WAIPAWA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3580, 2 January 1883, Page 2

WAIPAWA.

[erom our own correspondent.] January 2, ISB3. The A'ermont Variety Troupe, who hail from —no one knows where (probably Tomoana) appeared in the Oddfellows' H;dl, AVaipawa., last evening. A full house greeted them—first with applause, but very shortly afterwards with eggs, which were, (as one of the performers said during a stump speech previously) '' if not in a state of decomposition themselves, then the hen that laid them was ill." The performance commenced by one of the troupe attempting to sing a ballad. As this was the opening piece the audience bore with him. The next item was an attempt at a negro song and dance. The less said about that the better. Then a stump speech (:-) by another of the company followed. The female portion of the audience were now fast leaving the hall disgusted, and those on thestage and behind the scenes were repeatedly jeered at by the " gods "in the back seats. The climax was reached when the whole strength of the company (four men, one girl, and a. child) attempted a farce. The leading gentleman walked about the stage in long coats and stared at the audience, and said nothing, even after being kindly invited by one of the suffering victims to " tell us something, if only to let us hear your voice." The comic man stamped on the floor, and struck a table vigorously with a stage umbrella. A\ itii respect to the others it is, perhaps only charitable to say nothing ; it would be impossible to describe their attempts. lhc curtain eventually fell (on a chair) amid "booboos" and jeers from the audience. The AVaipawa brass baud here came to the rescue, and played some waltzes, which hart the effect of subduing the excitement, and the curtain was again raised, one of the troupe " letting off " a ballad. The next piece was a farce called " Irish Justice, which is just what the performers got. As the judge was about to take his seat on the bench an egg fled past in close proximity to his head, this caused the judge to beat a precipitate retreat. Another egg and another " stage-struck hero " flow behind the kindly protection of the wings. A third member of the troupe, after a couple of seconds meditation with the promise of an egg, also made his "eggs.it," and the curtain again tell. 1M audience here rushed the stage, hut the troupe locked themselves up in one of the ante-rooms, and afterwards engaged the kindly protection of a policeman to escort them home. Such a scene has never been witnessed in AVaipawa before, w**™* say, without fear of contradiction, such a troupe. One of the cornW "f tt-i " wards addressed a portion of he audtfnee, and said they had not treated that he had "been a member of something-companies «»the world, and that audience could, not appreciate a good actor when tlicy heard him _ The troupe are notified to appear at .Waipukurau to night.