The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-26 00:00:00

STANDARD.

This house, thoroughly re-decorated and par-
tially rebuilt, is now ono of the most elegant theatres in
Loudon. In style it very much resembles Drury-lane.
The pantomime her. is founded on • familiar nursery
rhyme, and in called " Dame Dundee and her Serving
Maids ; or, H►rlequin Robert and Richard were Two Pretty
Men, who lay in Bed till the Clock struck Ten." The
scene opens in the Hall of Columns, or abode of Holly
Bush, • pantomimic sprite, who is wee); perplexed at
what subject to bit upon for the Standard pantomime.
King Christmas, coming to his aid, surnames the Wizard of
the North and the Davenport Brothers, in addition to a
host of bygone pantomimic spirit'. Holly Buell rejects them
all. and leave. the matter in the hands of Christmas. That
worthy soon discovers a first-rate subject for mirth, in
the eventful history of Robert and Richard, but his claims
to it are disputed by the witch, Never-was-such.a.bed-
' un•io•thrworld.belore, who sowers on the scene, and
threatens veogeence for encroachiog on her privilege.
Christmas angrily retorts, and sends her home again, not
without gaining news from her th►t the king's daughter has
been stolen, and that the witch is the thief. Pleased at this
discovery, Christmas breaks op his court and departs to con-
vey the news to the fairy Farnflower. This brings us to the
Mialetce Glade and Sunlit Retreat of the Fairies (a greed
mechanical change taking place), the pantomime abode
gradually becoming lost to view as the fairies' haunt is dis-
covered. Feroficorer, upon hearing the news of the princess's
abduction, immediately consents to aid her, the only chance
of non.succeee being the witch's interference. This settled,
the fairy retreads from the ease, leaving her Pays to their
revels. Here • greed ballet takes place by sixty ladies and
children. In scene the third we find the fairy soliciting
aid from Britannia, America, and others, and finally settling
to aid Willy (a son of Dame Dud. as a hero for the pan-
teenime. This brings us to the commencement of the story
(eases four), A Distant Village ■nd Rustic Farm. with
Dame Dllolol'll Farmyard. It opens with the old nursery
Sas--
Dame Dunlen kept nee serving maids
To carry the milking pail :
She also kept tire senine men
To use the spade and nail.
And then we are introduced to the dame's three sons, Robert
sad Richard, the two pretty mew who laid is bed till the
clock struck ten, and Willy, the good little boy. The whole
farm is suddenly surprised by the village crier, who arrives to
give out the melancholy intolligeeee that Blossom, thokiog's
daughter, has been stolen away by the witch, and at the same
time to offer the prisons's band to whoever shall restore her
to the king. He arrives just in time, mid states that
failure would cause him to loss his bead, and also that to
mare the carrying out of the expedition correctly be
requires the wooer of the princess to find one hundred yard,
of limo, so fine as to be able to pass through • wedding
ries. R-'bert sad Richard (Mr. B. Wright and Miss Liszy
Watson), afraid of being called cowards, consent to go with
him, and they then set out on their journey. The first

place they arrive at is the Regions of Perpetual Winter.
Hare they are introduced to the witch and Proserne,
king of the Toe Regions. They provide Bobby with Hasa,
sad the fairy queen does the same for Willy, whom she
also gets up the glass moiustais by means of a dyiag seine.
The saddle being gone, there is no way left for the
witch to aid Bobby and Dick except by using throe. St.,
therefore, provides an army of icicles, who attack Willy.
but are driven off by a band of warrior, of Fendlower's.
During the ini:Ue the princess is carried off by Bobby sod
taken to the king. palace, where, after several attempts to
get the roll of linen from Willy, Bobby eventually locks tap
the prince., and goes to bad with Dick. They ere, how-
ever, disturbed by Willy, who having received aid from the
fairy, introduces icicles into their beds. Thereupon they
rash out of the palace and apply to the witch for aid, who
transport, them to her Abode in the Mountain, from which
the fairy rescues them and restores the princess to Willy,
then adjourns to her home, thus leading to the growl
transformation scene.

