THE THEATRE.

Evening Star, Issue 3282, 27 August 1873, Page 2

THE THEATRE.

Having nothing to write about this week, because reproduction has been the order of the day at the Queen’s, 1 thought it might interest playgoers to obtain an idea of the plot of Gilbert’s fairy comedy of “ The Palace of Truth,’’ which is to be performed on Friday evening for the first time in the Colonies. I therefore availed myself of the offer of the obliging stage manager, and perused the book. I must say the reading was very pleasant. More sparkling dialogue than what the success of the “ Palace of Truth ” is bssed noon cannot; be imagined. And bow cliaim'ngly does Mr Gilbert make hit! characters say very unpleasant things ! But lam anticipating. For|the present I must content myself with describing the plot, which, told in the simplest manner, is this : —King Phanor, a ruler in fairy land, with his wife, daughter and her lover, and his court spend the summer away from their capital. The king, sick of the flattery to which he is daily subjected, determines to submit his courtiers to the influence of the “ Palace of Truth,where all who enter are compelled to speak “ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, ’* while at the same time they are not aware that they are doing so. The result may be imagined. The old king himself, whose loves are to,o numerous to mention, actually makes the whole of his amours known to his queen, who in turn displays a strongly jaundiced disposition; the Princess Zsolide, seemingly insensible to the tender passion, tolls of an unquenchable love for Prince Philimar, who, from burning with love for the lady, changes to a total disregard of her and an amorous free lance ; then there is a courtier who says some very hard things—hard because they are true ; another who disclaims all knowledge of music, when he laid claim to being a professor in the art ; another who, instead of possessing the fiery temper he laid claim to is amiable and unoffending. Besides these there are Mirza, who, .while possessed of a powerful talisman, appears all that is good and pure, and almost succeeds in. winning from Zeolide her lover ; but on the loss of the crys’al h(r true character is shown ; Az?ma. a coquette of coquettes, who uses her arts so extravagantly as to defeat her ends ; and Palmis, who is as outspoken among the women as Chrysal is among the men. At last the spell is'broken, and everything ends happily, while everybody is strougly impressed with the fact that, however proper it is to speak the truth, on some occasions it is very inconvenient to do so. Judging by the ca*t some excellent acting may be expected ; and as for mounting, Mr Hoskins intends to put the comedy on the stage in a manner rarely seen here, and when I say that Messrs Willis and Perriman have been painting for nearly a fortnight, something good in the way of scenery may be anticipated. Prompter.