MASTERTON GARRICK AMATEUR DRAMATIC CLUB.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 852, 22 August 1881, Page 2

MASTERTON GARRICK AMATEUR DRAMATIC CLUB.

The piece chosen by the Master on Garrick Amateur -Dramatio Club or their performance P4' Thursday next is Tom Taylor's djiatqa. il .ThpiiftetrofLeave Man,'!; The plpUpf this drama is taken fi'onj a< French dranjatfo tale," La Retorn' ;4« Ifolun," but the' dialogue, personages, Beotimenta,as|4; wife: are'essentially Etfglish,. It wSS:firsfcp»d(luced at the Olympic Theatre in 1868, and 'from thai time'-to the present; dat-e. lias'been enthusiastically : received' wherever it has'been'. put. on the, boarJe. ~The following is a. short the incident? qf fhe pieceßob Brierly (T. Wrigley) is a ypung Lancashire lad, an only son,spoilt v ;by. hw'.parerjts during ■their.We-timpj and'orftlieu' come into possession of a few hundred pounds,' he - takes- a -trip -up -to -Tiondon' 598/ lifei;, . He/Msiji&fo'.T.bad, company,: notably .with' one Jem Driton (W.J Rapp)i Downey,'; alias 1 ® Tiger, a professional burglar and smasher,

