The National Register. — London, England, 1818-10-18 00:00:00

OCT 13 THE DRURY LANE THE.ATRE. Novelty seems to be the order of the day—and if we arc not gratified by old faces, the present Management seems determined to supply their delicieney by w succes sion of variety. On Monday, The Proroked Ilusbaad, one of the best comedies in the old range of the drama, was produced for the purpose of introducing Ai r. Fisher in the character of Lord l'ownhy, and Mrs. West in that of My Lady. The comic humour is ctiquisite ; the characters true to nattlre , and the pathetic scenes touching and affecting. I'hc dandies of the pr.:sent day have almost superseded the polished air and deportment of well-bred gentlemen—though we may still boast of many in the higher circles who preserve the chareetecistic of true dignity. Few actors, fudged, can succeed in giving due effect to I.nrd Tarn lca--therefore, in stating our opinion that Mr. Fisher was not eminently successful, may, perhaps, not derogate much from his general merits. The comedy itself is not so attractive as it deserves Of Mrs. West, we are gratified to say she acquitted herself with con siderable ability—her comic scenes were marked by ease and polished gaiety—and although allured by the plea sures of fashionable life, she gave hopes of future reformation; and in the reconciliation scene, she oom pietely took possession of the feelings of the audience. On the whole, she displayed much versatility of talent, and was frequently interrupted by testimonies of ap probation. Mrs. Orger, in Lady Grace, looked cap tivating ; and Mrs. Alsop rendered the part of Jenny very amusing. trednesday.—Cumberland's comedy of' 77:e Fashion able Gorer was revived this evenin4. It is one of those pieces which may produce some interest in the closet on account of the banevolent sentiments and sensible ob servations upon life and character which occasion ally occur : but there are very few revivals that re plenish the treasury ;—and, in this instance, it requires talents of the highest order to render it even tolerable. We do not wish to discourage the Manager in his selection, but certainly the comedy " went off" very lan7trid. Mr. H. Johnstone spoke the Scotch dialect with great fluency in Colin M'Leod. Mrs. West, in Augusta Aubrey, was interesting; and Mrs. Orger exerted herself to overcome the odious and repulsive aspect of Miss Bridgemore. Dibtl in's farce of My Spouse and I followed; in which a Mr. Yarnoid made his first bow to a London audience in the character of Ned. We regret he had not a fuller hotel: to witness his debut, as lie certainly possesses talent, which, though not of the first order, may, by practice in a metropolitan theatre, produce ‘• good fruit." He met with a fa vourable reception, and was deservedly encored in one of the songs. The tragedy of Macbeth was performed on Thursday night. Mr. Kean was, of course, the hero of the scene, bat there was a new heroine. Mrs. West, who had already acquired no small degree of reputation in characters of a very different cast, appeared for the first time as Lady Macbeth. l'he consequence was such as might 'hive been easily anticipated An actress, whose chief distinction was feminine tenderness, afforded a very imperfect sketch of the aspiring worm whom ambition had unsexed. We do nut, however, insinuate that the attempt was altogether a failure. It contained some goad points, and displayed', upon the whole, so much intellect, that it may be said to have lost the necessary impression rather from physical than mental disability. It is to be considered in extenuation of any deficiency with which it might be fairly charged, that among the host of aspirants to the same part since the time of Mrs. Siddons, not one can be said to have suc ceeded. It will be collected from what we have th ready stated, that in working up her husband's mind to murder—in reproaching him for his visitations of conscience—and in wresting the daggers from him with indignation, to visit the scene of death herself—the recollection of that awful energy of which the stage is now deprived, prevented her from taking a strong hold of the feelings; her best scenes were, probably, that of the banquet, and that in which he displayed the horrors of a guilty sleep. Mr. H. Kemble was the Macduji, and acquitted himself respectably. COVENT.O A li DEN . Miss O'Neil has resumed her professional duties ai this theatre. On Monday evening she made her first appearance this season, in her favorite character of Belvidera, and the applause of a crowded house paid a just tribute to her unrivalled talents. Mrs Siddons in this character, as in her general style of acting, pos sessed a mind which " towcr'd above her sex:" she per sonified nature, not with its ordinary attributes, but arrayed in all the loftier energies of commanding pas sions. Miss O'Neil's delineation, on the other hand, is simplicity ornamenting the witchery of youth and loveliness. Mrs. Siddons displayed a majestic fortitude of mind, swaying a despotic sce,nre over the tributary feelings—Miss O'Neil is mild without insipidity; gentle, yet dignified ; full of overflowing tenderness, yet full of captivating modesty. 