THEATRICAL MATTERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4999, 2 April 1877, Page 2

THEATRICAL MATTERS.

By my penny of observation.—Shaksperu. ■THEATRE ROYAL. The Scott-Siddous season at the Theatre Royal has so far proved eminently successful; the name of the star has been as much talked of as matters political or any other matter during the past fortnight; and. we may be confident that when Mrs. Soott-Siddona has gone from here, her' memory will be cherished by all lovers of the drama, to whom her performances have been a source of pleasure not frequently experienced. Naturally the theatre was crowded on Wednesday night, the occasion of this lady’s benefit, and it was equally natural that her reception should have been nothing short of enthusiastic. I think, however, that a mistake was made in the choice of the piece. - This, of course,.is to a very large extent a, matter of taste, as the butterman philosophically remarked of his fourteen-penny prime, which a customer swore to be rank. There may be many who, after having seen “ King Rene’s Daughter,” : went away perfectly satisfied not only with the acting, but the . play itself. But, as a matter of fact, it was the acting of Mrs. Siddons, supported by Mr. Steele, and that alone, which saved the piece from appearing as ridiculous as it in reality is. A certain King Rene (whose kingdom and the glory thereof is not advertised), has a daughter,. lolanthe, whose fate it was to be stricken blind at an early age. She is kept in ignorance of this Refect of hers, and seems to get on pretty comfortably without optics, or rather, the power to Cee. : She is kept in seclusion in a little fairy place in which Sowers and fruit trees are mixed up in luxuriant confusion. One extremely awkward feature about the misfortune of " lolauthe is that, in accordance with a custom-in that part of the world, she was,"' by contract between the old fogies, engaged iu her infancy to an infant Count Tristan. Years having rolled on, as they do with people-, in. high stations as well as Tow, Tristan refuses to fulfill his part of the contract. However,' in the course of his rambles round the country he finds himself in the fairy garden: of I lolanthe, whom ho knows not, but finds that.he is iu the presence of a woman beautiful as an angel, and innocent as a babe—so innocent, indeed, as to bo unacquainted with the fact that ordinary mortals have the power of sight. He educates her mind on this subject, and in the process falls desperately in love with her, and she with him. Tristan is summoned away, possibly to settle accounts with some troublesome, dragon, but soon returns,‘and after making his passion known to the King, whom he meets iu the garden I have mentioned, he discovers that she is the King’s daughter, and "the girl he refund to marry. The King tells him in effect that :i certain wise man, an occulist profound, is operating on the beautiful but sightless orbs of lolanthe," and sure enough that young lady shortly afterwards makes her appearance with vision unimpaired, and at once becomes very much horrified at the sight of the King her father (Mr. Metcalf), for which I can scarcely blame her; and then falls into the: arms of Tristan,, whose manly presence at once convinces her of his identity. And they all” Jive happily ever afterwards, as the legitimate fairy tales say. It is a stupid story, but the language is elegant,, and occasionallybeautifulexpreesionsof thought occur in the parts of lolanthe and Tristan. Notwithstanding what I have said of the play, however, in itself, it may be well understood that Mrs. Scott-Siddona lifted it out of its simplicity and improbability, and by her superb acting entranced the audience.’ The character of lolanthe, as represented by her, was that of a beautiful girl, -whose grace of person was even excelled by the riches of her mind. Mrs. Siddous dressed the part magnificently and with characteristic taste, while her acting was perfect. Mr. Steele played Tristan, the count, a part,.which, would in the hands of many an actor have appeared mawkish, but into which he managed to infuse a certain amount of life and force. The other characters. King Rene included, are exceedingly small fry, and if eliminated from the play altogether would not be much missed, except iu so far aa they form sort of connecting links in the story, by which, however, I would not be understood to make any unseemly reference from a Darwinian point of view. I should say that the representation of “ King Rene’s Daughter” would prove a very stale, flat; and unprofitable performance in the absence of Mrs. Scott-Siddons. About “ The Grand Concert,” as it was called in the play-bills, I would rather not say much, for it would be utterly impossible to speak of it favorably. Sacred music must be well performed to be at all. pleasing; being badly rendered, as for the most part it was on Good Friday, it is execrable. On Saturday night “ Macbeth” was played for the third time during the present season,. There can be but one opinion of the acting of Mrs. Scott-Siidons as Lady Macbeth. It is perfect. Some persons are possessed of an idea that Lady Macbeth should be represented as* a woman of large frame and almost Amazonian bearing ; but this appears to be simply a vulgar notion. It is ordinarily the custom with a certain class of people, for instance, to invest with ill-favored or ungracious form those who are known to have iu them much of the devil and nothing of the saint ; but it is a well-known fact that the imagination is greatly apt to err in this direc-

