Tins comedy, which is an Italian " high-life " version
ol The Playboy of the Western World, is perhaps the best acted, best produced, and most amusing play of the new season. It is entirely -unpretentious, and Messrs. C. B. Fernald and Luigi Chiarelli never attempt to move us except to laughter, but what it sets out to do-it- does almost perfectly, namely— to illustrate the too often 'forgotten thesis "that man is born absurd—and.even red in the face." . Mr Franklin Dyall, as the count who wants—and -for most of the play takes—the credit of killing a supposedly unfaithful wife in the interests of morality, acted with his habitual harassed grave intensity, and made his part both credible and extremely funny.
Miss Athena Seyler gave to the wife who -has so engaging and so inconvenient a sense of -humour a charm, humanity and a distinction that kept the play a comedy and prevented its melting into farce. These two are incidentally players whose every turn and gesture it is interesting to watch. The rest of the cast was quite exceptionally good, and it was delightful to see that distinguished actor, Mr. Brember Wills, in a part in which he could lay aside the lightnings of prophecy.
But Mr..Mac.dermott the producer, deserves as much of the praise as anybody for a most delightful evening. Every detail of dress and grouping was made expressive of the Italian local colour, or of the play's many comic situations, and the actors-team work was exceptionally good. The Mask and the Face is that rare thing, a thoroughly amusing comedy, of which actors and producer have made the very most.
TARN.
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