The pantomimic company is good (it must be good to
succeed in Shoreditcii), anil the leader of the band is Mr.
Lams, one of the meet experienced conductors of tho der.

PAVILION.

The pantomime prepared for the Pavilion bears
the title of "St. George and the Dragon ; or, Harlequin and
the Seven Champion. of Cbrigendom," and is written by
Mr. Francis G. Cheatham. The story is pretty well knows.
but in the present instance will be found to embody several
novel feature.. Escaping from the machinations of the en-
chantress Calyba, the seveu champions depart in quell
of adventures. St. George arrives in Egypt. and coeval.*
the Sphinx as to his future destiny, the result of which
is, that he is induced to pay a via to the fairy
queen, from whom be learns that the land is over-
run by • dragon, and that the king has promised the
hand of his daughter to whomsoever shall destroy the
monster. Presented with • magic sword and shield, sad
mounted on the wooirous horse Bocephalua, St. George
encounters and slays the dragon ; his happiness is, however.
frustrated by the designs of the Prince of Morocco, a re-
jected suitor of the princess, who informs the king t►at
St. George intends converting the Egyptian nation. Hie
life is, however, spared at the intercession of the princess,
on condition that the seven champions shall remove from
the enchanted garden of Ormandine a magic sword which is
there chained to a rock, and which has the power of trans-
fixing ell who touch it with sleep. This task they accom-
plish, which brings about • wrangle, resulting in the trans-
formation. The harlequinade is boisterous, but amusing,
sad the Clown, Mr. Emmery, is assisted by some clever per-
forming doge.

