THE THEATRE.
" MEDIUM " AND "THE PERFECT DAY" AT THE EVERYMAN THEATRE. " ARLEQUIN " AT THE EMPIRE. "THE CABARET GIRL" AT THE WINTER GARDEN.
How easy it must be if you are a theatrical manager to believe the engaging, persistent fallacy that it is possible for anything —a human being, a play, or an en tout cas—to be all things to all men. "Here is a piece," whispers Temptation into the managerial ear, "which will please everybody." Thus I fancy it must have been with Arlequin. For the frivolous there is the gondola in Act I., scenic effect of illuminated garden in Act II., dominoes and masked ball thrown in, and the trans-
formation scene at the end. For the cynical there are the Dogaressa with part of Arlequin himself, and for the senti- mental (that is, the great body of public opinion) there is the whole main, theme and above all • the moral. "And so, you see, you will have a performance that will please equally the low-brows and the high-brows." Thus does Temptation argue when she means us to fall between two stools.
The management of the Winter Garden and of the Every- man were much wiser than the promoters of Arlequin. They knew to what part of the public they were going to address themselves. The Cabaret Girl is a high-spirited and amusing musical entertainment, with not a single concession in it to
the serious minded—not even a beautiful scenic set or a striking costume. Every note of music, every line, every personality is merely light, trifling and amusing, and the nearest we get to seriousness is the satire upon business interviews in the first act. I think that those who know some of the personalities of the musical comedy world will, incidentally,
be amused by that world's somewhat naive and touching ideas about what constitutes a country neighbourhood. Most of the songs are diverting and there is not too much sentimentality.
The first play at the Everyman, Medium, seems superficially to typify the world of the repertory theatre almost as exactly as does The Cabaret Girl its far different sphere. But when we
come to examine Dr. Leopold Thorns's piece more exactly we shall find that it does nothing of the kind. It is only the surroundings and the ,acting which make it at first sight
seem typical. Medium, under its disguise, is really a short but very efficient example of the old-fashioned " strong "
play. There are an erring wife, a designing female, a hypnotist with flashing eyes, a masked ball, a prison cell, an abnormally intelligent doctor, and an abnormally stupid judge and two murders.
Mr. Franklin Dyall's acting was superb, while Miss Mary Merrall, though she was rather unconvincing in some parts of the piece, did the best stage death that I have ever seen. She has caught the sick person's range of movement and
tone of voice exactly, from the convulsive movements of the whole body in a paroxysm of pain to the slight rolling Of the head and moaning of the quieter moments. But- with all this knowledge of the real thing her performance never became too realistic, but was always a capable repre- sentation, never a mere imitation. With all• its faults, and in spite of its curiously dentsdi flavour, I enjoyed Medium. But The Perfect Day, which looked terribly unpromising on the programme, is almost the best short play that I have ever had the good fortune to see. It is really remarkable, and should not be missed by anybody who is interested in the theatre, especially if they aspire to write plays. It has one fault, it opens with rather too long a conversation between two old neighbours ; but here, I think, though the rest of the translation was excellent, perhaps Mrs. Alfred Sutro was a little to blame. I do not propose to describe the plot, which is of great sim- plicity, delicacy and originality. It must be seen in its gradual unfolding to be enjoyed. I will only hint that from the most commonplace, dusty and trivial events M. Emile Mazaud contrives to weave a poignant epitome and explanation of half the real tragedies of this life. Miss Margaret Yardc's acting as a French bonne-a-tout- faire is incomparable. In both plays Mr. Fred O'Donovan's acting
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