and Melter Moss>(Gr.;l: ;Coker), a Jew fence and dealer in bank jlfes. TltosoJ-two in sss&■* ljMßiuni for pnbing:tli|irifoi-ge d "pijper, and tbe-cttvtaiu nseß on tlieJflMevueiTea (Jardeiis, near .Mr Maltby (0V Ward). and Moss have-made anappointmenjfwith Bob (who has now run -through' all his money) to meet them. . Dalton is disguised as a ■ Yorksliire jobber, as hejs. " wan¥d- IJ --for : -a~]ittie-affair 'down'at' Peckham, which resulted in the death of Joe Skirrit, a detective. Hawkshaw (J. detective ill the foi l (f?,^lias : sworn r to'bring Dalton to justi'cej v and-i8 oti" 1 the look-out for him, This scene introduces May Edwards (Miss Beaufort), a poorj half-starved street singer, who is trying to pick up a few 'coppMln tlie gardens, Bob sees her, arid takes styin. her starved condition, and finding her ' .Taint} procures a bottle of wine, On the landlord demarding payment, Bob finds he- money,. having spent Ins-last-shillingi'j and {appeals Dalton tyilen'l him |some."' Jem embraces the opportunity j to get- Bob, to ;change .a forged , twenty-pound iiote,', jvhicli T ho, does' at'a'Small cigar shop'kept by oiio Mrs \Villoughby Cross), - ; He-.gives ;two> sovereigns to .May, and handsthe' balance' to Dalton. The forgery is soon discovered, and Hawkshaw and the defab-l tivos;appear on the scene. Iu tho struggle Daltou's wig is knocked off; Hawkshaw ■ recognises and trys to arrest him, but is knocked down by Dalton, who escapes; poor Bob is overpowered and handcuffed. .He is found guilty, and sentenced to four years' penal servitude at Pqi'tland, but gots out in three years and a half on a ticket of leave, owing to his good conduct, . In the second act these three and a half years' are supposed toihave; elapsed, 'aad • we find May Edwards locatedJn com- 1 ' fortablo lodgings in Mrs Willoughby's house, having boen taken-in hand;bya. Mrs. Gibson, the wife of a bill-broker in the oity,„w;ho has taken her..in,haqd and found her" Work: She isjexpecting !Bob, who has been ever in her thoughts since; the night he took pity on her and gave her money, and with whom she has been in constant correspondence during his incarceration in Portland. Bob,enters, and there is a'vevy affecting meeting, : aud; lie isj introduced to Mrs Willoughhy as" May's brother. Mrs Willoughby is a very voluble old widow lady, of the Mrs Brown stamp, whose speeches are all iu one sentence) the full; stop. Ito-whicli is' only caused by wact of breath. Her only troubles in life are the rheumatics,and lier grandson, "Sam '(EL Tapprellj, a cheeky Cockney youth of fifteen summers, ■ who is an adopt in mischief and slang, In the course of conversation Bob •finds' 'out that'Mi'a'Willoughby is'the person on whom he innocently passed '.the forged twenty-pound note, He has saved £2O during his imprisonment for overtme and allowances, so he slips out of:the room, puts twenty sovereigns. !•" a box and sends it anonymously tci Mrs 'Willoughby. Mr Gibson (A, Bisli), the liualwnd of May'?, benefactress, calls to 1 see May on business, and to | please her engages Bob as his office messenger. Six months nmv elapse and Bob is fully installed in .his situation with Sambas .under messenger The scene represents Gibson's office on'the day on which Bob is to be married to May, A forged bijj;has. been presented late the day before and.the. presenter'is" expected to call that mi rstint; to securo the cash, Gjhson obtains the assistance of wliOj having arranged for a signal to be giyen when the presenter appears, takes his seat at' a desk ns though he was one of Gibson's clerks. He recognises Bob but finding from. Mr. Gibson that he bears a' good character, mid is evidently trying to earn an honest living, takes no notice of him, greatly to tho relief of Bub who sees that he is known, to him. Melter; Moss conies to the office on business and jvhile there, Gibson comes to the door and calls Haivkshaw; by his name, much to that astute delectivo's disgust, Then Dalton .enters disguised as an elderly commercial man, Haw|sha\y does .jiot.jecognise.him but Moss does, tho signal is given, but Hawkshaw tnkoß no notice of it/ Moss who has heard Gibson call Hawkshaw by liis name, slips' a note over to Dalton.' warning him. that Hawkshaw .is-at-the desk. Dalton thus put on his guard, with great self-posßeaaion tells Gibson that lie has found out that the bill is a forgery and'coinple'ely disarms all suspicion by payinsr liini over-two-,.hundred ('pounds in; counterfeit notes for a previous forged bill that Gibson has discounted for : him, and with ths utmost sang froid keeps his' countenance while Hawkshaw is telling him haw lie has sworn touting D.ilton to justice.j Gibson is ao completely deceived and satisfied with Dalton's respectability that. He tells him there is" an amount of Ji500() in gold at that moment in ;tiie safe. Gibson: goes oufc and Briotly enters to to find Dalton on bis knees attempting to force the safe. j|e qojjars. him, Dalton recognises him, and by threatening to tell his employer that he is a-ticket q'f leave ni)an persuades hiijj' to. let him Escape, He is, however so enraged at Bob spoiling his game, that he sends Moss in to denounce him to, Gibson, who discharges Bob at once from his employment, four months now elapse. Bob and May are married. He has: obtained several situations, but baa lost them all through Moss and Dalton,! \vho, anxious again to get Bob intoHheir qliitches, follow him! about to denounce him as. a convict wherever he goes, Act 4 discloses the tap room nf the Bridge«jater Arms'kept hy our old friend Mi 1 : ifaltby, pf flip Bel.levue i GatdensK ' who has come down in tlie world.. It is a pay night and tjie room is crowdod with navvies, Hawkshaw is there disguised as a navvy, and pretending to be vety drunk, Bijierly as a last-resource has come' there to tryaijd obtai|) etnployipent ns a navvy,, and is successful, Master Sail} Willoughby who his' received his quarter's;salary( and has,taken to low'pursuits,'-is J aMo' in attendance playing cards with Moss and Dalton.: Ij'e is cheated by thpi)} but they are exposed by ty>b who l)aj been watplijog. They.in revenge, teN the nft»»ies he is.* conyict, iind he, loses the wprk he had just obtained. Dalton and Moss who are planning the robbery of j Gibson's ofHog that evening, thinking that he is now reduced to the last extremity, persuade him to join them. He affects'to'entertiin their .proposals, and they discuaßtheir plaris J in -tljp presence nf Hawkshaw, who is to all \ .appearance lying asleep dead drunk on the tabjp." While Moss and Dalton go ' .down in'tlia cellftr to assist the landlord getting sqm.e morp liquor up, Bob 1 .writes a. short note tq IVfr Gibson warri- 1 ing him of the plot, but ia in a fix how- to get it sent. Hawkshaw, who. has .beep pnjthe alert all the time, discloses ,him"eelf,;and undertakes its delivery. The last jgji'ne depicts' St Nicholas's Churchyard by, tflnoiilteht, ?ith the exterior.of, Mr Gibson's, office. Dalton and Brierly hreak open "'S door while Moss stops outsidej to vyatch. He is collared, and handcuffed hy Hawkshaw, who threatens to shoot him if he stirs, Hawkshaw then secretes himself, Dalton and Brierly then come out of the office, Brierly with Gibson s cash-box in his hand, Dalton wants ■ to get away with the swag to some quiet place to share it, but Brierly refuses to i give it jupj >' J ata ting ' tha t-li ; e■ h Sd s i bniy j t entereclmtd-th'e plot--, for ; th'e-' ; jjUr'p'oke.bf [ ' 'frustrating their plans.' ■* Hb attempts'to' arrest IJalton, \yho strikes him d'otfri'/fiut' i Hawkshaw appears on the scene, and ' after, a jiard struggle succeeds in over- i jcoming j and handcuffio*;iMtsniY) fcri . Gibson at that instant, amvssi. and Bob's",) innocence |« nja^e'Apparent/ Virtue i

triumphs over vice, and Bob is restored• to tho confidence of his employer. Ths play is full of striking situations and startling episodes, and from what we have seen of our local amateurs, w» believe they will do full justice to it. The scenery, whioh adds a great deal to the buccsbi and effect of the piece, has been pain ted' speoially for the occasion by j Mr T. Donelly and we can assure our / readers, from a personal inipeQtionof..it r — / lh¥iJ¥eqwl'lo*aiiythifljftlSar«rHr seen, in(any,.jfirst:6lass theatre fnf Ww Zealandy L j ... . _