VICTORIA.
This theatre, under its new managers, Messrs.
Fenton and Frampton, is no longer the dirty den it need
to be, and its pieces are now as well mounted as the pieces
at the West-end theatres. The pantomime, entitled "The
Baron Munchausen ; or, Harlequin and the Mountains of
the Moon," commences in the Regions of Despair. Hai
we are introduced to Venom, Despair, and Malice, who.
with their atteurlsat imps,areoompoundiog deadly draughts.
Baron Munchauwe and his faithful follower enter, hung
been expelled from Cock.a.Wax Castle on account of the
baron's proposal for the band of the Princess Ducks-Dia-
mond. In despair the heron is about to rid himself of his
existence by poison, when the fairy Hope appears, and
present/ him with • box of mope pills. At this
moment Despair returns, and forbids the departure of the
baron. He and Mayall test the value of the pills by taking
one each, their magic influence is instantesous, the demean
are transfixed, the baron and Mayall agape, and the sp►
tailors are then introduced to the Palace of King Cocker
Wax. Hero Factotum, the Lord Chamberlain, is buy
Disking preparations for the arrival of the various prisms
who are expected to lay claim to the band of the Primes=
DucirodOsmood. The king enters, and after reading the
announcement in the morning papers, be sends for his •
daughter, who, it is needless to say, is • spoiled child.
The princes are introduced, and severally refused; Fu-
ton= recommends his son, the Count Hoptwig, and be is
accordingly presented to the princess, who very 11110111“.
moniously dismisses him. At that moment the bane is
announced. He rel.tes his advertise in a song, and states
his lunation of ascending in the Nader balloon. The
princess is love-stricken, when Despair appears sad
whispers to Hoptwig, who retiree unperceived, sod while
the king and thebaron are settling the marriage contract, the
balloon appears, carrying off Count Hoptwig and the prin-
cess. The baron takes one of the me/ is pills, and his dying
horse appears. He and they'll mount, and the king sad
courtiers are left in amazement. As the some closes, the
clouds descend, and Hope enters, and espressos her satisfac-
tion at having foiled Despair. She retiree at the approach
of the baron and Mayall, who have lost their *ay in the
fog. The baron bewails his fate, when Dogstar appears.
end dens off the fog. The scene changes to the Frozen
Regions. Here the baron's famous horse is discovered tied
to a stump, as is supposed by him ; and Mayan, who is
overcome by dumber, extends himself on the ground,
while the Baron goes out to reensoiers. Durfog
his absence the Count Hoptwig enters with the
princess, who has fainted from the flight of her
aerial trip ; he places her in a harbour, and at that
iustant the baron returns, and he and Hoptwig have • duet,
sad, in a subsequent and desperate combat, the baron is
vanquished, and Hoptwig calls in the aid of Despair, by
where power the snow gradually melts, and discoven the
village illuminated by the bright beams of the moon. The
baron's horse is seen suspended from the church steeple ; the
baron enters awl releases his charger from its perilous
position ; at that moment the balloon is seen to eater
the moon with lloptwig sod the 'minors ; the baron
is in despair, when Hope appears and produces some
magic beans, the gnomes rise and dig the earth, while
the baron and Mayall plant the beans made • pre-
sent to them by the good fairy ; they grow immedi.
ately, and the baron and Mayall ascend the stalk as the
clouds descend and cover them in. Hope again appears, and
Onset by Dopier ; they agree to baffle the Demon Despair.
and his imp, Venom, whom they see in the air ; they are as-
cordingly sent on a wild goose chase ; the clouds ascends
Darter mid Hope part, and we are transported to the
Mountains of the Moon. The baron enters and is rather
disappointed at the sterility of the lunar regions. Hope is
sgaia at hand, and changes the scene to the Glittering
Garden of the Spangled Firmament. Here the grand ballet
takes place, and is interrupted by the operas& of the Man
in the Moon ; the fairies disappear, and Hoptwig is disco-
vered with the primes. They quarrel mnaically, when the
Man in the Moon appears, to whose ore Hoptwig com-
mits the primer ; she is placed in a cap, while lloptwig
retires to scorch for gems and silver to take home as •
dowry to tempt her father. Dogstar once more returns
and comforts the captive ; the baron now comes in and
releases the primes, and the balloon is spin brought
into requisition-I lloptwig returns in time to see
them depart, be is seined with a fit of despair, and the geese
einem, bringing us back to Cock-a. Wax Castle. Here the
king and all Lis court are in the greatest tribulation at the
loss of the princess. The baron desires an audience and
is admitted—be makes matters right with his father-in.
law that is to be, and restores the prisms@ to his arms; they
are about to come to an amicable arrangement when Hop-
twig suddenly appears, with the announcement that •
dragon has made Lis appearance and is devastating the
village. A loud knockleg is heard, and Mayall appears
with • flat of truce; he makes • audition that the dragon
than he destroyed if the princess is gives to the bares is
marriage. The king consents, and the scene concludes
with a lament to the tune of "Uncle Sam." We now
have an introduction to the Cam of the Dragon ; here the
baron acts as showman, and the villagers are sacrificed to
the monster's voracity. The king arrives in grand prone.
'ion with the princess le the magic cabinet. King Cock-
a-wax claims as the price of her hand the death of the
mobster, the heron consents, and the dragon is annihilated.
At this moment, Hoptwig and Despair appear, and the prin-
cess is disposed of A Is Davenport Brothers. The baron
and Mayall are again secured, and another scone is brought
to a close. The Lot scene of the opening commences in the
Dungeon of Despair, where the princess is incarcerated by
the demon. The C.,unt Hoptwig eaten, and urges his
suit ; he is repulsed ; footsteps are beard, and he
retires with the lady of his choice. The bares
now comas again nom the scene with Mayan; they
are searching for the lady, when Hope, true to her word.
foils the tyrant, sad restores the lovers to each ether's
arena. The count is claimed by the demos, and is owned
off to a place unmentionable to ears polite. Preparation
ere now about to be made for the approaching nuptials of
the Baron Minichansen and the Princess Docka•Disenead,
when Hope appears, and we ere troupe/Sod to the Silver
Temple of Luna, where the trandonestios lakes place.
The pantomimic company is ^Keenest, and the ballet,
produced under the direction of Mr. Frangible. who used to
be one of our best harlequins, is equally goal.