Plays and Pictures.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 80, 20 September 1912, Page 6

Plays and Pictures.

VISITING SINGERS

PITHY PARS

The Plimmer-De.niiiston Company """ill Ix , . the next to seek the favor of Wellington play-patrons. During the i brief season of nine nights at the Opera i Hou.se throe really fine pieces will be presented, and theatregoers should express their appreciation in a run of crowded houses. "Nobody's Daughter" will open the season on Monday.. September l>3, and will be staged for four nights. Then will follow Oscar WiHo's brilliant comedy, ",.\ Woman of no Im- | pnrtniKT , ' (three- nights), and (rrundy's "A Village Priest" (two nights). ; "Nobody's Daughter" has been de-1 I scribed by an Australian critic as "a cameo from real life, with all its mii tensely Human errors nnd emotions, J touched finely with ilie divine attribute !of forgiveness. It is the, most compelling piny that has been produced in Australasia during the last' decade,." * a a j The Plimtner-Donniston Company is one of the most highly-qualified and I artistically complete, theatrical organisations now touring Australasia. It may in truth be described as an all-star company. Tn. what other body of thespiane 'now before the Australasian public cwa J one find Mich a gnlaxy of talent as rei presented by Mrs. Bobert Brougb, Miss i Beatrice Day, Miss Lizette Parkes. Mr. ! George S. Titheradge, and Mr. Harry J Pliinmer, not to mention Miss Tempo Pigott, Miss Beatrice Usher. Mr. A. E. Greenaway and Mr. Harry Sweeney. Among the greatest artistic triumphs of Mr. Georg© S. Titheradge in the palmy days of the Brough-Boucicault Company were the gentle and lovable Abbe Dubois of "A Village Priest," and the cynical and hard-hearted Lord lllingworth of "A Woman of no Importance." The older generation of playgoers will hail with gladness the opportunity of renewing acquaintance with "Tith" in theso two great characters, and the younger ones should rush the chance to see such a distinguished and admired acto-. in the roles. # • • The R<>J Dandies—the "Rollicking j Reds" —hare coroe back to the Town Hall to cheer the spirits of depressed Wellingtonians and to still further gladden the hearts of those with whom "everything in the garden's lovely." Branscombe's bunch of entertainers are just the. thing the, doctor ordered for a fit of the blues, and if you are "down in the dumps" comedian Claude Dampier is the lad. to lift you lip to a brighter outlook on life. Go and hear him. ♦ * * . Fuller and Brcnnan's vaudeville show at the Wellington Theatre Royal is boing kept thoroughly up-to-date. There is a constant infusion of "now blood" in the. personnel of th<? company, so tha,t there is always .something fresh to see, and someone fresh to hear. S.R.O. is tihe chronic condition of tho house and the chief worry of the management is :n know where, to stow the people ' r lbe business manager, however, is you i and smart and courtesy personified,, and i difficulties like this disappear »i bis I iouch liko chaff before tho win'].' Mine. Eloonora de • Cisneros ("Cis" to the irreverent) the statuesque mezzosoprano who was a stellar attraction of iho Me'ha GrnnJ Opera Company ir. Australia, and whom we thought we weren't going to .hear, gave two higrhlysnccessfnl concerts in the Wellington Opera House this week. To-night (Friday) she makes her farewell appearance in the Town Hall. See yon there? Sure! # * • ■ Paul Dufault, the tenor of the de C.isneros concert party, trills like a. piping thrush or a bobolink in springtime. You should hear him. Living pictures are all the rag© just now. What a number of animated sketches one sees in the streets. « • # Rich and Rich, vaudeville favorite? at the Rickards houses in Australia are chanting a new "House that Jack Built" jingle. It begins with "The King of Caractacus Jias just passed along," sung four.times, and is gradu-J ally built up to "The bunions on the', tootsies of the men. who chase the maids that use the puff to put the powder en the face 3of the girls in the harem of the King of Caractacus have just passod along." m • *• Florrie Fordc, an Australian vaudeville dasher who used to fetch the baldheads some years ago with "0 You Great Big Darling," bills herself in London as "The world's greatest'singer." Melba, Butt, and Calve will be upset! • * * Particularly bright vaudeville columns are those done by Norman Lilley for the recently started "Critic," of Sydney. Hero is portion of one of his recent it-ems:' ''Budd -and Clare goti r iaht .--there at the National; Saturday, last.- Their comedy scored, the. audience roared as the fun came thick and fs?t. A good wjcle range, with a true lightning change, was that of the taller performer, and hjs clever pard worked good and hard to hack.up the fun of the former." # » * Madame Kirkby Limn, the world-fam-ous contralto, shortly to be heard in the Dominion, is declared by so eminent an authority as Sir Charles Santley to be the greatest English artist*—man or woman—before the. public to-day. As an exponent of English ballads? she is pre-eminent. Her rendering of "Three Fishers Went Sailing" is conceded to be one of the finest emotional lessons in modern, singing. Such is , her status in the world of song that her appearance here is being looked forward to by music lovers with the keenest interest. She- will be introduced to us by that foremost firm of Australian concert managers known as J. and N. Tait; though really therer are.three brothers running the business—John, Nevin and Frank. . .