50 YEARS AGO

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 213, 3 May 1932, Page 2

50 YEARS AGO

THEATRE AUDIENCES WHICH GAVE THEIR OWN VERDICTS. i ! I Writing on reminiscences of the j theatre of 50 years ago, a correspon- j dent of the Times states: — It was quite an ordinary thing in i those days for the pit and the gallerv ( (especially the gallery) to express j approval or disapproval of the per- j formance on the spot without waiting for the opinion of the professional j critics. ilt was especially a sign of j exceptionally successful performanca | of a villain's part if the actor was 1 met hy a storm of hisses. How often I have heard shouts — of "Coward" and "Leave the girl alone!" The Farther East the theatre the more excited was the audience and the more , franlc the criticism. I recall one memorable night at the old Garrick Theatre in Leman St. It was considerably more than 50 years ago. I cannot remember (I wish I could) the name of the play. Its main theme was the vagaries of a good-for-nothing son who in the earlier acts had broken the hearts of all the members of the family and who announced his intention of going to Australia, accompanied by a storm of hisses and cries of "May you nevev live to come back!" Well, in a later act he did come back. In fact, he had made good. had b'ecome prosperous, and looked like a gentleman. But the gallery had not forgotten him. His remorse on finding his family all . having died of broken hearts was very j touching, »but the gallery was left cold. At last he appealed, "Is there j nobody here to curse me?" Never | have I heard anythirig more spontaneand unani- '