THE STANFORD DRAMATIC COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 50, 15 March 1901, Page 2

THE STANFORD DRAMATIC COMPANY.

The cpeaipg night of the Stanford Dramatic Company's season had besn looked forward to with much interest owing to the favour with which the < : " Power and tho Glory " had every- , I where boon received. It was not sur- , prising then-fore that with tho excep- j tion of the drsss circle the house was , we)] tilled. A synop-is of the play ha* , already appeared in these columns and , it was evident the audionce fxp? cted , some startling dramatic incidents, cor ( weio they disappointed. After the , opening part, as the drama developed \ the keen interest of the audience was < thoroughly aroused and as each of the | many powerful situations were reached , the applause was loud sad continuous. Excitement reached its highest pitch in the celebrated tower ccane where high above the city the remorseless villain of the play has the heroine at his mtrcy and is about to fling her to the depth below when at her last wild shriek of despair a fhsh of light appaara and discloses an angelic rescuer. Both the acting and the beautiful scenery at this point worked strongly on the audience whose applause was loud and long. An effort was made to raisa the curtain in responsa but all efforts were unavailing. The last act was a mixture of comedy and tragedy and as such thoroughly enjoyed, the final transformation scene being on a scale that is rarely attempted in a provincial theatre. Throughout the play there was plenty of humour to \ relieve the more serious parts and the acting of the whole company was quite , up to the reputation which had preceded ' them. Rarely has a better staged play been witnessed here, none that has , given such satisfaction. ' TO-NIGHT. The brilliant success achieved last evening should eDsure to-night's audi- ' ence having another enjoyable entertainment, for there is no doubt many who wore pr. sent then will repeat their ' visit 'io-night. The piece for this 3 evening is " A Soldier and a Man," a play that has been moat warmly welr corned in other places. With such a * good company, and with the excellent c scenic effects and costumes at their command, another triumph should 3 await this evening's psiformince. The orchestral part of the programme is all that can be desired.