COMEDY AND BURLESQUE COMPANY.

Kumara Times, Issue 1341, 18 January 1881, Page 2

COMEDY AND BURLESQUE COMPANY.

Notwithstanding the profuseness of amusements of late provided for the inhabitants of this town, the Comedy and Burlesque Company on their reappearance at the Theatre Royal last evening were greeted by a very fair and appreciative audience. The piece se lected for presentation (and old favorite with Knmara amateurs) Tom Taylor's great five-act drama of " The Ticket-of-Leave Man," went without a hitch from the first 3cene to the fall of the curtain. As Bob Brierley, Mr Mack Alexander may be congratulated on his pourtrayal of the character, his acting throughout being admirable, and expression perfect. We must take exception, however, to his idea of the dressing of the part of Bob Brierley, disgraced and cast down seeking work at the hands of a railway contractor as a ticket-of-leave man under those circumstances would hardly appear in black dress trousers in utter and direct contrast to the other portion of-his.

dilapidated attire. In the hands of Mr Love the cast of Jim Dalton found an able representative, his rendering of the " villain " of the piece being received with those marks of approbation that clearly proved he had the interest of the audience. Hawkshaw is a character on which it may be said the whole plot rests, and in Mr Rede the cast was perfect. As the celebrated detective it would be difficult to imagine a better pourtrayal of the character than delineated by Mr Rede, more especially when assuming the inebriated ganger, as an artifice to overhear the plotting of his prey. Mr Warren made a capital Mr Gibson, while the far mere diffi* culty cast of Melter Moss, which fell to Mr Herbert, was a splendid piece of acting, both as regarded mimicry, make up, and expression. The May Edwards of Miss Morgan, fairly gained the sympathies of the house, and her rendering of " Still I love thee, love but thee," in the garden scene, had tobe repeated in response to a moat hearty and enthusiastic encore. As Sam Willoughby, Miss Amy Johns was quite at home, her delineation of the character of this fast young gentleman being greeted with constant applause. The character of Mrs Willoughby by Miss Lawrence could be hardly be said to be up to the standard as regarded make up, grandmothers as a rule in this generation being far from looking like sweet seventeen under a coal* skuttle bonnet. As Mattley Mr J. Wilkinson gave a humorous effect to the piece by his capital bye-play thereby bringing out the more pathetic and salient points by the contrast. The minor character of the waiter was well sustained by Mr Harland.

This evening the company will pro* duce the Christmas pantomime of "Cinderella, or, the little Glass Slipper," and as this is the only occa* sion on which the people of this district wiil have probably for many years of

witnessing an entertainment of this nature, we should strongly advise everyone, with their cousins, and their uncles, and their aunts, to" attend this evening.. Having had the pleasure of witnessing this pantomime in Hbkitika, we can tfuthoritively state that the management have spared no expense in"""* placing it on the stage in a mariner thjitcannot fail to please and amuse;- ; '