Dramatic Entertainment.

Patea Mail, 18 December 1880, Page 2

Dramatic Entertainment.

The First Extertaixmext of the Palea Garrick Club must bo pronounced a success. The Town Hall was well filled, the passage being lined with chairs ; and the audience were generously appreciative of this amateur display of local dramatic talent. A new feature was the first appearance of a good orchestral band of eight or nine performers, conducted by' a maestro whose steady hand has often done good service in connection with another local society. The band opened the programme by playing the overture from the “ Kaliph of Bagdad,” the music scores being kindly lent by the Harmonic Society. The music is difficult and not very tuneful, but the band went through it so well as to surprise those who knew that several of the performers were fresh to the music, and that the orchestra had been got together at short notice. It is certain that so strong a band, of such average excellence, had never been heard in the district. The instruments included two violins, flutes, cornets, drum, clarionet, and piano. The dramatic programme comprised two comedies and a short burlesque extravaganza. The curtain rose on “ Cool as a Cucumber,” a comedy in which the late Charles Mathews played so successfully that his name is permanently identified with this piece. The “ cool ” customer is one Plumper, who from his birth had given signs of extraordinary genius, but had to be sent abroad to get rid of a peculiarly distressing bashfulness which threatened to ruin his prospects in life. He has now returned from Germany and the Rhine, cured—with a vengeance. He sees the name of Barkius on a street door, and supposing it to be a connection of young Barkius whom lie had seen for five minutes on a Rhine boat, Plumper enters, plumps himself down in the drawing room, and makes himself at home in a way which staggers and puzzles Barkius senior. The complications which ensue from a misunderstanding of relative positions ; the cool impudence with which Plumper patronises and snubs the dnmfounded old gentleman ; the fultile efforts of old Barkius to realise what it all means, restraining his temper while not concealing his astonishment; the freedom with which Plumper makes love to the old gentleman’s niece, yet hesitating to propose before ascertaining “ how much the old fellow will stand ; ” Plumper’s ingenious advice about the servant’s tooth ; young Barkins’s clandestine return after banishment for misplacing his affections on his penniless cousin ; the fresh complications ensuing thereon ; and the sudden clearing up of all this agonising confusion, are episodes

■which make up an ingenious ami amusing comedy. The success of such. a piece depends on the contrast of the two chief characters, and these parts have often been played by the best comedians on the boards. It was a risky experiment for amateurs to challenge comparison in parts so well known. We are told the judgment of the audience on the acting of all the characters in this comedy was very favorable. The two female parts were enacted under difficulties which need no explanation. Criticism of this comedy might be interesting if more in detail, and the public as well as performers would doubtless prefer to have it so ; but there are other considerations in this case. The costumes helped the illusion considerably ; though the disguise should, wo think, bo so complete as to puzzle the audience to detect identity, and this cannot be achieved without such a wardrobe as a dramatic club requires. On this occasion everything was makeshift; but the proceeds of this entertainment, over £2B, will leave a fair balance as the beginning of a wardrobe fund.

If the proprietors of the Town Hall would consider whether the time has not arrived for spending some of the available balance at the bank in ro-decora trjigthe proscenium and making this public hall more presentable inside and out, there would be some encouragement for dramatic amateurs to attempt, what we believe the public desire, a scries of entertainments to run through the next winter, the proceeds going to deserving local objects. Prominent among these objects are. in our opinion, the planting of trees along main thoroughfares of Patea, and planting the Hospital grounds* Other suitable objects arc not far to seek. To get up a series of entertainments, however, the course needs to bo made smoother than it is, for the labor and worry which fall on a few directing members are a serious tax that could be compensated only by generous public appreciation, and some needful assistance such as the Town Hall Company could render with easy propriety. At the interval, the band played a galop iu a style that was a real treat* T1 ie second dramatic piece was a petite comedy, written for the club at short notice, entitled “ Necessity the Mother of Invention.” The eminent firm of Brown and Robinson, share-brokers, arc “ wanted ” by the police for swindling with bogus shares. While Brown is out, Robinson gets fixed by a brace of detectives. One detective goes out to hunt for that other partner, leaving his mate iu charge of Robinson, handcuffed behind. In comes Brown the bubbleblower, smelling a rat; and taking in the situation at a glance, ho “ tips the bobby a bit of parley-voo ” by asking innocently if Brown ami Robinson live hero. He relates, iu Cockney French streaked with Dutch idioms, a bogus story of Robinson’s partner being arrested iu the street, for some big swindle ; and the remaining detective, anxious to share the reward, call on Brown in her Majesty’s name to take safe charge of the handcuffed partner for a few minutes. This Brown does by making “ von big demonstra-se-ong—-vat yon call de fright,” and the prisoner, quite cowed, promises not to escape, or Mr Parley-Voo will “ broke his head.’’ Off goes the detective, leaving the two precious partners to explode with demoniac laughter, and to hatch new plots. In comes on expected client Verdant Smith, Esquire, toinvest £SOOO in Spanish bonds; but the partner Robinson, who had previously hooked him into this transaction, is unable to complete it with hands fast behind. Brown arranges the difficulty in a flash. While Smith is entering the office, Brown jumps behind Robinson, thrusts his arms forward beneath Robinson’s arms, sticks his left thumb in Robinson’s vest, with his right hand scratches Robinson’s whisker, and enables Robinson to receive Smith with a new pair of arms. Robinson does the talking and Brown docs the acting from behind. Smith shakes hands, receives a poke in the ribs, exchanges a joke, pays his five thousand pounds into the hand of

