THEATRE ROYAL.
The Nathan Troupe made their first appearance before an Invercargill audience at the Theatre Eoyal, on Wednesday evening. Notwithstanding that for several days pastthe weather was boisterous to a degree, the night was not unfavorable, and the attendance was unexpectedly large. The house was crowded in all parts. The performance was a complete success in every sense; such a success as is seldom realised even under the most favorable circumstances. The programme was varied and well chosen, and at every stage the admirable acting of the whole company was acknowledged by enthusiastic applause. The programme commenced with the burlesque of " Paddy in India," nearly the whole of the characters being sustained by the Nathan family. The piece contains the usual amount of absurdities incidental to this class of extravaganza, but it also abounds in comicalities in both speech and action which renders it at once popular and attractive. The whole of the Nathan family, five in number, are very precocious, exceedingly clever, and admirably adapted for every description of light entertainment — indeed, in the acting of some of the youthful performers, there are unmistakeable Bigns of true genius visible, which, if continued to be cultivated, will, at no distant time, render them bright ornaments to the profession. The most decided attraction of the evening, as far as the performances of the children were concerned, was centered in the acting of " Little Marion," a young girl, seven years of age. She sustained the parts of " Paddy Murphy" in the first piece, and " Bridget," in the farce of the Colonial Servant, later in the evening, besides dancing and singing in character. This young girl is an extraordinary exampla of the power of youthful training and intellectual culture. Her voice and attitude, together with the accurate Irish brogue which she assumed with the greatest facility, contributed to render her a perfect little gem, that monopolised the undivided attention and admiration of the audience whenever she appeared on the stage. We could scarcely have imagined *hat a child of such tender years could portray all the salient points of the Irish character — could so exquisitely paint the goodnatured blunders of a " Paddy " in India, or the foibles of an Irish servant girl in the colonies, with such truth and fidelity, had we not witnessed her performance. Mr Small, who is well and popularly known in Invercargill, made his re-appear-ance, after an absence of four years, in some of those characters which have gained for him a well-earned colonial celebrity. He was greeted with the most flattering and cordial applause — pit, stalls, and boxes vicing with each other in their expressions of welcome. It is almost needless to say that his inimitable delineation of the Irish character — his account of the fight at Lannaghan's ball, his apostrophe of the shillalah, and the facial contortions exhibited in describing the doings of the "Unfortunate Man," kept the house in one continuous roar of laughter. Mr Chambers, both in the ballet and throughout the evening, especially in the dance "I and my double," displayed an amount of artistic agility truly wonderful. "We forgot to mention a duet on the cornet-a-piston of selections from operatic music by the two Master Nathans was exceedingly well executed, and most deservedly applauded. In almost every instance of either a dance or a song an encore was demanded, which, although gratifying to the actors, could not but have somewhat overtaxed their energies, and prolonged the entertainment to rather too late an hour, had the practice not been, at the request of Mr Small, modified at the latter part of the evening. The same programme was repeated last evening (Thursday) to a well-filled house, whose continued applause testified the enjoyment of those present. The programme is to be completely changed this evening. We strongly recommend allwhohave neglected to witness the performances of these talented artistes not to omit the opportunity.
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Southland Times, Issue 963, 5 June 1868, Page 2
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648THEATRE ROYAL. Southland Times, Issue 963, 5 June 1868, Page 2
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