Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-22
Terry Illness Almost
Stops a London Play
London Dramatic Letter

The audiences" he replied, are
simply splendid TO act to. but the
size of the house Is just a little terrify-
ing. L was speaking to Bancroft about
it and he summed the matter up
rather neatly. 1 suppose, he said,
1t is rather like standing at one end
of Berkeley Square and trying to
make yourself heard at the other
The Coliseum is. indeed. wonder
full place. although in any Of the big
cities of the United states IL would
not 1 dare say be considered by any
means astonishing. 1t holds some
5000 people and with two perfor-
mances II day the receipts total up to
$500. The circumstance explains
how Oswald Stoll, the manager, Is
able to offer popular actors or
actresses $l,500 week to come to
him. Even paying such large salaries
he shows. l believe, the handsome
profit of $3.50 a week. The Empire
Theater of Varieties is. too. under the
controlling hand of Walter Dickson.
whose real business is that of whole
sale butcher. an exceedingly pros
perous concern. 1T has paid as much as
so per cent on the years workings
and rarely less than 40 per cent
Dickson informed me the other day
that the year just ended has been a
particularly good one, the average re-
ceipts amounting each evening to just
over S1.75G. That being so he ought to
be in n position to pay an unusually
good dividend
The burning question on the censor
| ship has broken out again 1t is the
| Society of West End Theater Mana
| gers which has revived it. They held
! meeting this week at which certain
resolutions were unanimously passed
and Q CODY of these has since been
| forwarded to the lord chamberlain.
| That high official has certainly no rea-
son to be dissatisfied with the contents
of the communication. In 1t the man
| ayers openly declare their extreme dis
| pleasure with the recent recommenda-
| ton of the Joint select committee
which. II adopted. would take the power
of licensing plays out of the hands Of
| the chamberlain. They add that from
| him they have always received the
| greatest courtesy and support. and
that in their judgment nothing could
be more satisfactory than the working
of the department controlled by him.
| To transfer the powers now vested in
him to the London county council
would be. they declare. foolish and
iniquitous policy. All this is very nice
for the lord chamberlain. whom West
End managers not unreasonably regard
as their natural protector against the
advanced school of playwrights who
demand for themselves and the stage
absolute freedom of action. 1t is a
pretty little quarrel as it stands, but
like so many other controversies, it Is
destined. I fancy. to end in smoke.
The new Somerset Vaughan play
to be produced at the Garrlck early ir
| hp Arf ,,tr Eonrchipr anC
Charles Frohman, Is shortly to be put
into rehearsal The author has JUS
christened It 'The Tenth Man" fair.
" apt description of the principal char
acter, specially designed to suit Bour-
chier. 1t is modelled upon the lines o.
Whitaker Wright. that amazing finan'
cier who eventually came to compiled
shipwreck. Bourchier Is delighted will
his part and tells me that the piece
Is the best and most ambitious MauG
ham has yet DONE In one sense tn,
conclusion is tragic. the hero. IL ON
can call such an unprincipled scoundre
Il hero. dying just few moments be
fore the news arrives that his lates
big coup has succeeded beyond all eX
pectation, and that In place of being
as he believes. pauper, he Is now
| millionaire. Such is the irony of fate.
The flnancler's wife will be repre-
| Sented by Mrs. Bourchier, Miss N1ole
Vanbrugh, to whose personality. how
ever. it is admittedly bv no means vel
suited Bourchier tried to get Evelyi
D'Alroy for the role, but Tree. to WHOM
she is under contract. would not par
with her. Miss VanbruGh has mad
it condition of her acceptance of tn
part that she shall be free to relinquisl
1t after six weeks, and as she ha s.
! tempting offer to go elsewhere. it /
more than probable that she will insis
on carrying the condition into effect