ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3048, 9 April 1917, Page 9

ENTERTAINMENTS

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE, ' A short war lecturo is given as one of the' items of the bill at His' Majesty's Theatre this week. Tho man who tells tho story is Mr. Zakareo Ermakov, who has credentials to show that ho was, in his earlier manhood—ho is,now at least M years of aj;e—a eoldior in tho Kussian Ariny, and an emissary in Germany and other enemy countries, of the Russian Secret Service. . Hβ gavo. his account of his adventures and of tho thtnEs he. eaw while on his sojourns in Germany at the two performances in His Majesty's on Saturday, on both occasions to crowded and very interested audiences.' He stated at the outset that he thoroughly approved of tho revolution in Russia,. beinff, as it was, an uprising , of loyal Russians against tho forces of a traitorous autocracy dominated bv German intrigue' and humbug. He predicted that as a result of the revolution hundreds of soldiers. who have been kept in the interior by the authorities to suppress the revolutionary element in the population,-would now, with many, thousands of young political , , prisoners, be ayailabloto strengthen the Russian field armies, •. and he eave his opinion confidently that, before , many ; months, we should hear of much increased force in the blows delivered by the Russians on the Eastern front. The fejituro of his story is the illumination of it by a seriee of views, some of them photographic, and some of them made from sketohes by. Sir. Ermakov himself—these ■. latter of places of which it'wae not nos.sible to get photographs, . even in peace , "times.. His sketches and his_ photographs and his observations on them show hoWcomplete German preparedness was for long years 'before the violation of .-Belgium'and'the forcing of the present' conflict.- His pictnres of Hungary, .Turkey, and of parta of the Russian Empire, ; are quite worth ■while as travel .pictures, even if they had. noi special waranterest now. And Mr. Ermnkoy ip not a' tnlker. merely. He brings with him, a /very fino act fit to have a nlace; in nny. viiudeville programme. The. paraphernalia, for this part of Wk-. performance consists entirely of man-killintr weapons.' . First of all he gives and exhibition of mnrkmatiship with a light rifle, showing that he in a very, qniek and accurate shot, and then he jnsrgle;: with a collection of .things—swords, bayonets, lances, and Rxes-TconcludiniTv'with- the old Jvnt' «ver dangerons and over popular..'apple-slicinfr tricfc, done by Ermarkbr.with sword-and nxn: the ripplp' being-held in his ossintanfs hand. His tricks are all extremely well executed, and his-turn is.altogether vary attractive: "".'■• .' ." ' •

Several new artists nre'.to anpear svs well as Mr. Ermnkoy tb-niglif. These infjlndft Huntley Spenn.er, a coloured tenor,' Merlyn, an eccentric, -.wizsrtl. who .has patroTis ; in Wellinirton before; Winifred and liimley, singers and lotera of mirthful morooiy, and' a' Highland comedian named Dan. Crew..

KING'. 1 ? .THEATRE.' An' American drama, "Broken Chains," was the chief feature of the new 'programme presented at the -Kind's Theatre on Saturday evening. Two well-known film favourites, Miss Ethel'Clayton and Mr. Bovorley Carlyle, had the leading parts in. the cast, and they made the most of, a"' plot- that was full of stirring action and dramatic, intensity,; flavoured with a pretty love interest. Incidentally the him. illustrated- , one of tho curious customs ft at persist in the United States, namely,. tho. law: that', permits' convicts in the. State of' Florida ,tq be handed'over to therjnore or,less tender mercy of private employers, whose,!rights.appear to extend even-to the -use of the last. 'A' smart young cavalry , officer, 'commissioned to arrest- , a bnnd of moonlighters in tjio mountain fastnesses, does Ms -work under picturesque conditions. But he is unjustly accused of murder, found cuilty on tlie strength of apparently, damning , circumstantial ■ovidencie, :and sentenced to imprisonment for life. How he works out his own ,salvation, .with tho assist-' once of the beautiful girl tfhose lovo for him 'has never faltered, and eventually proves his own innocence, •Iβ toltl in a series of thrilling incidents in picturesque settings'. ' Tho enp'porting films include 'n. capital number of tho'Qaumont Graphic, a. Vitagraph comedy, depicting the - adventures in liigh. society of a tramp, who has. purloined the garments and credentials of'a count, -and «tn"■ official' Belgian, film .'showing, the bombardment of Nieuport This-is one of tho most realistic war films yet seen in Wellington, and gives, an impressive demonstration .of the terrifying effect of shellfire. Buildings sLre ehown in tho process of demolition-by the enemy's shells, which burst witlr shattering fordo. Other ecenes include the'bombaTdment of the German lines by the Belgian artillery. The programme. will bo' shown nightly during tho wetk. ' ~:■■ ' • THEATRE. ".'■A; renjariible' 'Triangle .feature play was..screened,at.Everybody's , Theatre on Saturday,, eupportedsby. a new- chaptei of the Billio- Burke.serial; ■■• The Triangle play.-is entitled :"Tho Sin Yβ Do," and forcefully 'exemplifies' the ruth of Kipling's lines, "For the sin fro' do by; two and two yo"shall'.pay for one by one.":.-. In the. leading role. i«. Frank Keenan,, whq is supported by .Margery Wilson,- Margaret Thompson and Howard Hickman.: The plot is unique and its pivot situation , equals in intonsity any thin* , hitherto met with in tho picture world. Hickman, discovering the hero in an equivocal situation with hie wife, says, • "You-, hound, is there any reason why I shoiild riot..kill you?", and tho reply,is..-'.'Yes.',." , There ie a girl In tho Tombs accused of murder.-and I am going to defend her. That girl is my daughter. ••• Grant mo the time for her defence," and I. will make-any - reparation you. demand." Keenan is granted tho'.respite ho asks, for,' .jmd goes before the "Court to,- plead for ■■hie daughter's life... '.He. has-contrived to fill the jurybox with.-married men, and to them his appeal-in favour of what he-calls ."th« law of decency" 'has greater fbrce than tho prosecutor's, "Thou shal.t not kill.,',' Koenan,.',however/ finds \himself in tho position of appearing to hav.e transgressed,.the very law. that he has so eloquently supported.' How ho settles Ins own account witli Hickman after tho trial is told in the concluding scenes. This'brief sketeli of the play is sufficient to':show .that it possesses more than ordinary poper and dramatic, effect. No opportunity is missed by any. of the players, tho result is a picturo■ jvell worth seeing.- ■ ■ • . ■

;■".- ■" EMPKBSS THEATRE. A bright and emotional production, the World Film drama, "The Men She Married," is. the leading.-attraction at. tho Empress:'rh?atre this week. Gail Kane, tho 'principal' artist, is supported by iv number of other .well-known players. The plßjy'frqm a magazine story hy Harold Vickers, abounds in surprises, and is capitally staged..'. The story telle that a pretty heiress (Gail Kane) falle atcly in. love with a married "crook," wlio poses as ii bachelor. He and Gail are married, by a. clever pretext ho manages to get her to eign- a cheqiio for-a thousand dollars, which he immediately forges to road "ten thousand." Ho takes all her jewellery, gets the cheque reached, and leaves for America witlrhis real wife. Later, he forges a letter .to Gail, wWch informs her that he has been killed in a street not.. Gail lias' meanwhile fallen in love (seriously, this time) with another man, and ; on receiving vico that her. false husband has been killed she marries- again/. ' Then the "crook" returns' to blackmail har. Events develop rapidly to an .exciting climax, whioh ends "happily for all concerned except the. .There is a suit-, ably varied supporting selection.