THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2717, 11 March 1916, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

lH V ;o Ihe. World's a theatre; the Earth a " stage,—Heywood. h 11 TBY Symiub.l y ie Conee Reappears. 0 ew ,, vt,rs ' l >ii of the rovtio "Noiv's (> 1 T,!, mo was Presented at the Alhamlira theatre, London, in January- and f chlel comedian Mr. J. F. M'Ardle, i n l? s koioro n°w. very successfully now tho same position there in at '■ least one other revue, was welcomed back again. Mr. M'Ardle was in New Zealand last year with the Williamson raiitoniime. J hero are new skits, new incidents, and new music to brighten up "Now's t_ .ftjiie, and Jllle. Adeline Genee, - ®'!°f "ail-v encaKc-d,, appeared in a very pretty little ballet, ."Springtime," which nau the distinction of being conducted - by its coni])oser, Sir Frederick Cowen. The Tivoll Follies Coming. a Follies, ; who are to tour the Aow Zealand cities shortly, have made remarkable progress since they , )vero in the Dominion last year. Over r 111 Australia Mr. Hush M'lntosh was compelled to recognise the fact that j. the l'oJJies entertainment had greatly a milled the public appetite for oldJashionecl vaudeville. 011 that he took the follies seriously in hand. Artists . »l high repute were brought,from overf a >. every detail of organisation was f Wn studied. With the result •• that the lollies, who have been play, r !!! K m ,° 1 f pnclt - v business for many weeks 111 Melbourne, after a record 'Sydney season, are beyond all comparison tho (most company of -tho kind that Australia has ever seen. With what is C ordinarily known as a costume-comedy '■ f° t ',!! pai . ly e - v bave, of course, verv little in qommon. There is no rigmarole of set and stolid programme. The . en Jertamment is a revue. It opens with ' f, BasJl goes 011 with a whizz. Of • the people added since last year, Mr. 6 Walter Weems and Mr. George Welch Mr- Weems is quaint and subtle. He grows on his audiences. His f note is quiet Mr. Welch is all for bioad and rollicking farce. He is a " \ farc6^°'ne . di , a . u 10 happens ' ™ n bnt w" gymnast and acioiat. tLe has made more people ' months'\h Stra '' a « Uring the la ® t s!3r ' done in +i n a , ny , oth ? r two men have r Thpblln T! • .six years. Miss r 1 helma Raye is . also one of the new • En^iti OrS; 1 -V s V efined and gentle _ Engliih girl with, a beautiful voice and a beautiful presence. Hers is a sue--5 oi 5 „ Tile acknowledged r Queen of the Follies now is, however, Miss \ era Pearce. .This young Aus- • "alian beauty has made the most astonishing progress and is very firmly ' W M d 'rfh® favour of Austra- , lrnns. Mr. J ac k Cannot-is as popular as ever Mr. Billy Rego is, the most ac--1 thT \ ? r rtl v ln , puro P a 'itomime 1 off Australia lias known. He is as & an ? sur Prising as Mr. Chaplin , nimselr, and even quainter to look at. "The Boomerang Girl." : «f ln n h,l !' n S. Vera Teavce, the Queen ' f'irl» 6 W ° Boomerang ' fn • s,lghs ,lg h SI Int°sh hit upon a happy inspiration.' n, e title has become inseparably connected with Miss Pearce and to impress it on the Melbourne _ public the management presented even . lady patron of tho.Tivoli Uieatre with a Vera Pearco Lucky Silver Boomerang. Tins trinket lias been much sought after m Sydney, where it is regarded as a mascot to present to de- , parting soldiers. Sydney Shows. In Sydney the musical farce "So 1 Lon s' L®tty, is booming along.successfully and is likely to keep for a long time yet. Th o drama "Un. der Fire is packing the Criterion, and ' wonderful Fox films are packing the Theatre Royal at 35.25., and Is. These films are said to be the best ever. • Carmen,'? with Miss Geraldine Ferrar in the name part, is a superb pro-' , auction. _ It followed by William Farnum m "The Plunderer," and when . left, tlio ICreutzer Sonata, , with Miss. Nance O'Neil as tho. star! was announced. Miss O'Neil is nojv up with the leading picture actresses of the world, and is said to be able to command fabulous money. At the Palace a company of sorts is playing an ' Co ' l1 l ed -V on Dyson's tough factory'Ands"- stories, and Jlr. Grif-' ten (at His Majesty's here a few weeks ago) is playing in Irish song drama at the reconstructed Adelphi. Ben Fuller has returned to Sydney from San, Francisco. He recently engaged Mr Harry Roberts for a sketch turn at the National. It was "The Prince Chap" boiled down, and was howled down on the first night by the great unwashed. the "Firm" and tho "Movies." Following the success J. 0. Williamson, Ltd., appear to have made in their picture venture at the