THEATRE ROYAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5222, 17 December 1877, Page 2

THEATRE ROYAL.

Mr. H. E, Walton appeared on Saturday evening as Conn the Shaughraun to a large audience, and fully sustained the reputation he has gained in the neighboring colonies. He perfectly individualises himself with the character, and makes his points without seeming to strive for them, and the actor ignores the presence of the audience, which, to our mind, seems to be the very acme of acting. He was frequently applauded throughout the piece, and received a call at the end of every act. The rest of the characters were very well played, and the revolving-tower scene was capitally worked. We noticed on this occasion a moonlight effect, which was a great addition to the scenery. An unfortunate accident oc -urred during the last scene. Conn’s pistol missed fire, and the-property-man fired another from the wings, the contents of which Mrs. Walton (who was standing in the wings at the time) received in her face, causing a severe burn and bruise from the wadding. She had a narrow escape of losing one of her eyes, and is now suffering severely from the accident. The piece should draw another large audience this evcninv. On Tuesday evening Mr. Walton will take hta benefit, the programme provided that evening being “The Ragpicker of Paris,” a French drama in three acts, in which he will sustain the leading role, Jean theßagp'cker, a character in which he made great a hit in Melbourne according to the local papers ; after which he will repeat his performance of O’Oallaghan in “ His Last Legs,” which afforded such a great treat to the audience last Wednesday. Mr. Walton is an artist of true merit, and deserves a bumper house on his benefit night.