VAL VOUSDEN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2125, 6 July 1907, Page 2

VAL VOUSDEN.

AN EXCELLENT ENTERTAINMENT. It is many a day since Gisborne folk have enjoyed such hearty laughter as that which made the Theatre ring last evening. Mr. Val Vousden, as an entertainer, has few equals, and is able to hold the attention of an audience for a whole evening, playing upon their risible faculties as an artist does upon a musical instrument. His repertoire is so varied that there is not one dull moment. The enthusiasm which greeted last night’s programme shows that the impression he left on the public mind on his former tour has not been effaced by time. I n such inimitable fashion does he ramble on from one airy item to another, without any set programme, that it is impossible to convey more than an outline of the enjoyable character of the proceedings. Whether in ventriloquial “turns,” at which in legitimate test he is unsurpassed; amusing patter, imitations of artists, singers, and all manner and kinds of people, or in high-class elocutionary items, the resuit is equally pleasing. The whole pot-pourri is so quaintly blended that it is difficult to define whore one item onds and the other begins. The artistic concealment of art in his ventriloquial work is a striking feature. Without a trace of facial contortion he carries on droll dialogues between imaginary persons with wonderful fluency and distinctness, whether in the voice of the old Irishwoman, the society belle, the laborer, or the beau. And the result when he resorted to figureheads as his subjects was equally entertaining. His little sketches and imitations of society folk fairly “brought down the house.” \Yido travel and experience have taught him how to play upon the little foibles and mannerisms of the various grades of the human family, the whole being so felicitous that the audience is delighted. “A Modern Lady Flirt—How She Acts” was a piece of mimicry that evoked great mirth, and in the same category came “A Society Couple Who Can’t Sing, But Try.” Mr. Vousden’s falsetto was.most effective in pourtraying the female voice. Judging from the excessive laughter which followed the sketch the subject has some local application. “Johnny and Judy,” the ventriloquial figures aforementioned, were manipulated in

the style of Winton’s performances, singing and talking “patter” in highly amusing style. Great applause greeted such mimicry and ventriloquial turns as “A Little Boy Catcliinor a Bee,” “The Scotch Dog of Irish Extraction,” “The Distant Bay in jr of Dop\s,” “An Old ]\l.au Eull oj Love and Physic,” breaking out intc tuneful (?) rhapsodies, etc. His character of Mrs. O’Rourke, a Dublin applewoman, was screamingly funny. The confidences of the old lady were sprinkled with allusions to local celebrities, and the character served as a peg on which to hang various current topics in ingenious fashion. Great hilarity prevailed am-

ong the audience at the frequent mention of local names. The entertainer’s promises to become more proficient in “localisms” for his second performance was greeted with applause. Some interest was taken in the appearance of two small .game roosters on the stage, but the fun did not eventuate, as the “boss” fowl, an old stage hand' it. was said, was not available until, the following night. A sketch of a ladv playing the piano and singing, with sundry interruptions, was very good. It must not

be imagined from tho above that mirth only is sought after. The masterly and cultured manner in which Bracken’s “Not Understood” was recited was an elocutionary treat, and the same may be said of the more dramatic “Shamus O’Brien.” A visit to. hear Mr. Vousden can be recommended. ' There will be' a matinee performance for ladeis and children this afternoon at 2.30, and, the final performance will be given in the evening.