“OUTCAST”

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 169, 13 April 1921, Page 5

“OUTCAST”

THE MARIE TEMPEST SEASON "Outcast,” a drama in four acts, by H. H. Davies. Cast — Geoffrov Sherwood. Graham Browne Hush Carter - Ashton Jarry Tonv Hewlett Frank Allanby Taylor Herbert Millard Valentino Guest Dorothy Hamilton Nelly Essex Armorel Kemp Beamish Doris Gilhum Miriam Marie Tempest When Geoffrey Sherwood picked Miriam from the streets and set her up as 'his mistress he brewed a peck of trouble for himself. The author is pleased to call his play an “indictment,” but it is probably a matter for the individual conscience to decide as to whether the argument proves that to be the case. Miriam was in pretty low water when the spnrt of soda water struck her forest of feathers beneath Sherwood's window, and probably she would have gone on sinking into the mire had not Sherwood lifted her into comparative respectability. On the other hand, Sherwood himself was not above water at the time of the incident, having given way to drugs and whisky in his despair at being jilted bv Valentina Guest, and it is Miriam who proves to be his saving grace—honours are even. The problem is really created by Valentine leaving her husband and brazenly seeking solace with the man she has jilted. Miriam, now deeply in love with Sherwood, sees in Valentine a woman who is self-seeking and unscrupulous, one who has bitterly wronged the man she loves, and very naturally' when he proposes to break with her she fights for her own with all the primal instincts of the woman that is being robbed of the thing she loves. The end of the play is the. weakest and at the same time most melodramatic. Sherwood has.east off Miriam, and he and Valentine have resolved to go the limit, when Miriam arrives, a tear-stained, magnanimous Miriam, who refuses all aid for her future, and talks of the river that always flows for such as she. Valentine then becomes placidlv heroic, by deciding to return to the husband she loathes, leaving Sherwood and Miriam to "continue as before." with Buenos Aires as a geographical objective. "Outcast" gave Mr. Graham Browne the opportunity of showing that he ie as sound an exponent of dramatic roles aa he is of comedy. As the whisky-sodden wretch in the first act, his distraught air, shaky hands, and utter lack of control perfectly conveyed the man’s frame of mind. It was a different man entirely who faced life again with Miriam as his help-mate. He was excellent, too. in the scene, where he breaks away from the web of love Miriam would bind him with, and, very properly, he gained the sympathy of the audience. Miss Tempest, admirable actress as she is, was not so happy as Miriam as in many of her comedy roles. Physically, she made little appeal as the deserted Magdalen in the last act—she was too plump and jolly-looking to extract that full measure of sympathy intended; artistically her performance was as sound as anything she has done. Still, it will be plays other than "Outcast” that ehe will be beet remembered in. Mr. Ashton .Tarrv was suave and confident as Mr. Hugh Carter, and there was a freshness and polish about the Tony Hewlett of Mr. Frank Allanby that was particularly satisfying. Miss Dorothy Hamilton figured attractively as Valentine. The public hardly need reminding that the performance to be given this evening will lie the last in New Zealand by this company. Miss Tempest and Mr. Browne have given playgoers a rare gallerv of delightful portraits to treasure in the memory during their season, and the intellectual pleasure they have dispensed is the best guarantee that their memory will be kept green.