THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2764, 6 May 1916, Page 11

THE THEATRE.

IBy SiLiius.i

file. World's a theatre; the Earth a stage,—Heywood.

"Under Fire." When "Under .Fire" . was first produced at the Hudson Theatre, . JNew iork, it was expected that the Germans and pro-German clement would make itselt strongly , felt at . the performance, as brand''hints had been thrown out that the lirst-uigbt performance would be greeted by a series of disturbances .loading to a fiasco.' But tbe management of tho Hudson Theatre were prepared. They intimated that they were ready for any contingency; and. that 110 threat would intimidate them as regards the production of the pro-Allies' play. At the bpening- performance, Secret Service and plainclothes men were distributed in every part of the .theatre', but the pro-Ger-man' demonstration did not materialise. On'the other hand, tho entry _of the Germans in the play "was the signal for a storm of hisses, and when the little Belgian peasant girl stabbed tho brutal German captain, the roar of applause that followed the act showed that tho audience had ample sympathy for the Belgian's method of defending her homo and country. . "Under Fire" will bo staged for tho first time in Wellington at tho Grand Opera House on Tuesday next.

Tnero wero many people who anticipated, that the appearanco of Hun soldiers on the stage—or, rather, representatives of the army of tho "Mad Dog of Europe," would lead to a hostile demonstration on the part of the audi' ence, and that the first performance of "Under Firo" at tho Theatre Royal, Melbourne, would be punctuated with groans and hoots, as was the case with the production of the war play in New York. It, therefore, was a staggering surprise when, on the opening night and at nearly every performance since, the German soldiers, on the completion of their evolutions in tho Belgium Inn, received a round of applause. It was in no sense an expression of disloyalty or approval of tho Huns, but a practical compliment to the producer of the,play and those associated with him. Tho audienco recognised that these were local men, who- had been trained to represent the wonderfully-organised and machine-drilled soldiers of the Kaiser, and the applause was a. token of-their recognition of the perfect result of their stage training.

Stage Favourit<33. , A warm welcome will be accorded to Mr. Julius Knight and Miss Lizette Parkes on their appearance ' hero in Megruo's war play, "Under Fire," on Tuesday next. Mr." Knight is now a veteran favourite. 'Ho established himself firmly :in the good graces of playgoers twenty years and as a leading man is the most'lasting success Australia has known. Miss'. Lizette Parkes will always be remembered for. her charming performances in "Peter Pan," "Lover s Lau.e," and "Nobody's Daughter." Somehow, Miss Parkes always manages to coiivey an ! atmosphere of personal purity and goodness in her work, a characteristic as rare as it is beautiful on tho modern stage, or off it, for that' matter. I am afraid this play of "arms and the man" will not offer her. many chances to display her powers as an .emotional actrcss, still, wo'will all' bo, grateful to see once more the girl who raised lumps in our throats a few years ago as "Peter Pan."

Tivoli Follies Tour.' That most delightful-of all shows, the Tivoli Follies Pantomime Company, is shortly to visit New Zealand, reinforced with several additional star artists to those who appeared in New Zealand on the occasion of the last visit. Once morewo are to see the inimitable Jack Cannot, tho beautiful Vera'Pearee, and the quaint Billy Rcgo, tho smartest of smart ballets, and the most gorgeous of stage settings; but in addition we arc to see and hear that charming comedienne, Miss Thelma Rayo, Walter Wc-ems, the whimsical coon, aiid George Welch, a i wonderfully gifted burlesque artist. The following is tho. tour of the -company Auckland, July <1 to 10.; Napier, July 17 and 18 : Hastings, July 19; Wanganui, July 20 aiid 21; Eltihani, July 22; NewPlymouth, July 24 and 25; Palmerston North, July 26; Mastcrton. July 27 and 23; Wellington, July. 29 to August 3; Tiniaru, August 8 and 9; Walmate, August 10; Oamaru, August 11; Dunedm, August 12- to 18; Invercargill, August 19 and 21; Christckurch, August 25 to 29.

"Kultur at Home." "ICultur at Homo," produced at the Court Theatre, London, on March 11, is not a play directly about the present war, but it is only one degree bettor. It is a play' about- Prussian civilisation versus British. .The Prussian kind is' represented hy the narrowest,, possible sot of military society , in a' small garrison town, and the English, by a very charming but rather silly young girl Who married a Prussian officer and tried after marriage to remain thoroughly English. "Kultur at Homo" makes every effort to bo a fair play. If wo see Prussian views on domestio life, on art, on morals at their crudest and most aggressive, wo are not spared the English girl's air of quiet superiority, her condescension and her inability to sacrifice licr British individualism to the demands of the society- and the regiment. She must, indeed, have made, ,13 her English cousin said, a perfectly bewildering wife to a buii-witted Prussian lieutenant. But, though, the play tries scrupulously to bo fair, it presents an extreme case; and extreme cases never make satisfactory drama.

J. M. Barrio in Jest. The chief feature;of the great Royal matinee at the London Coliseum on Tuesday, March 8 (given in aid of the Y.M.C.A. fund for providing concerts for the troops at Lome and abroad) was, of course, Sir J. M. Barrio's "surprise," "Tho Real Tiling at Last." This ij year. What are the kinematographs going to do about it? Sir J. M. Barrie Will give them a lead. And so wo had "Macbeth" as it would lie dono on the ldnomatograph by an American producer. The croamiof tho joke lay in the writings on the screen which explain the actioii; though, indeed, never has Birnam Wood camo to Dunsinane so convincingly as it did in this photograph, taken from a train, of a forest speeding past. And 'the fight between Macbeth and Macduff was heroic indeed. The peers' had littlo chance. Their work had been done before, in tho eye of the camera; but Mr. Edmund Gwenn as the exceedingly American producer, and Mr. Nelson Keys as "the dramatic profession in a nutshell," had tho best of it.

Notes. • Miss Mary Anderson recently re-ap-peared for a special performance at the Theatre Royal, Worcester, in aid of the disabled men of the Worcester Regiment. Slie appeared in Gilbert's wonderful little play, "Comedy and- Tragedy, " and the performance wan a great personal triumph. ' At the big beauty competition held at tho "White City, Sydney, last week, there wero 700 entries, including some of tho most beautiful girls in Sydney. . The prize was won by' Miss Vera Pearce, the Queen of the Follies, who, besides being a very beautiful girl, is extremely popular in Sydney. "To-night's the Night" reached its three hundredth' performance in London On February 39. That play and "Tho Man AVIio Stayed at Home" have put up the Tiiggest London record since war broke out.