Sydney Theatre Koyal, it would surprise no one if 1 that firm were to go in for the "movies" as a .steady thing. What points to that contingency, too, is tho fact that they have secured the rights of the famous t'ox films, which are said to be the nnest productions for the screen ,up-to-date. At the latest the Fox neople v? L s ?, em 'f (l ' the' services of Robert Mantell, America's greatest tragedian, who has promised to. erect a theatre in New York for the production of Shakespearean plays, of what he makes in the moture business: Having tho lights, Williamson, Ltd., must secure . a circuit for their display,'in order to cut iip the heavy cost of the films, Which,run to over Is. per foot of film. It may happen that vacant dates in the Williamson theatres in New Zealand will he filled up bv "movie" shows, so ' that the end_ of picture enterprise in this country is not yet. Bmoking in Theatres. Six weeks ago—ae the result of years of agitation—the Lord Chamberlain , granted the Lnndofi managers the right Jo allow smoking in their theatres. J There were manv who said thev would liot be hapny till they jrot it, hut the piauarrers wbo wore asked to take part m the demand for smoking seemed somewhat indifFerent, and the concession i Hien it came, took them by surprise, i Kor two or three clays there were con- < feronc«s, and after a "week were r forgotten. The result is tint, altboutrh i nverv theatre in London is free to allow Kmokniß, not one "house presenting a < nla-v lias availed itself of tlio new law. Only at the Comedy Theatre and tho Playhouse, where revues are hilled, is . Bmokinrr permitted in the auditorium. "Charley's Aunt." J "Charley's Aunt" is to be played at ' the Grand Opera House by the "Charley s Aunt" Comedy Company on March j 23, 24, and 25, in aid of the patriotic funds. Tho cast of characters will' bo ' as follows: —Lord Fanconrt Babberley, 1 Mr. Norman Aitken; Mr. Snettiguc, ! Mr. Kenneth Aitken; Colonel Cbeshey, Mr. W. W. Crawford; Jack Chesnoy, Mr. C. B. Russell; Charley Wvckhani, j Mr. H. F Wood; 'Brassott, Mr. H. ' llupps; Miss Kitty Verdun, Miss Ruby ' vScott: Amy Spettigue, Miss Marie Fix: ! tula Delahay. Jliss Pauline Brown: ' TJonna Lucia, Miss Mabel Hardingc- f Maltby. j Charlia Chaplin as the Artful Dodger. | It is a pity that the recent historic ' "jtorvicw at Los Aiigelos between Sit i Herbert Tree and Charlei Chaplin could i ■not bo filmed for the delight of London, t Sir Herbert is playing in California in ' "Oliver Twist," and persuaded the lord i of kinenia farce to appear for one night- •• in the part of the Artful Uodjier. )t s jmist have been a wonderful sight—Sir 1 Herbert Tree, with magnificent genial- ; lty, overcoming the reluctance of tho i Jittla matt .tQ ratwa is iha otdinaa * I

stage. One wonders whether Charlie <"- o yl.y poked Sir Herbert with his wobbly cane and tried to shuffle off on his ;tpp!e-pie feet. The performance w;i6 in aid of the British Red Cross, which Charlio lias already helped with a gift oi several hundred pounds from ilia princely salary. Notes. tn all probability the "Under Fire" Dramatic Company will commence* a tmir of New Zealand in Auckland at ftast-cr. This is a real old-time blood-and-nmrdor war melodrama, , demotm-'. an invasion of America by the "HunsIt was written as a sort of "wakc-up' : message to America, and had quite a successful nni in New York. Mjss Wette Parkes and Mr. Frank Harvey arc playing the leading roles—next to tliose played by gunpowder and red flares. Examined in bankruptcy at Warringion, Lancashire (England), recently, Mr. A. M'Leod Loader, theatrical manager, author, and producer of plays, 6?. id that he was the manager of the Aldwych Theatre, London, from July, ISJI3, to January, 1915, at a salary of £12 a/week, in addition to £6 a week us manager of 1 theatres at Warrington and St. Helens. Sir Joseph Beccham was the owner of all three houses. Mr. Loader said his deficiency was £2850, and explained _ that lie lost heavily through air raids on towns whero his companies were performing. The examination was closed. > Mr. Brooks, manager of the new Crown Theatre, in Sydney Street, now approaching • completion, informs me that the new theatio will be ready to open at Easter. From present appearances the first Thomdon theatre promises to be ono of the most comfortable jn the town, and there' is no logical reason why there' should not be audiences for good pictures at the , longneglected northern end of the city'. Mr. Brooks has made special arrangements for a s'UDply of film direct from London, and a firsln-ate orchestra is beinc assembled. *°