THE THEATRE ROYAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4399, 26 April 1875, Page 3

THE THEATRE ROYAL.

CLOSE OF THE SEASON. On Saturday night the long season of the Bates-Howard Company was brought to a close with "The Merchant of Venice," which was played to a full house, the dress-circle only excepted. The season may be said to have extended over eighty-five or eighty-six nights ; for the interregnum, during which the theatre wa3 undergoing renovation, and the company visiting Napier and Wanganui, need not be taken into account. It says much for the management, and a good deal for the company, that it has been possible to play with so much success so long a season in Wellington, with its limited population of only between ten and eleven thousand souls. Mr. and Mrs. Bates have not merely commanded success but have deserved it. They have not only brought genuine talent to bear upon the public, but very great industry, good taste, and excellent management ; and while we congratulate them on the popularity they have achieved, we have also to express to them the thanks of the theatre-going public for the efforts they have successfully made to raise the standard of the drama in Wellington. Of Saturday night's performance we need say no more than that, put upon the stage " for one night only," and not as a revival, it was wonderfully well produced. Mrs. Bates was the Portia of the night, and played the part -with all her accustomed care. Mr. Bates conceives Shyloek somewhat differently from old traditions of the stage ; but his reading is approved by modern critics. He makes him not so old as Kean did, nor so rampantly usurious as Brooke did ; bringing out well the tenderness of the father who mourned more the loss of a daughter, married to a Christian, than he would have done the loss of ducats that might have bought "a wilderness of monkeys." His performance %vas even and good throughout. Mr. Burford played Bassanio carefully; Mr. Stoneham Was a jaunty and satirical Gratiano ; Mr. Hesford as careful and correct in his double part as became the part; and the younger members of the company— Mr. Thorpe as Antonio, Mr. Hoyle as Salarino, Mr. Lawrence as Solanio—deserve credit for their careful efforts. : Miss Jessie Raymond played the part of Nerissa very well, and Miss' Annie Francis that of Jessica very fairly. She is progressing. The farce of "My Turn Next" created roars of langhter. ,On the fall of the green curtain, Mr. and Mrj. Bates were called to the front, and on the lady retiring Mr. Bates, in a. few heartfelt words, entirely free from the bunkum sometimes heard on these occasions, expressed his grateful thanks for the appreciative and real kindness Mrs. Bates and liimself had experienced in Wellington—a short speech, warmly applauded. And thus endecL.th.e_first visit of these artists to the capital of New Zealand. They play no more in Wellington—for a long time to come at least;—and sail on Wednesday for Christchurch, to play a four weeks'engagementthere— - ■■■■