New Plays

Rahman Bey. Fakirism has about as much relation to the theatre as have cats to cablegrams. Yet, since Rahman Bey is spreading the message of his Egyptian cult from theatre stages in the U. S., his efficacy as a show must be reported. He is an uncanny novelty, but he is not a very good show.

The fakir's tricks, then, are not recommended to those who have two hours and a half and crave simple pleasure. Some blood is spilled, but there is little laughter and no love interest. The appeal is partly to the mind and partly to the pit of the stomach. The latter appeal may be overwhelming in isolated cases. Instances of internal rising and active nausea have been reported by the severely squeamish.

These mishaps have been occasioned by the flesh piercing items. Rahman Bey induces in himself a state of cataleptic anesthesia and jabs hatpins through his flesh and a slim dagger through the skin covering his Adam's apple. Some of these wounds bleed and some are dry, according to his will. None leave scars. These things are not miraculous, being duplicated in experiments on involuntary cataleptics.

Mind reading, while less spectacular, is perhaps the most interesting feature. Simply by touching the hand of any member of the audience the fakir reads and obeys his silent command for any convenient task he can complete within the theatre. He will find, for example, a certain word in a certain book designated mentally by the subject. Thus far Rahman Bey has not been invited to any poker games.

One Man's Woman. You can always count on the South Seas. You can count on them for about three plays a season in which the hale and handsome hero takes to drink and marries the forgiving and handsome heroine just at curtain fall. To help this one out there is volcanic eruption rivaled only by the passionate eruptions of the manuscript. The acting is all right.