Entertainment at Cheltenham.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 102, 28 October 1895, Page 2

Entertainment at Cheltenham.

The concert and entertainment in the Cheltenham Hall on Saturday evening was fairly well attended. The first item on the programme was a pianoforte solo by Miss Hitch, and this was followed by the pretty vocal solo " Douglas Gordon " by Miss N. Fry. Mr W. F. Elkington gave the comic song " Laughing Johnny," and being encored gave " That's all." This gentleman is cultivating an amusing style of chatting in a serio-comic strain prior to commencing his songs, and the audience testified to their appreciation of his efforts by loudly applauding him. The duet " Go, Pretty Rose," by Miss N. Fry and Mr C. H. Coote was rendered in a very pleasing manner and was one of the best items on the programme. Mr A. C. Matheson sang ' The Old Rustic Bridge,' the company joining in the chorus, and he wss encored. Mrs Coote sang " The Link Divine," with violin obligato by Miss Shannon. Mr H. S. Moss recited " The courtship of Timothy Horn," and the audience being so delighted with his style he had to respond to an encore, for which he gave "Jim's Colt." Mr Coote sang " Honey, my Honey," with chorus. A treat was afforded the audience in the violin solo " Andante " (Wallis Fletcher), by Miss Shannon, who responded to an imperative encore with the " Blue Bells." Miss M. Shannon sang " Good Night and Pleasant Dreams," with violin obligato by Miss Shannon. Mr R. S. Fowler was encored for the song " Sweethearts and Wives," and gave " Never Trouble, Trouble Boys " in response. The aci companimeuts were played by Mrs Coote, Misses M. and K. Shannon, Messrs Coote and Elkington. The second part consisted of the farce " A Row in the House," and those taking part showed an improvement in their acting since their appearance in Feilding the week previous. The characters were represented as follows : — Miss N. Fry assumed the character of " Mrs Scorpion," one of the leading parts, and illustrated in a ladylike manner her grief and wonderment at her "husband's" erratic behaviour. Mr T. Cornish, as "Mr Sigismund Scorpion," represented a part which required careful acting and impersonation, in which he displayed a talent, but might have given better effect to the scenes had he been more deliberate and not jumped round the stage quite so much, which lent too great a sameness to his acting. On the whole, however, the part was very [ creditably filled. Mrs Pickering as " Kate " (" Tom Tendon's " fiancee) I filled one of the minor parts and succeeded very well in her endeavours to assume a refined air as contrasted with her lover's free and nonchalant manner. As "Tom Tendon," Mr H. P. Lance acted "as to the manner born." Mrs C. H. Coote as " Mary," the pert wife of " Jimmy " the groom (Mr G. M. Benson), evidently grasped the situation accurately, and the several scenes she had with " Jimmy " were very amusing. " Jimmy " was a host in himself and materially assisted in bringing out the comicalities of "A Row in the House " between the estranged lovers. His childlike simplicity and pathetic wail in his replies, " No, sir, my wife," to "Mr Scorpion's" interrogations as to the supposed indiscretion of the latter's wife, were very amusing. "Mr Goodman" (Mr A. C. Matheson), who, as his name denotes, has something of the style of a clergyman, and at an opportune time towards the conclusion of the farce appears on the scene and succeeds in effecting a reconciliation between the parties. The farce was very good, considering the disadvantages of an incomplete stage, and the performers succeeded admirably in amusing the audience.