ENTERTAINMENTS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 257, 9 March 1911, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS

"THE THIRD DEGREE." At 8.30 a.m. to-morrow the plans will be opened at Collier's for the initial and positively the only production in New Plymouth on Monday night next of J. C. Williamson's Katherine Grey Company of the remarkably interesting dramatic sensation, "The third Degree." Those who keenly enjoyed Charles Klein's clean-cut and logical play, "The Lion and the Mouse" will realise that he has done cve» better in "The Third Degree," and the production of this piece here will be doubly interesting from the fact that Miss Grey's representation of the character of "Mrs. Howard Jeffries, junr.," is ranked as her greatest characterisation. As in "The Lion and the Mouse," the dominating motive is the woman pitted against a power a good deal more revolting in character than that wielded by the trusts. Commenting on the Wellington production of the piece a leading critic stated:—'"The Third Degree' is, in short, a play which everybody should see. The question it incidentally makes a sort of proclamation about is an important one. ... The play is clean —in quite the best American manner in this respect—without taint of nastiness or double meaning in any part of it. And if you have seen Miss Katherine Grey you know that it would be worth while to crawl a mile through the grass to see her—in the rain. There is no other actress now in Australasia of whom we would say so much so heartny" , "THE MAN TIIKY COULD NOT HANG." To-night the spectacular, romantic, and sensational play "The Man They Could Not Hang" will be produced by the Edmund Carrol Dramatic Co. in the Theatre Royal. The old axiom says, "Truth is stranger than fiction." Indeed it would seem truly so, since this is a drama written round the life of John Lee, released from prison, after servin" i-i years penal servitude, during which time he walked on to the gallows three times to be hanged by law; the mechanism of the scaffold on each occasion failing to despatch him. lie repeatedly protested his innocence, and it would seem as though the hand of fate had intervened, and held a charm over his life. The drama abounds in sensationalism and brilliant dramatic action, providing numerous thrilling situations, which, it is said, the members of the company portray with the greatest success. The heart interest is indeed very profound, and the production is said to he staged in a very thorough manner. The box plan is at Collier's.