HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19995, 12 January 1927, Page 8

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

“ THE SPORT OF KINGS.” “The Sport of Kings,” a comedy from the pen of lan Hay, was staged at His Majesty’s Theatre last night, when the Joseph Cunningham New Comedy Company presented their first change of programme. The comedy which at times turned to broad comedy proved most diverting, and laughter rang loud and long through the theatre. It is, indeed, many a dav since an audience received a play with such whole-hearted laughter as they rewarded the performance of “The bport of Kings.” The comedy is skilfully constructed, the dialogue is clever and amusing and the plot is well defined till the final climax is reached, and all ends happily. “Everybody Gambles”* was the dictum laid down by the never-nonplussed hero in the first scene —they nave the failing in one form or anothorand in the horse-racing story unfolded it discovered that underneath the grave air of respectability ot the inmates of Newstead Grange there is a pronounced gambling spirit, anc. that they are practically all ready to try their fortunes by backing horses. ihore 16 one outstanding exception lhat is the head of the house—Amos Purdie, J-P-—' "h° made so much money during the war that ho almost regrets the amount, his super tax is so heavy Mr Purdie has a Scrooge-like fondness for money, and all things pertaining to the turf he holds in horror. lo the Grange oome Algernon Spriggs and Mr Reginald Toothill., who, lured by the fwt that a race meeting is to be hold m its immediate vicinity, have persuaded the money loving Mr Purdie to, accept them as paying guests. Then< :? severe atmosphere of the ixiange undergoes a complete change. In answer to a question by Mr l urclio as to the vocation of the two guests, Spriggs bonifies the head of the house, bj’ frankly stating they are “punters. They are peremptorily ordered from the house, but the irrepressible Spiggs arouses the cupidity of Mr Purdie by confidentially informing him that much money can be made by backing horses. Mr Purdie weakens, and the pair are allowed to stay. Mr Purdie discovers from a telegram that Spriggs has received Hobble de Hoy as a good thing for the 3 o clock race, and be surreptitiously invests a £lO note on the horse, and wins. The lack or knowledge of racing shown by Mr Pm'die as he communicates his bet through -he telephone aroused shrieks of laughter he actually imagines that if he backs a horse both ways his money is on to win ana also to lose. His fall from grace thereafter becomes very rapid, and he is soon faced with a loss of £4OOO, as he tlunKs. Again his lack of knowledge of the art or punting is so great, however, that really he has only lost a very small >art of this amount. Faced with his supposedly heavy loss, he is persuaded by the hitherto irreproachable Bates, the butler, who has found out his master, to disguise himself and accompany him to the course 19 lay the odds against the favourites. Bates, by the way, although now living under the cloak of high respectability, is a gambler at heart, and what he does not know about horse racing is not worth knowing. Mr Purdie and Bates have a disastrous day. Bates escapes fi’om the mob when the betting bag has been* emptied, and the punters ..re clamouring for their money, but Mr Purdie is ducked and is in danger of losing his life. He is, however, rescued by the übiquitous Spriggs, who is on the course disguised as a policeman. In the last scene it is a sadly repentant Purdie who realises he has lost his highly moral reputation. But the versatile Spriggs once more saves the situation and restores much of his dignity to the humbled Purdie, who, nevertheless, announces his intention of selling the Grange and retiring to another locality where the news of his downfall will not be known. As the dignified Amos Purdie, Mr Frank Bradley gave a masterly character study. Ho played the part with a sure touch, and carried through the many difficult situations with remarkably uniform success. Mr Joseph Cunningham, who was making his first appearance in “The Sport of Kings,” took the part of Algernon Spriggs. He proved himself a finished actor, and lie was mainly responsible tor the splendid manner in which the action of the play was kept briskly moving from start to finish. His cornedv work was especially well done, and his breezy manner carried the play along with a smoothness when it was inclined to border on the farcical, which might not have been so successful in the hands of a less experienced actor. Miss Zillah Bateman (who on the final curtain surrenders to her lover Spriggs) acted charmingly and convincingly as Dulcie Primrose, the secretary tq Mr Purdie, and played no small part in the success of the comedy. The other members of the company were well cast —in fact, the uniform balance from the leading characters to the smallest is quite an outstanding feature. Mr Campbell Copelin played the part of Sir Reginald Toothill, the dude companion of Spriggs, and did it well, and Norman Carter, as Bates, the butler, simply brought down the house when ho was initiating Mr Purdie into the art of “laying them” before they made thenadvent on to the racecourse. Miss Henrietta Cavendish gave a thoughtful study of Mrs Purdie, a lady who has been so dominated by her husband that she has no mind of her own, but who is restored to his love when ho finds his reputation shaken. Miss Sylvia Clifton enacted the part of a barmaid; Miss Beryl Barraclough was the cook; Miss Sylvia, Kizzie, the maid of all work; Miss Sybil Jaye, Jane, the housemaid; Mr Jack Phillipps, Albert, the buttons; Miss Vera St. John, Katie, the Purdie’s daughter; Mr Charles MacCullum, Joe, the son; Mr H. Hardwicke. a newsboy; Mr Gerald Armstrong, a police sergeant; and Mr Jesmond Deane, Panama Bcte. The comedy is in three acts, and the horary of Newstead Grange, where most of the action takes place, is a really splendid piece of stage work. “The Sport of Kings will he staged again to-night. The farcical comedy has not one dull moment throughout, and it is well worth seeing.