'I he ardour of her last kiss in her fitrewell interview with Jafficr, was equally fervent with the imrassioncd yet chaste em brace with which, in Isabella, she greets lux Biron; THE NATIONAL lITONTRIt. where the impulse of conjugal tenderness predominates in every arc of her heart, and glows in every feature of her Lee. Ikr look of horror on hearing - the fatal bell which proclaimed the fate of her husband's friend, and her hest hysteric sob, where exhausted Nature ap peared to sink—ALL were delusions so operative in their magic, that sober judgment yielded, fur the evening, to their potent influnce.—Mr. C Kemble's Jaffier was in his best style ; and Mr. Young's Bore, melt lent. Tuesday—A new comic epera was produced this evening, under the title of The Barber of 'Seville: it is, with the exception of two or three characters well introduced, a counterpart of Barbiere di Sivig which was so attractive last season at the King's Thea. tre. The best songs, some of the minor pieces, with the finales of the Original, were preserved : and, although we should have considered the purely Italian composition of Rosini as the last which could, with any probability of success, be adapted to English words; yet, in this instance. such difficulty bas been most skil fully surmounted. The other music is judiciously se lected from Paesiello, or composed by Bishop. We have rarely received such a musical treat at an English theatre; and the audience seemed to participate in the same pleasure, and to feel the superior refinement of the composition.—Mrs. Dickens, after au tOsence of two years, during which time she has acquired cousi. derable reputation on the Continent, presented herself in the character of Rather:. This lady has few, if any, competitors as an English singer : her style and man ners (greatly improved by her study and practice abroad) are bold and determined; her action peculiarly graceful ; her taste correct—her cadences always judicious—lax execution neat and articulate—and her expression ad mirably dramatic end characteristic: her voice has ac quired additional sweetness. She was rather tremulous in her first song, from that beautiful air of Paesiello, which is the ground-work of our " For tenderness forad ;" but she soon recovered her self-possession.— In one song, accompanied by herself on the piano forte, she evinced infinite skill and science and was deservedly encored.—The piece was repeated on Wednesday : and the applause of a gratified audience was as universal as it was merited.—ln Fielding's Miser, which followed, Mr. W. Farren performed the part of Laregold, so ably represented by Emery, with the same truth and excel lence which he has disp'ayed in all his previous per sonifitations. Beaumarchais' Barber of Sev Ile was first introduced on the English stage, by the late G. Cohnan, Esq. about 40 years ago, under the title of The Sp:wish Barber, at the Haymarket Theatre. At that time, John Palmer was the Count 4lmaviva; Parsons, D. . Du) tote; Edwin, Figaro; and Mrs. Bannister ( then Mi'e Harper), the Rosina. Upon its revival, some years after, the present Countess of Derby was the heroine of the Drama. The new Sub-Committee of Drury Lane consists of Mr. Moore, Colonel Douglas, Mr. Wilson, Alderman Cox (the banker), and b: r. 'lronmonger. Mr. Robins was proposed by Lord Yarmouth, and had one vote. — It is said that the election of the above Sub-Committee is to be submitted to a general meeting of the Proprie tors. Mr. Foote of the Haymarket Theatre, and little Clara Fisher, are now giving recitations and select scenes from Shakspcare, with success, at the Assembly Rooms at Salisbury. The halt' price lobby loungers, a Correspondent ob serves, are become a very great nuisance in the theatres. Many of them are low fellows, of bad manners and no breeding. They are noisy and clamorous, and gene rally act like cowards, by threing their way into boxes, though crowded, particularly where there are. unpro. tested thmales. Si;veral shop boys and Jew Dandies, on Tuesday night, before half price, rushed into Covent Garden Theatre, and behaved in the most audacious manner, and it was found necessary to have constables to preserve order. After sweeping the shop in the morning, they conceive that they have a right to " kick up a dust" in the evening. On Saturday, the American Indians, who have been performing for some time in the Theatre here, were, at the request of the Royal Company of Archers, allowed by Mr. Murray to shoot with them at the Company's Butts. The distances at which the Indians are accus tomed to shoot, are so much shorter titan the distance practised by the Royal Company, that no just comparison could be formed of the merits of the shooters. •The ' party aftcrvarns watt to the field, where the Royal Company shot at rovers, much to the astonishment of the Indians, who had no idea of the distance which proper bows and arrows can command. The accoutre ments of the Indians are extremely coarse ar..l awkward, and only calculated for short distances, where they are used with great precision and effect. The Company presented their visitors with some arrows and bow strings, which highly pleased then'. At taking leave, their chief returned thanks, by the interpreter, for the civilities shcwn to them, in a speech of some length, in which he expressed the surprise of himself and his warriors at finding brother archers in EdinburFh, so familiar with the use of the bow, and in particular, their surprise at the distance and accuracy of the field shooting.--Edinburgh Courant, Oct. 12. DRURY LANE THEATRE. —.ea..