The Theatre
["PROFESSOR TIM." BY GEORGE SHIELS. AT THE VAUDEVIME THEATRE. "A HEN UPON A STEEPLE." BY JOAN TEMPLE.
AT THE GLOBE THEATRE.]
A .TEST of human character, in the tales of- our infancy, used . to, be the reception accorded to a fairy by humble folk who supposed the immortal to be one of themselves.
The visitor came disguised. She looked poor. Plaintively she begged a crust. And perhaps little Torn, the. bad boy. would mock her ; but little Fanny, sweet girl, would give of a scanty store. Mother would encourage Fanny. Father would approve Tom and seek to turn the beggar from the door. For all do not know the divine Odysseus as he waits in the outer halls. And, as a matter of fact, few of us ever get the chance of putting our money on the right rags. But we like to dream over these tales. We try to remember their moral, which is : don't despise poverty, or (perhaps) be sure it is poverty, before you despise it.
Mr. George Shiels, who has lived, evidently, in Arcadia, as well as in New York, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Western Canada, has dreamt over the old, old storj ; and has added, to the moral mentioned, this more difficult precept : don't look down upon drunkenness, either. Not that Professor Tim, the good fairy of Mr. Skid's play, was really and truly drunk. No. But his test of kindness in others was to approach them for hospitality under the aspect of a bar- loafer,. -wheezing inebriate syllables, and dressed as a long- lost mariner. Naturally his sister rejected him ; for she, Mrs. Scally, would in England have been called a snob ; and, . at the moment of her brother's arrival, she happened_ to be in the midst of .complicated negotiations for her daughter's. prosperity in marriage. Plain people who have forgotten their fairy-tales are' often like that ; they will plot with the worldly weapons at their disposal ; and of these one is the good will and- respect of the neighbours. Certainly it is very disconcerting, after you have told such prosperous acquain- tances as the Kilroys all about the accomplishments of: your brother, the Professor, to have him lurching in as a mariner and flopping on the parlour floor.
However, the Professor, unlike Odysseus of many wiles, could forgive. He marked his transformation from beggar to capitalist by shedding his mariner's garb 'and emerging in a frock coat and top hat of gleaming newness but antique mode. That impressed everybody ; and everybody pretended to Me the cigars .which the Professor had bought in Bombay, stored in his waistcoat pockets, and now lavishly scattered about him sans rancune.
As you see, a play of childlike design ; suggesting, by its simple characterization, rather the Ireland of Lever than that of Yeats and Synge. And one wondered how it would have sounded had it been translated into vulgar English or cockney idiom. Dreadful thought ! But the acting saved us from vulgarity. It is perhaps a pity that Mr. Arthur Sinclair is so often condemned to monotony by being compelled to play drunkards with a slurred utterance. Here, after Juno and the Paycock, he does it again, making a " choss " (chaos) of his speech. That Miss Maire O'Neill's nodding head is also becoming a mannerism is a small defect in a very amusing Performance. And there was Miss Sara Allgood to delight us as Mrs. Scally, and excellent performances by Mr. J. A. O'Rourke as Mr. Scally, the. henpecked husband, and by Mr. Sydney Morgan as the elder Kilroy.
A " thin " plity,•badly acted, is rather an unusual mixture of miseries .on our stage. Often.we find-that leanness of plot and feebleness of dialogue incite our players to surpass them-
selves in the effort to cover up inanity. At the Globe, Miss . Joan Temple has presented us with a " little " play—as we .call silly Plays.--which is a disappointment after her Widow's ethise and Aspidistras. And no compensation was offered by the ineffective performances of Mr. George Tully and Miss
Margaret Bann'errnan. Mr. Tully looked toriheavyand serious
!for the irresponsible peer who cannot bear the sound of the .human voice before. twelve noon, who then can hardly touch
; either. of his alternative. breakfasts, and .who, of. course, throws his unopened letters over his.. shoulder on. to .the:floor.,.." It may be presumed that they are bills "—except one, which is scented. But, after sniffing it, Lord Robert throws that away too. Thus lightly did the lardy-dardy aristocrat take his loves. His personality needed a very light touch.
Miss Bannerman, as his injured wife, might, on the other hand, have indicated the affectionate sternness or " grip " that enabled Lady Robert to kidnap her husband in order to save him for herself ; for she dearly loved him. We all know that Miss Bannerman can look beautiful. But heie, too, I was disappointed. Beautiful she looked, as ever, when you could see her face. But much of it was obscured under the latest fashion in eclipsing hats. So even this solace was denied us during a large part of a very depressing evening.
RICHARD JENNINGS..
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