THEATRE ROYAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2170, 21 December 1885, Page 2

THEATRE ROYAL.

QUEEN'S EVIDENCE, The Juno Company opened at the Theatre Royal to a good house on Saturday night, and if an abundance of scenery, a strong company, and really good acting are worth anything at all, then it was certainly deserved. The general verdict after the performance was that the Juno Company is the best dramatic company that has ever visited Masterton, and in this we heartily concur. Mr Coker, the lessee of the Theatre, certainly deserves the most liberal support of the public, for it is to his efforts that the visit of the company is due, he having brought it up from Christchurch. The piece, selected for the opening fif the season was ■'Queen's Evidence," in which Eloise Juno sustained the character af Kate Medland. Of Miss Juno ps an actress it would be difficult to say too much. There is a ring of reality about it all that makes the spectators,forget that they are only in a theatre, and they unconsciously Bhare her trials, her suffering, and her happiness. They are led along from scene to scene as if they had something quite .different to a dramatic performance before them. The scene at the lock in the river owed its splendid effect almost entirely to her acting, and to the manner in which she threw her whole life into it. Miss Ella Carrington was, perhaps, just a trifle stiff in the part of Ada Sydney, the friend of the heroine, and when we have said that, we have found $ tlje fault that is to be found, foj' in" other respects her acting was perfect. Miss Lillie Hill, as 'Laura, the Baronet's .daughter, acted her part to life; while little Miss Hattie Hayes' representation of Arthur, the stolen child of Kate Medland, was most natural. Mr 0. H, Taylor, apparently has a part-which lie revels in Isaacs, the Jew scoundrel, and he kept the audience in roars of laughter as long as he was on the stage. ■ If a rogue in a dramatic piece gets an occassional hiss he' should surely feel flattered,.'even if the compliment does seem to be a little back handed. Mr Forbes secured many a mark of appreciation of this kind forhisrenderin? of the part of Matthew Thornton. Mr Nunn as " Gilbert Medland" Mr Dunbar as " Sir Erederick Sydney"'and Mr Norton as "Joe," the lock-keener, alsb contributed to the general• success of the drama. The piece was splendidly mounted throughout, there being a ?ppletq change of sceneryfor every act, We have never seen anything approaching it in'Masterton. 'Maiff will regret that "Queen's Evidenoe" is riot to be repeated, though it'is to be followed by such apiece as "Jeanie Deans." JEANIE DEANS. £he j)erforijiance for this evening will consist of Dion Boijcicault's J dhmaho adaptation of Sir Walter pott's raijst fascinating novel of " Heart .of Mid-

Lothian,". under' the title'of ''Jeauie ' Deans.";' By reference to' the published criticisms of the leading journals in Great Britain, we learn that Miss Eloise Juno, having made a special study of the character of the, heroine of the stoijv stands 'wjthokt'a'rival', in its histribtiic delinea--tion, i Of all the female creations of Sir Walter Scott,' there are none that' appeal to the unalloyed admiration of all classes of readers more vividly than the simple Scotch girl, whose only,tutor in the-rigid path of virtue was her own heartland who subordinated her own feelings and affections as a devoted daughter and loving sister to her strong' unalterable sense of the piety of duty. There are, few pilgrims, in search of the picturesque who, when they have done Holyrood and .the great historic sites of Caledonia but can find time to turn aside and visit the humble grave in Dumfriesshire, where rest the mortal remains of Helen Walker and her sister, the erst while living originals 'of Jeanie and Effie Deans. In view of the critical references we have alluded to, a rich dramatic treat should he in store for the visitors to the Theatre this evening.