The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-01-09 00:00:00

"THE EXCELRIOR" DRAMATIC CLUB.

Poole Is now possessed of two very creditabie
Dramatic Clubs—the Garrick." • receot performance of
which we have criticised, sad the "Excelsior." ths oller
company, which gave an entertainment it the "Amity
11.11, on 'Lewis:lay evening fut. The pieces selected or
representation were the domestic drama, " Ile Femur's
Story, or toe Lottry Ticket,' .nd die ever pokular taco
"The Two he Farmer's Story" is our ot the
old•faohioned laurel dramas, in welch virtue end vice are
°emoted on either side and in which, aliho' for a time
vutue is allowed to get rather ibe worst, while the wicked
Prosy ,r, the curtain neatly falls with the noble side of
tatiume nature trruirophant. and vice, to use an expressive
Americanism. "Up . free." it re the work of • Mr. Boyle
liernand. and is us three act&
i The Ant wane is laid an • village in Sumenstahlre, and
opens with a discussion among the vial...tars concerning
the arrival of • new lord of the manor. One of the small
1 farmers of the place. Mark Ryland, has had his rent
I rased to such an extent that he has determined to say
goodbye to the old country, and seek tresh fields and
pasture. new. The parting scene between Ryland and his
stepbrother and his wile Mary cod Stephen Lockwood
contains • good deal of dialogue tont, were it
played in some taste of ti.e adjoining couuty or
even perhaps in some of this, would meet with •
very appreciative reception. Lockwood seems to be an
agriculture' labourer of rather advanced ideas—of the
Joe Arch school. He objects to merely fulfilling 'the
end of dumb cattle, whiet raftela may roil in richest,
ride in &their carriages—ay, and splash poor bareloot
honesty who happens to be wolkieg." 83 he gore to
Cloned. Lockwood hive borrowed sesiO, which he has
invested in a lottery ticket, and just at the moment
when he as befog taken of to gaol for dent the announces
meet is mad* that the ticket bas woe £20,000. The new
',quire, Mortlake, his designs upon We innocence Of
Lockwood's pretty wife, and, to composts his ends,
ingratiates bunged Into their frienfthip and esteem-
Final'', he ed.° s them to visit London, leads Lockwood
into all sorts of dissipation, and contrives that he should
lose the whole of bla fortune. A letter from • lady who is
not particular to receiving the attention of other womone
husbands,, falls into the wifee Linda_ and Mortlake
seizes it. opportunity to press hi. suit. He is indignantly
repulsed, and than he conceives the idea of carrying her
of is • poet-chaise, telling her the Ile that tier husband is
at the point of death, and he wishes her to come to him.
A comic chamfer, an artier, who has been snubbed by
the Academy, in spite of his extraordinary talent, which
reuses from We spokes of • cart-wheel to a bull on a sign-
board, keep' turning up at most Weeps rtune moments—
for the villain of tbe piece, and he detains Mrs. Lockwood
sufeinently to allow the husband to break in upon
and realise the scene. Lockwood, mad with passion
and wine, upbraids his professed friend, produces
pistols, and a duel is fought in the drawing-room, the base
deceiver receiving • bullet near his third rib, and oinking
down with—se Mrs. Brown would say—" • bovinely smile
on his countenance' to slow made- After this, although
the wound is not mortal, the wicked squire disappears
from the piece. Next we find Mary and Stephen on..
main beck in "Bummer:et," living in a wretched hovel.
Of course you 'suet remember this piece was written
and it would puzzle any one noweadoy to lied
r'N'ni a
a wretched hovel" in either
Wouldn't it? Well, they are reduced to the last depths el
misery, wben Derby, • tool of Mortlake, hunts them
and induce. Lockwood to join him in *robbery, the victim
of which is to be • traveller who has just c tuft to the
village inn, and who eventually turas out to be Mark, who
has made his fortune in Caned., and has rather mote
than he knows what to do with. Merle visite his sister,
and, while she goes in search of her husband, whose
ioteatioas she has overheard, throws hims_tf on the bed.
In the meanwhile Lock wood and his motets: return.
The latter arms hie victim with • knife, and bids him
accomplish the deed, as the sleeping man he recognises es
the traveller, of whose well-fill td puree they desire to
poems themselves. Lockwoo hesi tours. the wife eiftwerge
the stranger awakes, and the brothers rush into este
others arms after all hes been explained. D. rby, like is
friend, Is thus baffled, and the curtain falls 111,011 the
comforting assurance that Lockwooi may sitar nil recover
the property of which he has been swindled, but that at
all events he goes "to the new world to atone for his errors
in the old."
