RETURN OF MISS MARIE TEMPEST

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 79, 28 December 1920, Page 6

RETURN OF MISS MARIE TEMPEST

"THE DUKE OF KILLISCRANKIE"

"The Duke of Killiecrankie," a farcical comedy in iliree acts, by Captain Hobert Marshall. .Cast—

Mr. Henry l'i'.t Wi'lby. 1.1.P. Grahao Browne lan Douelaa Maeliayne .... h-nni llarvey Mr. Ashlev liieks Asinon Jarry The Counties of l'anctiounie i'oris Gilham 'i'hc Lutly Henrietta Addison - Dorothy Hamilton Mrs. Jlacßavno Ai'moruh Kemn Alexander MucJitiyne ... Kenr.d *!euUeumm Mrs. Mullialland Mine leuinest

Although-"The Dulcc of Killiecrankie" is nearly twenty years .old, a certain fragrance still lingers round tlio memory of first impressions .of the farcical romance. The double decade has engendered an itch for movement, action, and animation in comedy, and that is-* not one of the virtues of Captain -Marshall's comedy. It includes, however, dialogue, with a' strain of subtle allusion, barbed humour, and a. pretty fancy in metaphor, and characters that are. definite and. interesting. Such comedy could scarcely have two finer exponents than Miss Marie Tempest and Mr. Graham Browne, who were warmly welcomed back by the large audience at the Grand Opera. House last evening after an absence of three years. The comedy was performed in Wellington some six- • tieen years |ago with Miss Florence Hamer, Jliss Eose Musgrove,* and Air. Wilfred Drayton in the leading rol«a, • and left an indelible impress 011 the memory. It is love that makes 1 lie world go round, and the same chubby little god is responsible for the adventure planned by the Duke of Kiltiecrankie. In (ill respects the Duke is a 1 conventional young .man of society, whose hobby in life is to propose marriage to Lady Henrietta Addison, and licrs is to refuse liini with vhe same insistence. At length the Duke grows desperate, after his lady love has informed him that he lacks persistence and strength. He iplans to abduct her and conduct her to his mountain castle. As this has to be done with aIP propriety, Mr. Henry Welby, a'chronically impecunious M.P., is inveigled into playing a part■ on' coniliiion that his own inamorata, Mrs. Mulholland, shall be the chaperon. Now, Lady Henrietta is "extremely nice," and Mrs. Mulholland's money was made out of glue, of which commodity her reputation is not altogether uuneedful. The meeting of these two combative forces— the one a comparatively innocent hot-* house plant of society, the other, a aviiity, shrewd sophisticated woman of the jvorld—makes for one of the most delicious sceiies in the play—one that might have been written by Sir Arthur Pincro himself. Having discovered the ru6o when within the rocky fortress, the ladies do their best A> escape, and really do succecd in alarming and interesting the outside world. After a week, tlio Dultc relents. He finds his plot is not working out as he intended.'' As a masterstroke he contrives that he . and Welby shall toll the ladies that they are free, and that all thoughts of marriage have evaporated _ like the mist 011 tlio mountain. The idea works like a charm. Mrs. Mulholland inetead of scampering to' freedom peremptorily orders Welby to marry her, and the Lady Henrietta also confesses her desire to stay and rest in tho castle. Nothing very involved here, l>ut there is a certain charm about tho dialogue which kept, the interest alive throughout the evening. Miss Tempest was as bright, winsome, and*.intellectually refreshing as ever as Mrs. Mulholland. With a look, a gesture, a. tone, Mi6s Tempest is able to suggest more than most actresses. She was extremely humorous at the supper scene, and in those little interchanges with "Henry" ami the Duke she disclosed in a hundred' ways the breadth of her sophistication. Miss Tempests polish, - charm, and repose are a ■pleasure to witness. Mr. Graham Browne makes Henry Welby « dear, delightful ass, entirely without backbone or principle, but one who enlivens the company with futile ideas, which as a,' rule oxo born of .Jus own egregious selfishness. Mr. Browne plays the part as 0110 of the inane Johnny tvne-of the G. P. Huntley order-and his capital mumming keeps the audience giggling continuously. Mr. Frank Har-: vey was a brisk business-like Duke of Killiccrankie, and Miis Dorothy Hamilton was properly disingenuous as Lady Henrietta. Tht* u*p of conventional scenery is abandoned, in favour of figured curtains w iudi only remotely suggest ilie desired effect. Slits or divisions in the curtains serve as. doorways. In the second act 111 the castle imitation tapestries were used, but the soft, flabby fabrics when used as stone battlements and turrets, against a. yellow sky scarcely convinced.. Owing to the late arrival of the steamer the curtain did not rise until 8.40 p.m. A capable little orchestra, under Miss Nellie Black, filled in the, timo with bright music. • "The Duke of Killiecrankie" will be repeated to-night and to-morrow ovening. On Thursday and Friday next, and tho matinee on Snturday, Hubert Henry Davies's popular comedy, "Cousin ICate!" will lie played. On Saturday night "Tho Marriage of Kitty," tho play in which Marie Tempest and Graham Browne made their first success in Australia, will lie presented for one night only. The box plans for the season are .on view at the Grand Opera House daily from 9.30 to 5.