OLET VANBRUGH as _Katharine Parr_, and
the gentle dignity of Miss ALICE LONNON as _Anne Askew_, there was
little distinction shown by the others, though the _Lord Chancellor
Wriothesley_ of Mr. HUMPHREYS, and Mr. BURTON'S _Bishop Gardiner_,
conducted their villainies with a proper restraint.

The honours of the evening obviously went to Mr. HUGO RUMBOLD, who
devised the admirable scenery and costumes, and to Mr. BOURCHIER in the
title-_role_. By nature and constitution he is clearly made for this
part of all others. Occasionally, in asides, his voice was the voice of
Mr. BOURCHIER, but for the rest he identified himself with the
undefeatable _Hal_. I hope he may be persuaded to retain the monarch's
beard as a permanent feature; for, as a finished product, it suits him
well in private life; and, if he is to make a practice of playing the
part of _Henry VIII._, whether to the words of SHAKSPEARE or Mr. PARKER,
I would not, for his own sake and that of his many friends, have him
renew the horrific processes of its growth.

O. S.

"THE IMPOSSIBLE WOMAN."

The joy of _Tante_ (from which novel Mr. HADDON CHAMBERS has adapted
this play) was that many chapters went by before the reader realised
that _Madame Okraska_ was indeed an impossible woman. One began by
liking her; went on to criticise; decided that she wasn't so nice as the
author intended her to be; and then discovered suddenly that she wasn't
intended to be a sympathetic character at all, and that, in fact, our
changing attitude towards her had been just the changing attitude which
would have been ours in real life. That was Miss ANNE DOUGLAS SEDGWICK'S
art. She took her time. Mr. CHAMBERS on the stage has not the time to
take.

And so "_Tante_" is shown to us at once as a histrionic vampire, feeding
on the admiration and love of others. _Gregory Jardine_, in love with
her ward, _Karen_, has already seen through her; we have seen through
her; the question is, when will _Karen_ see through her. Forget about
the book and you have the foundation of a good play here, on which Mr.
CHAMBERS has built skilfully. I gather from the fact that he took alone
the call for "Author" that he would wish us to forget about the book. I
cannot quite do that, but I can say with confidence that whoever has not
read _Tante_ will enjoy _The Impossible Woman_ fully, and that the
others will at least find it interesting.

Miss LILLAH MCCARTHY was a superb _Okraska_. Since she had to