Review of Revieivs, l/il/lC. 



86q 



THEATRE AND CONCERT PLATFORM. 



To judge from Melbourne papers 

 theatres in Sydne\' have been having a 

 very bad time indeed. I was surprised, 

 therefore, to hnd the house crowded to 

 the doors for the Quinlan Opera Com- 

 pany's opening" performances, and not 

 a seat vacant when " Within the Law " 

 was being given. 1 his bright American 

 phiy is having a great run in Austraha. 

 It has been Angb'cised for London audi- 

 ences, and the plot is laid in German}- in 

 the play now running in Berlin. To us 

 here much of its popularity is due to its 

 American setting. To omit the American- 

 isms would deprive it of its unique char- 

 acter. 



The Repertory Theatre has been giving 

 several plays in Melbourne with much 

 success John Galsworthy's " Strife " was 

 the last of these. Naturally this power- 

 ful play evokes mingled feelings. It 

 deals entirely with the clash of capital 

 and labour, and is really a conclusive 

 argument in favour of trades unionism. 

 The individual striker, no matter how 

 much he be in the right, is shown power- 

 less against the capitalist. Directly the 

 union takes a hand, the matter is ar- 

 ranged. John Anthon}-, old employer 

 and capitalist, is true to the last to his 

 life-long principle of no compromise, 

 but he, too, is forced to submit to the 

 dictates of the union in the long run, by 

 his own directors. The moral of the i^lay 

 does not require emphasising in Aus- 

 tralia. It depicts conditions which, 

 thanks principally to the trades rnions, 

 have long ago ceased to exist here. A 

 difficult play to stage attractive! ', owing 

 to the long speeches and dialogues in- 

 troduced. Considering that all those 

 taking part were amateurs, the produc- 

 tion was most creditable. 



Air. John McCormack is having a 

 magnificent reception in Melbourne, re- 

 peating there the triumphs achieved in 

 Adelaide and Sydney. Mme. Norclica 

 has had a most successful tour in New 

 Zealand. She sings at the Town Hill, 

 Melbourne, during Cup week. Seldom 

 has a better, all-round concert compan}- 

 than hers visited Australia. 



An interesting visitor to Australia 

 from the old country is Miss Drake. 

 She is the author of many short plays 

 which have achieved considerable popu- 

 larity at home. Not only does she write 

 the plots, she also takes the leading 

 part herself, with conspicuous ability. 

 At one time a regular writer on the press, 

 her health broke down, and she devoted 

 hei;self e.xclusively to the production of 

 plays. The most notable are — " The 

 Heart of a .Slave," " Pharaoh's Daugh- 

 ter," " fommy Soap Bubbles," and "The 

 Sculptor's Alasterpiece." She is booked 

 for an extended tour in Victoria during 

 the next two months. After she had 

 produced " Pharaoh's Daughter " in 

 London, it had the distinction of being 

 " potted " by the genial Pellisier, whose 

 recent death has so shocked all who saw 

 him with his " Follies." 



MI.SS DRAKE. 