tion. There is nothing in the reading of Sh»kspere’-> tragedy which should lead us to assume that Lady Macbeth was a big woman, or wanted grace and beauty. Mrs. SsoottSiddons shows wonderful power in the ponrtrayal of her passionate ambitious nature and unscrupulous courage, whilst at the same time throughout her acting the gentle nature of the sex allowed at times to show itself. Every action is studied, and yet appears natural _ and spontaneous ; her face a dial which indicates the thoughts as they arise, and find ox- ~ nression in words of burning eloquence. The scene iu the first act, where Lady Macbeth receives a message announcing the approach of the King and the altered position of Macbeth, was excellent. Here Mrs. Siddons showed how well she appreciated the business. For instance, her manner was perfectly natural ; and having read tin- letter of her lord, she does not at once dash off with her own lines, but pauses, as if rapid) v stetching out the future which seems to be shadowed forth by what she reads, and then, seeming to have concentrated thought in one direction, lets fall the words that indicate hr set purpose to sacrifice all for ambition. The scene in which Lady Macbeth in her -leep was equally fine ; indeed the acting of M is. Scott-Siddons throughout \vas so uumis'akcably superior that criticism seems supei flu'ms. Mr. Steele, it is known, plays the parr, of Macbeth well ; he is not new m the chara ter in any part of the colony. He had, however, something to contend against on Sa 1 unlay night in the appearance of his victim Banqiw, who, as a member of the Scottish nobility, looked sufficiently like a clown, but cut such an extraordinary figure as the ghost come to mock his murderer at the royal least, that the only wonder is Macbeth could look at ium and then preserve a sober countenance. The music was very well performed, a powerful orchestra having been engaged f r the purpose. I notice that an especially attractive bill is announced for to-night. Shakspero’s “Twelfth Night” will be produced, for the first time in Wellington, and we may expect to see a large attendance in the theatre.

st. George’s hail. The> e was a large attendance at St. George’s Hall ou Saturday evening to witness the performances of the Davenport Brothers, who, assisted by Mr. E. D. Davies, the ventriloquist, and Professor Fay, placed an attractive and indeed wonderful bill of fare before the audience. The first part of the programme was commenced by the brothers in their grand cabinet seance, the main feature of which consists in their being tied by tte hands, feet, and legs with ropes in all kinds of ways, and being to all appearances securely fastened to their seats by persons selected from the audience. The doors of the cabinet are then closed, and in a very short time are re-opened, when it is seen that the brothers have in some unaccountable way succeeded, apparently without any effort on their part, in freeing themselves from their bonds. During the interval between the opening and the closing of the doors, curious sounds are heard, a tambourine is set playing, a small bell rings violently, and buman bands are seen waving about inside tbe cabinet. The whole has a very singular and striking effect. One of the audience, who sat between the brothers during his part of the performance—a perfectly disinterested person—seemed as much in the dark as to how the thing was done as those outside- He assured all present that the brothers never moved from their seats, nor touched the ropes which held them, so far as he could see. He described the sensation produced upon himself by the musical instruments playing and whirling about his head and by the hands touching him as being incomprehensible. At the close of this portion of the programme there was loud applause. The next part of tbe entertainment consisted of a series of extraordinary feats of ventriloquism by Mr. Davies, who caused his puppets “Tom” and “Joe” - to say some very funny things, which kept the audience in a roar of laughter. Mr. Davies possesses evidently a great vein of humor, which he well knows how to use to advantage ; and as a ventriloquist he is deservedly at the top of the tree. Several of his local allusions were very amusing, and when “ Tom” asked him “Who is going to pay the last million and a half loan ?” there was much merriment, hlr. Davies* efforts to amuse his audience were eminently successful, and he was frequently applauded from all parts of the house. Professor Fay’s “dark seance,” which terminated the entertainment, was one of the most curious parts of the whole performance, and must be seen to be appreciated properly.. The gas is put out and the hall placed in total' darkness; then musical instruments, nibbed with oil and phosphorus so as to render them luminous, are seen whirling about in space, and there is a loud and confused noise of hammering, bellringing, and music heard all over the room, which has a very singular effect. How it is produced none but those in the secret can tell. Some of those present on Saturday say that during the interval of obscurity they felt their heads and faces touched as it were by invisible hands. The whole entertainment is unique. I have seen all sorts of shows, hut never one so curious as this. All who have a taste for the marvellous should not lose the opportunity of seeing Messrs. Davenport, Davies, and Fay during their stay here. Moth.