— 333 Friday, in pursuance of a circular sent by the Se cretary, inviting the creditors of the establishment to meet the Sub-Committcy, a numerous attendance took place in the Lamm of the theatre The only Members of the Sub-Committee present were, Mr. Alderman Cox and Mr. Ironmonger. Mr. Alderman Cox having been unanimously called to the Chair, stated to the Meeting, that the sole object which the Sub-Committee had in view was the pros perity of the Theatre, end as a proof of the sincerity of their intentions, they had determined personally and at their individual hazard to make a tender in liquids. tion of the debts of the concern, which they trusted would prove satisfsetorv. Ile, therefore, on their part submitted to the Meeting the fidlowing proposition ; that estimating the total amount of the debt at 36,0001. of which one half was to be paid, the Sub-Committee were ready in the first instance to liquidate by prompt payment ss. in the pound, amounting to 8.5601. and to render themselves personally responsible for the pay ment of the remaining 8,5001. at the eud of the present. season. Mr. Ironmonger observed, that in this offer the five persons who composed the Sub-Committee could have no selfish end to answer, but that, on the contrary,thcy individually subjected themselves to a great and certain expenditure, attended with consiberable risk, while in their official situations they were not bound to sacrifice a single shilling. After sonic discussion, in which it was clearly under stood, that unless the creditors universally agreed to the proposal, the object fin. which the Meeting was called would be nugatory, the ,Members of the Sub-Committee withdrew, and a Committee of the principal creditors was appointed to take the proposal into consideration, and report thereon. THEATRICAL CORRESPONDENCE. The Mowing curious correspondence, which actually took place in the year 743, may serve to illustrate the theatrical management of that period :—A man of the name of Stone, who was frtquently employed by Gar rick to get recruits for the low parts of the drama, had hired a fellow to perform the Bishop of 11 1, nchexter, in Henry VIII. but on the night of performance sent a note to Garrick in these wordi, "Stn.—The Bishop ot Winchester is getting drunk at the Bear, and sweats, d—n his eyes, if he will play to-night, " I am four's W. STOWE." To which Garrick immediately wrote this answer : " Stone, the Bishop may go to the devil: I do not know a greater rascal except yourself. D. G." Some time afterwards, Stone wrote as follows: Stu—Mr. Lacey turned me out of the lobby ye,terday ; I only it%'d tlw my two guineas for the last bi.i.hop, and he swore I should not have a farthing. I cannot live upon air. I have a few cupids you may have cheap, as they belong to a poor journeyman shoemaker who I drink with now and then.-1 am, &c. W. STONE." Awsurcu :—" Stone. you are the hest fellow in the world; bring the cupids w the theatre to..marow ; if they are under s is, and well made, you shall have a guinea a-piece for them. If you an get me two good murderers, I will pay you handsomely, particularly the spouting fellow, who keep; the apple-stall on Tower-hill: the cut in his face is just the thing. Pick me up an Aldermen or two for Richard, if you can, and 1 have no o'...h.etion to treat with you for a comely Mayer." " D. C." DESTRUCTION OF THE LIMERICK THEATRE. —Last night the 'Theatre Royal in Cornwallis-street was to-. tally consumod by fire, which broke out bet w..en and 12 o'clock, and though the attendance of the fire engines was immediate, and the supply of water consi. derable, yet the flames spread so rapidly, that the progress of them could nut he got under until the interior of tne building was destroyed The theatre had oeen since Wednesday undergoing some necessary repairs, preparatory to the introduction of Miss Ste phens and Mr. Horn, who, with the entire strength of Crow-street, were to make their appearance in it next. Monday se'nnight This theatre was built in 1770, and then cost 9001.—(Limerick Chronicle, Oct. 1.) The residence of the Princess of Wales in Italy, is on , the sea shore, near Pesaro, and between 30 and 40 miles from Ancona. Her Royai Highness .having no English and very few foreign visitors, has patronized' the building of a new Theatre at Pesaro, at w!►ich she passes her evenings, as often as it•ccan be kept.open ;i but the population of the places so Final', that the audiences do not support the performers, few as they are,. and the company could not exist without the Princess's• subscription. The Theatre is supposed to have been. built chiefly at her expellee. She has a stage iiox there, to which she is attended with son►c form by her suite. The Princesa has not yet found a purchaser for her scat at Como. Baron Bergamo, who is Steward of the Household, drives a curriele and pair, in the English. style, attended by a groom It is supposed, that the. Princess will not return to England till souse years. hence. _ _ . The diamonds and the other jewels worn by the Princess De la Tour and Taxis, at the late ball, in Ax-- la-Chapelle, were then estimated, by a jeweller, at .tbe sum of two millions of thincsovllielt is equal to upwards. of 80,0001. She is much admired by the King of Prus— sia, on account of her superior talents for conversation, her graceful figure, and her p..itioual charms. r