australia. He paid down £100,000, and then floated it for £250,000.' The flotation was over-subscribed. He not only built the Stadium, the largest place, of its kind, in the world, but he arranged the first world's heavy-weight championship fight over fought on Australian soil, and refereed it -himself. Latelv he has scoured one of the best London Theatres, but Jias > not yet floated Windsor Castle into a limited liability company, nor the Tower of London into a second Madame Tussaud's. Stil, he is young get—only 38 years old." Killing Sir Herbert Tree. . There is a pavement patterer outside His Majesty's Theatre, at the corner of the Ha.ymarket and Charles Street, who is noted for his amusing remarks on current events. Thrice already have I been privileged to record his patter' in the columns of the "World," says a writer in that London weekly. Once again has ho taken up his parable, and spoken on the Cabinet crisis. Writing, from memory, this is what he said';— "Good evening once again, my: lords, :ladies, and gentlemen. His Majesty's Theatre is no longer the home of Dickens, but has turned its attention to a French play wonderfully well translated into English'by two linguists. But the. name I do not liker—''The Right to Kill;' But what I dislike still more is. the picturesque poster -which reads ' His Majesty's Theatre The 'Right;to Kill ;■ • Herbert' Tree "It sounds terrible in war time. Fancy' anyone 'having the right to' kill Sir Herbert I Heaven help the villain' if I were near him in the attempt."The Vogue of the Matinee. We move slowly in New Zealand as far as following the. fashions of other and larger world centres. This is perhaps necessarily so, as we are a comparatively small community, as far away from tho art centres as China and Peru, yet being distinctly British and in weekly'touch by-mail with tho farthest corners of tho earth we. are apt to think that wo are "in the swim,", so, to .speak. ,In America they not only have continuous picture shows going from 9 a.m. until midnight, but the vaudeville shows put on as many as six shows , a day in certain theatres—two in the morning, two in the afternoon, and two at night, and tho performers practically have to live in tho theatres. These are, of course, the five and ten cent shows that are to be found in the poorer quarter of the cities. The better olass continuous shows will, perhaps only -give four' shows a- day, and the' best two. ;■' InMelbourne and Sydney two performances , a day. has been the rule in theatres controlled by the Fuller man-, agemeoit, and from a.managerial point of view tho innovation has proved a success, but it is only in largo centres that daily matinees are possible. Only a couple of years ago the Fullers inaugurated the Saturday- matinee in Wellington at cheap prices, and. for some timo the issue was in doubt; . Only' the stalls part of the auditorium was needed for months to accommodate patrons, and even a third of that section was curtained off to make the; theatre more cosy.' Gradually the matinee idea caught on. People came to know that they could see the whole of the show as at night' for. half the' money, and tho audiences began.to- grow. "During tho last four months tho growth of tho popularity of the matinee' has been amazing, largely attributable to Hie carrying at the poll of the general Saturday half-holiday, which releases all. the shop girls in the city. The attendances have grown so large that not only has.the.management had to throw open, the dress circle, but now the gallery is open and pretty well filled every Saturday'afternoon. Mr.' John Fuller .beliqves in. tho cheap matinee, arguing that tho system trains the public as night patrons of vaudeville. All Fullers' artists are now engaged on a twelve performances a week contract. As that is the minimum number of shows' given a week in America (where they sometimes. have, to show .twice a' day on Sunday as well) the "imports" from that country never kick at tho work in Australia. Notes. Amoiig the members of "The Man Who Stayed at Home" Company are three of the leading members of the Bucker-Paget Company, which gave us all thrills of delight fast year in a charming series of good plays. • These are Miss Violet Paget (Mrs. Buckler), Mr. Arthur Cornell, and Mr. Kenneth Brampton. The man himself is Mr. Frank Harvey, who was last here with Mr. Julius Knight, and Who, by the way, acted the hero in the successful war picture, "The Hero of tho Dardanelles," seen in Wellington last week. Miss Dorothy Oumming sustains the role played by Miss Lizttte Parkes in Australia. Mr. George Darrell, the 'Australian actor of other days, and author of many plays (the best-known of which was probably "Tho Sunny South") made a • reappearance on tho stage at the National Anipfliit'heatra, Sydney, under the Fuller management, oil Saturday last. The vehicle he employed was a sketch written by himsolf entitled "The White Feather," in tho course of which he introduced a poetic description of the deeds done at the Dardanelles by the . colonial troops. . Mr. Darrell is being supported by Miss Eileen Robinson, a reoruit from the ranks ef the Little Theatre.