ENTERTAINMENTS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2612, 21 September 1909, Page 4

ENTERTAINMENTS

THE JULIUS KNIGHT SEASONIn well-nigh every human heart is achord which vibrates in sympathy with tiic heroic, and heroin lies the secret of the success of "The Breed of the Treshams,” the powerful drama in which Mr. J. C. Williamson's company last night opened their season at- His Majesty’s Theatre. A disreputable soldier of fortune, a sort of debased Dmrald Dalgetty, without the Scot’s high, if somewhat fantastic, sense of military honor, swaggers on to the stage at the beginning of the first- act. and leaves it at- the end of the fourth transformed into a hero, his better nature. long dormant, having burst, like a spring of mire water, through the foul accumulations laid over it by years of viciousness. Roresby, “The Rat," is. in truth, a man formed for good, endowed with qualities, not. perhaps, brilliant, but yet capable of uplifting him above the ranks of ordinary men—courage, steadfastness, and an appreciation of the true and noble. A hideous wrong clone to him, through the woman whom ho loved, by his own father. turns the current of his life into an evil channel, until he becomes a creature deserving of the unclean soubriquet by which he is known. In a fortunate hour, he is brought face to face with a pure, noble, and trusting girl. Memories of another such, she of whom he had been so cruelly robbed, are revived. The good in the man is awakened, and, from a series of trials and temptations of an even appalling description, he emerges the conqueror of his old self. Such is the character of which the drama is a presentment. It is :t fine presentment, too, the work of a master of stagecraft. The theme, handled with less skill, might easily have been debased into melodrama. That it has not, is the highest testimony possible to the ability of the authors of the play. Yet “The Breed of the Treshams” is an enthralling work. It gripped the attention of last night’s large audience from the first and held itthrough four long acts, weaving at tho close the sense of satisfaction which one experiences from watching a good piece of work well done. From tho foregoing it will be gathered that tho literary "quality of the drama is high. The language is admirable, never dull yet never trivial. There are many splendidly effective scenes, but they are never overdrawn. Tho performance was worthy of the play. A vast preponderance of the weight thereof fell on the shoulders of Mr. Julius Knight. To sav that they wore equal to the burden is to say that Mr. Knight is a meat actor, and they were. Indeed, lie can scarcely be said to have acted the part of Roresby—he was Roresby, mid. in that character, ho Carried the interest and sympathy of his auditors from start to finish. So well balanced and artistic was his rendition that it is hard to select any portion thereof for special comment. 'The cynical, mocking buinor of “The Rat” of the earlier scones was admirably evinced, and in the emotional- scenes,•'■especially in that wherein Roresby toils the piteous 6tory of the wreck of bis life, Mr. Knight acted with a pathos and artistically restrained -force which appealed powerfully to the susceptibilities of tlie audience. in ..the,, very trying scenes in which the .steadfast man, whose better nature has triumphed, refuses, oven in spite of physical torture, to reveal a secret which would wreck the happiness of the woman who had reclaimed him, Mr. Knight rose almost to the sublimo in his acting. His admirable performance was not marred by any deficiencies in the support- accorded by the other members of the company. Tho principal role among those sustained by them, that of Margaret Hungerford, tho noble woman who wins lteresby back to good, is a somewhat trying one. and it was admirably, filled by Miss E. Guildford Quin, who was sweet, womanly, and natural throughout. Tho part might easily have been over-acted, but Miss' - Guildford Quin is too good ail artist for that. Much credit, also, is due to Miss Millie Lcmpriere for her admirable character study of Batty, a wild and fierce, vet true-hearted lad, faithful to lteresby through all the vicissitudes of his varied fortunes. Miss Ethel Phillips did very well what she had to do as the somewhat frivolous Helena Picrrepoint, and Miss Katio Towers was a properly dignified duenna as Mrs. Bagshaw. Colonel Sir Clement Hungerford, tho “villain” of tho piece, was most capably represented by Mr. Reynolds Denniston—lie was not a 'stage villain,” but a cold-hearted, selfish traitor, with sufficient nerve and skill to conceal his wickedness until the very last. Mr. Sidney Sterling, as Viscount Dorsington, the loyal father of the traitorous colonel, and Mr. George Chalmers, as the equally loyal Colonel Sir Henry Curwen, looked and acted exactly as they should have done, as a couple of veteran officers and gentlemen. Mr. Sterling deserves especial credit for his acting in the scene wherein the fine old genera] realises his son’s unworthiness. Mr Mallalieu made Cornet Francis Trcsham. the legitimate son of Lord Trcsham, Reresby’s father, a gallant and inanlv youth, who soon gamed the sympathies of the audience. Mr. "Winter Hall was decidedly successful in his representation of the traitorous Captain Rashleigh. Mr. Edgar Harris and Mr. Stanley "Walpole, in the somewhat thankless roles of Colonel Bagshaw and Captain Stanhope, did exceedingly well, and the same may bo said of Mr. Rupert Julian, as the mutinous soldier, Corporal Lumsford. Mr. George Treloar, in the character of Lieutenant "Willoughby, Mr. Leslie Victor, as Cornet Kit Peyton, Mr. Alfred Andrew as Corporal Saxton, Mr. Charles Collman as Will Lumsford, Mr. Arthur Sooncc as Jevons, and Mr. Monte Luke as a servant, capably filled their respective roles. The dressing and mounting of the piece were unexceptionable. The scene ls laid in a town of the English Midlands during the struggle between the ill-fated Charles I. and the Long Parliament, and the opportunities thus afforded for tho display of handsome and picturesque costumes were taken full advantage of. The scenery, by Messrs Gordon, Little, and Board, was all good, and the general success of the piece was a tribute to the ability of Mr. Julius Knight' as “producer ’ and Mr. T. E. Foster as stage manager. A word of praise is due to the efficient orchestra under Mr. Hal Campbell. This evening two new plays will be presented, both from a and dramatic standpoint of unusual interest. “The Sacrament of Judas,” spoken of as the most remarkable oneact play written for many years, will be placed before the sensational drama “An Englishman’s Heme.” In “The Sacrament of Judas,” Mr. Julius Knight is to appear as Jacques Bernez The conception is said to he one of the finest pieces of emotional dramatic acting this popular artist has given to his manv admirers. “An Englishman’s Home” has caused an immense amount of interest throughout Australia. and recently at Auckland. Mr. Knight will appear as Adjutant Lindsay, whilst Miss Beatrice Day will sustain the character of Maggie Brown.