CHILDREN'S RECITAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2896, 7 October 1916, Page 11

CHILDREN'S RECITAL

PUPILS OF MISS PURDOM AND MR. BELL. . With children who are able to profit instruction, the opportunity of Bearing, then! prattle lines suitable to their , years is always a pleasant experience —particularly to parents who knew, the foibles of tho little ones. This was entirely the case last evening,' when a bevy of clever children, well trained by .Miss Betty Purdom and Mr. J. Culford Bell, provided an entertainment that .was thoroughly enjoyed by an audience ' that, almost filled the Concert Chamber. 1 In point of merit on the'programme, . thq last was best. This item consisted of a representation of; Charles Dickens's 1 Story "Holly Tree Ion," a-very cbarm- - ing and affecting tale based on those quaint old Gretna Green experiences that were contemporaneous with the days of England's greatest novelist. The, playlet was prettily and convincing-"' ly-,playedrin/ev"eryi-paitf. Ngaireiljeiiir? mon jgauVa :aevery swbet; nchildlikejrand' unprecocious t "Harry, wastfefightfully Splayed by little* Jessie Lees. Mr. H. G. Shakes, as Bobbs, the innkeeper, gave a- clever character sketch of that dear, loving,' -and genial old fellow, but Miss Constance i'heel, struggling ivith an accent,' was not so comprehensible. Others -concerned were: .Ins-Trim, Colin Trim, and I'\ 3. Bromley! Another pretty interlude was tho comedietta "A Soldier's Son," prettily conveyed by Leith Riddell, Hazel Hardwicke, ltita Howe, - and-Miss Kfchel Sullivan. "The Birthday Party" was in a comedy vein. .Each , little guest at the party unburdened secret thoughts about tho presents, their parents, and tho tea, with all tho thoughtless disingenuousness of childhood, and the . result ,was - very amusing. Tho participants were: Norla iWiggs, Maisio Rountree, Tlieima Aitkeu, Uhve Archer, Lorner Trengrove, . Lily Mackie, -Janet Lewis, Mavis Halliday, Noya Wilson, and Ethel SullivaJi. "The Shadow March" (from It. L. Stevenson's "A Child's Garden of iVerses") was acted in pyjamas by a sextette of. pretty little girls, ana a similar number of dots took _ part in the Christmas playlet "Stirring : the Pudding." ■ One of the smartest bits of character reciting given during the evening was Fergus Reeves's comical recifal. of ".The. Troubles of Guy De Vere." Reiiia Lemmon and Olga- Gil"ljerd enacted- the duologue,- ' "On the Landing," a regiment of little girls took part in- the amusing--sketch "Miss Slilligan's Girls," and recitations were given by Rero Beokway, Willie Khox, .Una Dawson (who hfis a good voice and promising style), and Donald M'Kenzie.> To-nighti - the -y.syeet .Dickens' play, "Holly Tree Inn" mil be repeated, also the quaint "Shadow March," but otherwise the programme will be entirely different. There will be "Fifteen Minutes with the Junior Class." eight littlo mites of tender years; a playette, "Fairy Silver Star," with quaint elfin dance; an amusing duologue, entitled. ff A Trying Pupil," a character '.'sketch by Hazol Hard-wick; also other sketches, njpnoiogues, and recitations. Her Excellency the' Countess of Liverpool will again be present.