THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2635, 4 December 1915, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

The World's a theatre; the Earth a stage.—Heywood. £Br SyLTiosJ Whoit is an Artist's Zenlth7 Paul Burns, the amiable and loveable Potash, of the popular Yiddish comedy, hit a peculiar note when he said in the course of an interview that actors and actresses should retire when at the zenith of their powers—"at the height of their glory," as Mr. Burns put it—so that the younger playgoers cannot bo given an opportunity of doubting their ciders' judgment when the talk turns to players. There is a gleam of the blessed millenium in the idea, for have not all playgoers experienced ments on witnessing the performances of actors and singers, who have been great in their day, and yet have persisted in playing themselves down to a point lower than mediocrity. I can remember the sense of disappointment I experienced on seeing John Toole, when ho was in New Zealand. To me he appeared stodgy to a degree, and all his expressions seemed to bo machine-made. Ho had lost the spontaneity of youth and' the liveliness of healthy middle age, and was just depending on liis name and the well-] earned tricks that had served him so well "when he was wont to set tho town in a roar." Harry Paulton was another comedian - who was living on his past when ho visited Now Zealand. Many thought that Miss Ellen Terry would have lasted bettor as a memory had sho not crossed the worldi at all. To me she was still a great t an d I for one folt the full force I of her, magic powers in pathos and comedy, and I thank the gods I was permitted to see and hear her. I never saw George Itignold at his best, and I can never forget my disappointment v hen I did see him as "Henry V" and Maraci in "Called Back," and as Joseph in Joseph of Canaan." In none of-these plays-did he even know his lines. He was utterly dependent on the prompt, and puffed and snorted through his parts like a grampus, with none of the romantic spirit left in him. As Joseph!; ho was simply impossible, as he was supposed to be the youngest brother— the babv of the family—yet he towered in height and'swelled in girth above and beyond everyone on tho stage, <,ud looked simply a magnificent old man, "lagging superfluous on the stage." Yet none can doubt Rignold's brilliance when at "tho height of his glory." Two rather sad examples of the same thing in the sphere of vocalisin were Albani and iNordica.: The former's glory was well. departed before she thought of Australia or New Zealand, the tone was faded and broken, the music had evaporated from it, and there was nothing left save tho ghastly skeleton of stage tricks to stand for what had been. Nordica was not so bad. Sho could still summon up a good top note with an obvious effort, and' her art ,gleamed beautiful through the tottering fabric of her vocalism.

On tho other hand, who is to say when an artist is at'his or her zenith P I am thankful, for having seen' Ellen Terry, and, regret having heard Albani, so what is there to do? •• One might Bay that the 1 managerial aspect is the soundest guide to a player's zenith, but is it ? , Bernhardt was Lever paid more in her lifa than sho was for her last tour of America, vet there is no one who could 6ay that she acts with the same charm as sho did a quarter of a century, ago; and Sir Charles Wyndham, Sir Henry Irving, and others seemed rather to increase in managerial value as .they advanced into old age. Ask the artist himself (or herself)? Of course, they would 6ay they were never playing so. well in their lives as they aro at the present day I heard some'ouo say last year that Nellie' Stewart- was .absolutely at her best in "Du Barry." How can you arguo with a man who never saw tho alluring witchery of that clever actress as Yum . Yum in "The Mikado" or as Rosette in "Ma, Mie Rosette," ' and. who was surprised to learn that she was once a-singer with a^ brilliant operatic record? Mr. Burns himself will probably be saying thirty years hence that his Potash is not comparable to the part (if it be an earthly one) he is then playing, so he' leaves us much about where we w.ere. The Biggest Stage. In Australia the stage of the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, has long held the record of being the largest in this part of the world. Drury Lane Theatre, London, has been considered the largest of regular theatre stages in England, but the news that Japan can claim to have the largest stage in ■ the world will come as a surprise. Maud Fane, who is to fill the role of principal girl in ihe J. C. Williamson pantomime, "Mother Goose," makes-the statement, which lefers to Tokio, the capital city of Japan. Miss Fane appeared m this theatre with her own company of entertainers.. Tho theatre has tiers rising one above the other, and oil the stage four different i scenes can be set at the same time. The stage revolves, so that each set is presented alternately. "An amusing circumstance in connection with this stage,' said Miss Fane, "is that instead of tho artist taking the usual little 'skip' to get off the stage, one has to fairly take a run or a series of leaps, otherwise it would take too long to get into the - The Japanese' aro very proud of their monster theatre." "Baby Mine." A piece that J. C. 'Williamson, Ltd., have in hand for production is "Baby Mine," which the firm has been holding—metaphorically specking—for some timo ; awaiting tho opportunity of presenting it under the most favourable conditions as regards tho east. "Baby Mine" »vill soon see the light. It comes from America, where it caused- more stir than any other farce comedy in years. Tho controversy it aroused lashed the newspapers to ■ frenzy. Some critics, including W. D. Howells, put it down as one of the greatest plays ever written, whilst others declared it indecent. Such diverse opinions failed to give confidence in the critical gentlemen, of the. Press, po the public weiit to Daly's Theatre to judge for themselves. The result of their verdict was that "Baby Mine" ran for nearly two years. In London, too, its success was electrical. Tho central figures of the play are a young married couple, of ingenuous simplicity. Plays on Broadway. New plays produced in New York: "Common Clay," a drama by Cleavs Kinkead, a play of uneven merit with a strong middle act; "The House of Glass," play by Max Marcin, a 1 hicf play; "Our Children," an old-fashioned comedy that leavos the exotics or sex cut of it; "Some Baby," a farce by Zellah Covington, a comedy with real laughter in it; "Cousin Lucy,", a comedy by tho late Charles Klein (who was drowned through the torpedoing of the Lusitania), a very drossy but commonplace made-to-order style of comedy, not. suggesting tho -strength of "The Lion and the Mouso" or "Tho Third Degree," by tho same author; "Young America,play by Fred Ballard, in ivhich a hit has been made by a dog— a real, sad dog; "Rolling Stones," a melodramatic comedy by Edgar Selwyn, a sure hit; "No. 33, Washington Sanaro," play by Lero.y Scott, an ingenious comedy helped along by the art of May Irwin ; "Tho Road to Happiness," comedy by Lawrence Whitman, a rural drama of "The Old Homestead" type.