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Drivate party' roo "Paradive® Night Club; fast before M—The Same, tater TiE—The Same, the following not one of the best things the American Players have done, and yet one cannot bring oneself altogether to condemn' it and. would, indeed, recommend a visit, but without promising anyone that' they will spend a thoroughly enjoyable time, To begin with, it ix too long, and secondly, it is a very dificult type of play and of the order which really it seems quite unnecessary to put on the stage.
It is a curious mixture of farce, comedy, drama, and melodrama. It is a play of the underworld, telling the tale of rival gangs of dootleggers operating from a low-life cabaret. Incidental to the characters in such a play, of course, is much hard swearing and even blasphemy, and this occurs uninterruptedly, in every line, for three hours. True to life, certainly, but rather too much to be emphasized With so much, one the play and come to So far as the acting was concerned, it was a triumph for two men Mr, Frank Courtney and Mr. N. F. Xavier. This play will te Mr. Courtney's last in Shang-hal, for he is shortly sailing for home and he will be much missed, for his local stage career has been an outstanding success. Last night he did particularly well in a difficult part—that of one of the gang leaders. Through two acts he was a cool, calm, calculating criminal, fully convinced that he held all the trump cards and consequently holding everyone in contempt, and he played the part to the life, In the last act he was supposed to have lost his nerve and then he was not quite so convincing, yet he wag still well above the average amateur standard, and in saying "goodbye" ome must congratulate him on a very clever performance.
Better than Mr. Courtney, how-the detective.
The type is a pleasant relief, being not the scientific Sherlock Holmes idea, nor the bullying American offers. who were given the most oppor: tunity, had little straw with which to make their bricks, To sum up, one would say it is a buy a clever company.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.