ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 82, 31 December 1917, Page 3

ENTERTAINMENTS

'THE MARRIAGE OF KITTI'

The public will this evening have a final opportunity of seeing "The Marriage of Kitty" at the Grand Opera House. What makes the worth of the piny exceptional i 9 the acting of Misß Marie Tempest in the part of Kitty. Miss Tempest, us the shrewd, vivacious, affectionate littlo woman, is the delight of nil her audiences. The other roles are distinctly well played, and since the plot is clever and amusing the production as a whole could hardly he too enthusiastically commended. New Year's Night attraction will be Somerset Maugham's phenomenally successful comedy, "Penelope." It is said that in the hands of Miss Marie Tempest the character of Peuelopc bceomes a delightful pcrsonngo, and her little mannerisms and arch glances aro so many piquant additions which give flavour to tho very real character of the young wifo which she represents. As the crrinff doctor, Mr. Graham Browne is scid to act with his usual finished style, and is particularly successful in the scenes in which he has to depict his passion for his wife, which in reality is a deep-seated and enduring one. Other members of tho cast include Sydney Stirling, lan Maclaren. Vfal Or-' dell, Thomas Sidney, Prank Allanhy. Bogcr Harry, Leslie Victor, Victor Tatnell, Len Nugent, Gwen Burroughs, Nancy Stewart, and Mrs. George Lauri.

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Tho new programme to bo presented at Hie Majesty's Theatre thin evening promises to bo an entertaining one, ond a fit one to usher in tho New Year of tho amusement world. Amongst many big specialty acts to bo presented by Messrs. Fuller may ' bo enumerated Tho Alerts (battlcaxa and bayonet jugglers), Jtf'Kay and Graham (vocalists), Sydney Jones and Agnes Raines, tho Musical lientlcys, Thurber and Thurbcr, the Coiemau Sisters, Ernest Pitcher, and the Austialian Hamptons. Tliis extensive bill will bo presented nightly throughout tho week. A holiday matinee, at which, tho entire programme ■will 1 be presented, wjll_bo given . to-mor-row afternoon (New rear's Day), at 2.30. "THE BARRIER." A Bex Beach novel, pictnrised under the supervision of Rex Beach himself—that 1b what patrons of tlio King's had tho pleasure of seeing on Saturday, when "The Barrier" was first screened. The action off the piece takes place in tho wildß of Alaska, amid beautiful scenery of mountain, forest, stream, and lake. The lakes especially are glorious. Still, clear sheets of water they are, cool and inviting in the daytime, and at evening made lovelier than ever by the tenner lights of sunset. Tho great theatre that nature has provided befits admirably the unfolding of ouch a story as "The Barrier," for Necia's love, and the heroic selfabnegation of Gaylord and Toleon are peculiarly (lowers of tho wilderness. Many of those who will ..co the picture already know tho plot. The principal characters are Lieutenant Meade BurTell, the scion of an old house, who comes as tho pioneer representative of law and order to a little Alaskan settlement; Necla, who livc3 at the settlement with old John Gaylord (known as "Gale"), and is understood to be the daughter of his Indian wife Ailuna; 'Foleon, a merry French, "voyageur" who is liurrell's rival for the hand of Kecia; Dan Bennett, a bad man. against whom Gaylord has an \ ancient grievance; and liunnlon, a desperado of tho worst typo, V:flc ias allied himself with Bennett, it vvoi;U. a long business to mention ail tho thrilling scones in the play, for they ar-> legion, but one stands out above tho rsst: it is that In which Toleon overtakes; Ruanlon as tho latter attempts to make away with Necla. Kunnion and ISecia are struggling on the shore. Toleon, stripped to the waist, with his great muscles tense and his eyes gleanuue, appears upon the water in an Indian canoe. Bunnion shoots wildly at She terrib'e Frenchman, while Necia flglite for' possession of the gun. Toleon runs his canoo aground, charges like a bull, and in almost no time Runnion, limn 2nd more dead than alive, is praying .piteously for mercy. Touched with the keenest pathos is » later scene, where the leave-taidng of Toleon is portrayed. Not for him as the love of Necia, but for end .with nothing but the glory of his sacrifice and the sympathy of his friends to comfort him, he goes out lonely to the northern wildb. Alike to thoeo who know tho novel and to those who know it not, )iho picture may bo recommended as well worth seeing.

EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. A picture of the Russian revolution, showing at Everybody's Theatre this week, is arousing the keenest interest even among those who do not ordinarily patronise the kinema. It ia only natural that it should be so, for at what previous cpooh was it possible to sit iit a comfortable theatre, surrounded by every guarantee of peace and safety, l and look upon incidents involved in one of the greatest naj tioual upheavals that has yet occurred— au upheaval fraught with possibilities of good or ill perhaps for the whole of.* the civilised world? The film screened at Everybody's is no studio product, but a faithful record of happeuingß that have set nations speculating. Permission to take the picture was granted by Kerensky himself. One. see 3 upon the screen great masses of people storm-tossed, driven hither aud thither by the mighty blasts of revolution. ' Wrecked aud bullet-riddled buildings appear in the trail of the whirlwind, and teach, as no amount of writing could, tho savage and titanic strength of the Demos enraged. In one, part of the film is Phown the funeral procession of those who were slain in the first rising. At that funeral two millions of people assisted. The grim fortress of Peter and Paul, with its guns booming out a salute to the dead, is not the least impressive figure in the spectacle. The square where tho first shot was fired, the Alexandra Nevslty Police Station, where the mob vented some of its fury, and a- newspaper office from which no printed sheet will ever is3ue forth again have also been photographed. Supporting the big picture is the ninth episode of "The Secret Kingdom," which appears under the title of "The Swamp Adder"; also "Oriental Love," j a clever Keystone comedy. I

THE EMPRESS THEATRE. A new programme was commenced at the Empress Theatre on Saturday, and at all sessions there were full liousea. 1 The chief picture on the bili is a. drama i entitled "The Woman Beneath." The story is well ytold, and lias the charm of an unexpected climax. It is a tale of ono Ethel- Giayton, a y.oitug eocicty girl who weds a self-made millionaire. Her ways and those of the millionaire, -very naturally, are quite different from each others. Her customs displease him, and he has an especial dislike for her habit of entertaining men friends and acquaintances. But, notwithstanding the husband's antipathy, the men friends come about. Marriage adds to the attractiveness of the young woman, and licr following increases rather than diminishes. These followers create a breach between the millionaire and his wife, and a parting seems inevitable. The husband pretends that he has lost hia fortune, and expects that. his wife will At once leave him on that account. Howeyer.' he is mistaken, and all ends quite fittingly. The setting of tho .play ia exceptionally fine. BARTON'S CIRCUS. There was another large attendance at both performances of Barton's Circus on Saturday, when a new programme was submitted. The Alvarez Trio of acrobats, supported by Miss Mena Val And the Merry Dcnos. supplied scusational acts. The Alton Trio again sustained their reputation as comedy tumblers aud acrobats. The clown clement is said to provide exceptionally ludicrous fun. There will be a matiueo performance to-day, and another change of programme this evening.