The cast wale' foil owe :—Stephen Lockwood, Mr. E. J.
Counsel ; Mortlake, Mr. 11. Milledge ; Derby, iii. J. C.
Charlton ; ?Auk Ryland, Mr. G. I. Hut things ; Brie lee,
Mr. W. A. N. Runkle ; Rogge, Mr. Herbert 11.1...; Rut,
Mr. G. Eyre.; Granite, Mr. Ci Broeis •' Veil., Mr. T. .1.
Conway Mary Lockwood, Mrs. 0. L Hutchings; Peggy
Tippet, Mee Somerville.
To Mks the characters aa • whole, the applause evoked
was • good credential to the talent displays]. Of warm
there were minor defects, always to be noticed in the flost
repreeentation of • new piece, and onset auft—exoept olds
stagers—moat feel • certain amount of nervousness, let
them be sure as much as they may that they bays a kindly
disposed audience to make their bow to. In one fats
respect the circumstances were 'genet the players. The
company bad not had time to so arrange the stage that
the a ,und should not be carried away by the height of this
building, and the consequence was that in several
instances they could be but indistinctly heard. This,
however, no doubt will be remedied. To take the
characters se they appeared in the programme,
we may say that Mr. E J. '301111.011* as
Stephen Lock wool, was good throughout, and
it was evident in every scene be had completely
identified himself with the cheracier. As the chief
villain, " Mortlake." Mr. H. Milledge acted as the
temptir of the virtuous wife, with an ease and self
owe-Nina, that showed it to be • part rupeially suited
to him—on the stage, of course. "Derby." the other
reseal, was capitally pourtraved by Mr. J U Charlton.
who; as usual proved himself quite at home upon the
boerde "Mark Ryland" was undertaken by Kr. 0. J.
Hutchings ; the part is rather a sub trdlnate one, but it
was satisfactorily rendered. Mr. W. A. N. Hankins
eppear.l as the eccentric artist, "Bristles," it,. Hunkin's
humour Is pretty well known to • Pools audience. It is
not the first time he lias kept • house in • continued
roar of laughter. His get-up was of the aesthetic
school-043r Wilds ringlets—while his studies in red and
black. and sy.npidiniel in other appropriate intermixtures
01 colours, as he exhibited his portfolio, would have
mode hod he been menet, went to *Nike
hands. We expected to have had • few " wheeze'
relative to the Belt case, hut it most be remembered that
those who thus lisip to amuse the public, have to study
their puts after office hours, and there is all the more
thanks to be given them for surrendering moments of
relaxation to enliven our evening. Theo, we come Ii Mr.
Herbert Keen as Beggs —the steward—what •
name for a nobleman's steward. Ho also was good.
Mr. G. Eyree was "Rut" the pi tughman, who backed
" Zaromerset agin Lannon for catenates, and &Am me I at
his watch in the great city. By the way "Rot" should
have remembered that Temple-bur is now • thing of the
• and In ILL place stands that monumental abortion,
the Griffien. Mr. G. Everett played "Grange." the con-
stable, but had not much to do. " Vale." the boniface,
who was of opinion that "the landed interert must be
protected," was Mr. T. .1. Conway, and very amusingly he
played the part. Now, we come to the ladies,, both
of whom, we believe, appeared for the first time
before an audience. Mrs. (1. J. Hutchings took the
character of Mary Lockwood, which is one of
the two chief in the piece. An it went en,
and she acquired confidence, she malty exhibited at
times • fair amount of power, and no doubt, on some
future occasion, will still more merit the applause which
greeted her efforts Miss Somerville played "Tippet," the
meld, with all the tender solicitude tor her mistress*.
wed,,,re arid a ;Maly Maine col r tort the character
reminded.'
Toe cast of the " Two e..lts'• woe en ',flows :—Oalouel
Rumpus (late Blued Riled, Mr. (1. I. Hutehings ; Jack
Bump= Oils soot, Mr. J. C. Charlton • Thome* Polt, Mr.
W. A. N. Hunkin, and Pater Poll, Mr. (1, IL flyers (14
whom noon. tan judge till they as. them); James, Mr. 11.
Milled,.; Oftoline Leslie. Miss ft meerville . • Mies Amelia
Fdsherhert Nibble, Mrs. G. I. Hutchings • I:tetsy Boodle,
Kr. T. J. Corner ay. We haves veral times before c.ritiofted
the farce, so that it is unnecepary again to do so. In
fact the e mummy cion,o• ales lines from our remarks on
ti elr bills. They still hold gold. The" Two Polls " are
as leo, es ever, and On Thornier they evoked just as
hearty laughter as they did on the first occasion we male
their acquaintance.