The Express.
London, England, 1852-04-13 00:00:00

PBUQCREIS'II.

The entertainments at this house consisted of the
very successful drama of ne Corsican Brothers, and anew
burlesque, by Mr. Tom Taylor, called WittiLind and his
&others, or the Seven Swan l'rinca and the Fair
Massing. In the first piece Mr. Charles Kean re-appeared
aftet his severe illness, and the cordiality with which he was
received was a fitting tribute to a deservedly popular actor.
The burlesque belongs to that clam of dramatic entertain-
ment which has obtained great favour of late, and which
affords the managers an opportunity of displaying their
Mores of wealth in the decorative department.
Madame Vestris having set the example of
extreme gorgeousness in the preparation of her
Hager and Christmas pieces, her rival managers
mien bent on striving to surpass her in this respect ; and
the production at this theatre last night was one of the
mamy successful attempts to gain the applause of the public
Xeappsaling to the eye rather than the understanding.
characters in the piece consist of a henpecked king, a
termagant queen, an addle-pated mayor of the palace, seven
pelmess—the sons of the king—and seven princesses,
shim to another and more juvenile monarch.
There is also an interesting specimen of the feathered
tribe, in the shape of an owl, who is certainly
the most humorous member of the dramatic personae.
The piece has some pretensions to plot, but it is not very
intelligible, and if it were, the audience would scarcely
have time or inclination to dwell upon it, seeing that the
great object of the author seems to have been to call forth
the powers of the scene painter and costumier rather than
to display his own. The action of the piece is mainly pro-
moted by the exploits of the young princes, in their en•
deavours to secure possession of the princesses, and by the
adventures of the fair Melneine (daughter of the
King of Manchanland. reared as • shepherdess).
and a young shepherd, her foster-brother. The
burlesque is interspersed with parodies, and the music
throughout is far superior to that which we are in the habit
of bearing on such occasions. The fairy scenes were most
abundant and moat beautiful, and the mechanical effects,
though not very novel, were indicative of the greatest pos-
sible care and discrimination in the "getting up." The
seven priaoesses and the seven princes ware moat energetic
in their exertions to promote the success of the piece, and
the termagant queen raved and stamped to the dismay of her
husband in a manner which was calculated to make all
the princes and princesses tremble in their sandalled
shoes. The " Fountain of tho Fay,' • " Banquetting
hall in the palace," " illuminated gardens," the " great '
square of Avalon," and the " fairy bridal bower," were
amongst the most effective scenes, and in each of these the
taste of the artist was displayed with sufficient advantage
to command considerable applause. Mr. Meadows and Mr.
Harley took part in the performance, but their powers of
exciting laughter were not called into frequent requisition.
Mrs. Winstanley, u the Queen, afforded some proof that
she is not unworthy of taking a place by the side of the
king of burlesque (as ho is called), James Bland.
Miss Marshall, as the leader of the princes, Miss
Culotta Leelerce, as " the fair Melusine," and
Miss Robertson, as the young shepherd boy, contributed
greatly to the sources of enjoyment, and their graceful act-
ing was a most valuable element in the performance. The
piece was altogether completely successful, but it requires
curtailment, and the infusion of • little more sparkle into
the dialogue, to secure for it a permanent position amongst
the burlesques of the day.