ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2820, 11 July 1916, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

"O'LEARY, y.C." At times highly amused, and at oilier times thrilled and deeply interested, the audience at the Opera House last evening appreciated and enjoyed the original comedy-drama played by that ''popular actor, Air. Allen Doone, and his talented company. Mr. Doone is an actor after everybody's heart, and he extracts to the full the comedy and sentiment which make up a vastly interesting and absorbing play. Miss Edna lveely is delightful as llona Fitzpatrick, a lovable and loved Irish girl. Miss Ethel liashford is_ particularly successful in the role of Eilv Dale, a delightful girl upon whom much trouble comes. The other characters are. exceptionally well portrayed. A feature of the performance is undoubtedly the singing of Mr. Doone. He sings "My Mother's Wedding King." "The Kerry Guards," "My Old Dhudeen," and "The Hams High Up in the Corner." To-morroc evening Mr. Doone will stage Dion Boucicault's great masterpiece, "The Shaugkraun." It will be produced on a most elaborate scale, and will hold the stage for three night", boing followed on Saturday night by another play, new to Wellington, entitled "The Bold Soger Boy." . HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. There was a packed house at His Majesty's Theatre last evening, when a new bill, headed by The Five Mancburians, was presented. The Manchurians gavu another wonderful performance. They tumbled and balanced in an extraordinary manner, but it all seemed so easy to tli'em that their wonderful tricks appeared quite simple. Their tumbling was of the lightning order, their balancing daring, and to cap it all they sat on chaira that were not on the floor, dined at a table they held in the air, and the secret (open to all) was that they wfre suspended from the ceiling by their pigtails. Tho JLampints made their opening appearance as comedy illusionists, and Mr. Dan Thomas, the pantomime cornedian, reappeared in songs that caught on. Clark and Wnllaco talked and danced; Val and Lottie Newman burlesqued an absurdity entitled "Nearly a Waiter, and the Raleighs put on a first-rate wirewalking act. The first porton of the programme was used by the Victor Prince Musical Comedy Company for tho production of "Tho Harem .S'carem Girls, a skit on a phase of : Oriental life, out of which the company knocked quite a lot ot fun of the boisterous order. One ot tun brightest items in the piece was Luian Colenso's "Patties Packing Parcels. KING'S THEATRE. An Alaskan love etorv, entitled "The Iron Strain," was produced at the King s Theatre last evening as the 6tar attraction, and it drew a crowded house. In putting. forth, this production Ihomns Ince, the producer for the Triangle Film Coy.,'has brought together tho most talented women of his studio in the company of Dusiin Earnum, who plays theleading part. He is ably supported by Enid Nearkley? There are also two clever Indian characters played by real ltedskins. The story briefly is of Octavia Van Ness, a San Francisco social butterfly, who is taken .to Alaska for her health, where she meets Chuck Hemmingway. She repulses his advances and he ■steals the. gin and enters into a forced marriage with her, , and instate her in his cabin. Six months elapse and tho girl, now strong and well, is still antagonistic to Chuck, but as soon' as another woman appears, her jealousy is aroused, "and for the first time sho loves her husband, and they leave the cold north for sunny California. Tho supporting programme is alio well worth seeing as it includes the latest release, of the Patho Gazette and a' clever Sydney Drew comedy entitled "Diplomatic Henry."

ANIMALS IN FILM PLAY. Animals play a large part in "Cabiria," the 12,000-feet historical film play, which is to 1» screened at the.King's Theatre next Monday. For - Hannibjl's march over the 'Alps 300 .horses arid 20 elephants wore used. At tho siege oj C/'irta all the horses, all tho elephants, about 30 mules and 15 camels Were inlro. duceil into the picture. Another sceno shows the camels setting out for Carthage, with the, high priests of Moloch, and travelling; through the desert. Tho final touch in the employment of animals is reached in the scenes in the apartments of Sophonlsba, one of the beautiful women of the play. There a leopard, sleek, full grown, and obviously a pet, is shown moving about among the women liko a huge cat. Ho is allowed a free run throughout the scene, and the' actresses engaged in it have been so thoroughly rehearsed that they paid no more attention to hiui titan if ho were a cat. In tho same scene a flock-of net doves are flying about, and these come to Sophonisba whenever she calls them. It is perfection of detail of this sort which has made "Cabiria" such a huge success in other parts of tho world. This picture is .now attracting at two sessions cach day record audiences in. Auckland.

EVERYBODY'S. An exceptionally interesting and varied programme is being presented n,: Everybody's Theatre this week, with ; comedy as the predominating feature. : In "Patty and Mabel Adrift," the principal artists are I'oscoe Arbucklo "and Mabel Nonna'ml. The picture is a very good comic item and shows the principals at their best. They are violently in love with each other on the inevitable farm, where as usual, they are thinking of anything else but the work, which Mabel , should be doing. When Fatty is busy milking a cow along comes Mabel and distracts his attention. When iie turns round the cow has moved off and has been replaced by a horse, and he is so surprised that along comes a calf before the effect lias worn, off, and sticking its'head into the bucket, drinks all the milk, or nearly all of it. Fatty finishes up what is, left. Finally, the pair are : married and-go to live by the seaside, but unfortunately there is a rival,, and with the aid of a couple of "crooks" he. manages, while they are' asleep, ami a' big storm is raging, to float■the house out to sea./ )Yheu t hoy wake up they send off their little dog w-itli a message, and m no time a couple "of fast launches are speeding to their resoue. The scenes of boats trying to get'through the surf and of .men falling in all directions into se 2> provoke screams of Inughter. The Butterfly's Lesson" is an excelloiit drama, and is followed by a really good educational picture dealing wi[h the making of big guus. "With the British Army in France" and the "Gaumont graphic are also very good pictures, the former showing gim firing when the German trenches arc only two hundred yards away from the camera.

empress' theatre. ,^]' e ®t? r feature in tlie new programme at the impress Theatre, "The .Woman's Share, is a two-act Vitagraph .Company's special, filled .with-everything that makes for popularity, Silas llummeil,. a farmer, aud his wife, toil from morning to night on their farm. Martha, the wife, is led Ito believe. that her husband's farm is mortgaged, ;In reality her husband has a comfortable fortune placed away. He receives an'bffev i'rom a prospector ot equal shares in a' gold mining venture at Death Valley. Durii}'* his absence, prospecting, his wife finds the key of the cafe deposit box, and discovers a large sum of money and manv valuable Ixmds therein. Silas Huinmel'l is lost in the valley,_ and 19 reported 1 dead,, and his wile divides his money in halves, and is about to give his half to charity when he returns, and in an intensely dramatic scene, wins back his wife's love j and tho respect of his neighbours. '['he principal comedian in a Cub corned}', "Jerry on the Rampage," is George Ovey, and he proves himself a rival of Charles Chaplin, who is appearing oil tlie same .in a Keystone edy. Another fino feature is the Lubiu one-act play, "Ophelia." "The Romance -of a Beancry," the "Topical Budget," and a charming travel scenic, "Amongst the Engadine Alps," makes up the rest of the bill.