| Robinson-cmn-Brown, receives a receipt signed and settled under his own eyes, and pronounces the transaction to be pleasant and satisfactory. The deception is funny, but as Smith can’t see it the audience have the tun to themselves. And very good fun it is. The trick of this double-armed action has been seen before, but it was probably new to most of the audience, as the laughter seemed to show. Brown and Robinson played their parts with a lively relish of the situation, and as a piece of acting this was a smart success. But the two hocussed detectives return in haste, to find the door locked, WTiile they arc smashing in the door, the ingenious Brown reveals himself, to the astonishment of Smith, by rushing to denounce the client Smith as the very partner ” who is wanted by the detectives. Smith is then handcuffed “ in a jiffy,” spite of protestations, exclamations, an explana-d tions. Yon can’t “ have” detectives in that way. There is a large reward out for Brown, and therefore they stick to Smith ; the more so as Brown, who is again at his parley-rvooing, denounces poor Smith as “ more gilt than his part-nare Robinson.” The detectives even take the handcuffs oil' Robinson, on Brown’s undertaking' to see that ho does not “ make do escape-mong.” The piece ends comically by these partners promising to perpetrate a swindle some other night, if the public will “ put tbeir money down.” The performers in this piece arc to be com plimentcd.

. A violin solo was played by a young local amateur of great musical promise, accompanied nicely on the piano by his niece aged eight years. This interlude was surprisingly good. The composition is new, written by a Wellington musician, and not yet published. An encore was demanded with a Juror ; and the pair gave, with sweetness and feeling, the lovely Irish air, “ The harp that once through Tara’s hall.” Tom Moore’s name will live as long as a love of true poetry and good music remain with the British people iu their colonising wanderings.

*•' Bob Sawyer’s Party ” was the concluding burlesque, adapted from Charles Dickens’s £; Pickwick Papers.” Mr Pickwick’s make-up was striking lifelike, with some allowance for scarcity of materials to select from. And the dear old gentleman deported himself characteristically till the sudden break-up) of the party by the apparition of Mrs Raddle in her nightcap). Then the revellers overdid the proper business of the scene. They threw off a certain restraint which had been recognised at rehearsals, and took serious liberties with Dickens’s intention and his text. This is to be regretted because these liberties, as viewed from the front, were neither seemly nor artistic. There ought to he. moderation even iu drinking cold punch. The quarrel between Noddy and Gunter would have been better without the struggling. The servant too was over comical. This scene ought to have had no tendency to drunken rowdyism. The text does not warrant it. If Dickens is to be represented on the stage, it should be done with a proper reverence : and the spectators arc entitled to have their disapproval recorded In the form of a gentle protest. The scene went so well till the close that it was a pity to spoil it oven with excessive eagerness toamusc. The laughter of the audience was hearty enough to show that the piece answered its purpose of curing dyspepsia. Probably no entertainment ever given in the district caused so much lively laughter as the three pieces played on Thursday; and the Garrick Club may well be content with that result.

Thanks are due to Mr H. A. Arthur, Mrs T. Haywood, Mr Currie, Mr Counolly, Mr McKittiick, and others, for articles lent.