EVERYBODY'S THEATRE

Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1916, Page 4

EVERYBODY'S THEATRE

INAUGURAL PROGRAMME PERFKCT ARTUXGEMEXTS Signal success attended tho opening of Everybody's Theatre to the general public last evening, when a programme worthy of the occasion was submitted to a packed audience. 'Patrons were loud in their admiration of the new building, and again and again were heard exclamations expressing their appreciation of the artistic design of the interior, the comfortable seats, the perfect ventilation scheme, and the softening effects of the indirect lighting, while the projection of tho pictures was«s near perfect as it could possibly be, the films being screened distinctly and clearly, and without the suggestion of a flicker.

One of the innovations that attracted much interest and elicited favorable comment was the process of vending tickets by moans of a machine, made by the National Register Company, having a series of buttons donotlng various coins. When a patron asks for a shilling ticket, the operator presses a button, and the required ticket, stamped, numbered and dated, is ejected. The machine receives the money, gives the required change, and keep's a tally of the number of tickets issued, so that at any time during a performance the manager is able to see at a glance the number of people in either the stalls or the dress circle. The great advantage of the machine is that tickets can be supplied with tho u)ino*t rapidity, obviating tlie congestion that often occurs in theatre passages just prior to the performance, and allowing the patrons to proceed to their seats without the vexatious delays that are a frequent experience under the old method.

The inaugural programme included a diverting Bray cartoon, depicting a goat on the rampage, a very fine four-reel adaptation of George Barr McCutcheon'i widelyread novel, '"Nedra," and the star attraction, "Temptation." The cast in this picture was headed by Geraldine Furrar. A drama of real life, containing many situations of absorbing interest, and concluding with a scene which, though tragic, left a pleasant impression. The picture was a fitting feature of an important occasion. A great feature in connection with it was the superb acting of the principals in the cast.

Patrons went away from Everybody'* last niaht fooling that Xew Plymouth had a theatre that was the acme of perfection, and, judging from the many commendatory remarks heard, the new theatre promises to become the rendezvous of a very wide circle of citizen*, and visitors. ,-