The Express.
London, England, 1864-07-11 00:00:00

e . •

DRAMA.

ST. JAILE3%.

A new burlesque called Faust and Margwer;te,
by Mr. F. C. Berrea;ed, was proclaimed at tkie house en
Saturday night with& somewhat singular end of charades,
If Mn Charles Mathews had been taken out of the piece
by force or accident, se lady would have hese left, except
the ladies of the bovitable ballet, and the performance
would have been stroogly suggestive of those Shakespearian
days when women were not allowed to appear amongst the
mummer& To make the singularity more striking, Kra
Mathews wore a dress which reached to her heels, and tot
one of the scenes elided with • "nigger break-dews." The
opium bestowed upon the Wrinkles, with more we ism
tote and judgment, most, therefore, have been given to
the writing and the acting, and not to legs, lollipop girls,
sod flash dancing.
Ana and Marguerite, u the title implies, is a parody of
the dramatic sad operatic versions of Goethe', great poem—
s subject which Mr. Borland touched upon in his extrava-
ganza of Faust and Imogene, lately produced at the New
Greenwich theatre. The chief characters of the play ere
pot upon the stage in a burlesque farm, which allows them
to retain some few of their original features, but Mr.
Barna/A has made his story somewhat obscure by dragging
in too many 11C01110061111. The ballet, which is as muck a
part of every burlesque as puns, slang couplets, aid area
dressed as wawa, is introduced in • pleasure-genies some,
where the Waimea -eight revelry is parodied as a Crr
mune masked-bell. This scene is enlivened by some dying
skeletons, intended, we presume, to satirize "high-rope
gymnastics, and is ushered in by some remarks upon moor
halls which are ataikiegly unjust and ungrateful. When
burlesque-writers can snowed without begging and stealing
every jig and ditty which music-halls have made popular,
they may play into the hands of theatrical managers by
abusing the " aboe over the way ;" but until then it would
only be duns for the Lord Chamberlain's Codling to Grow
as little as possible over the magistrates' Short. A sarcasm
about fourth-rate singers came with a very bad grace from a
company who could not sing the ea:mooed operetta aim in
anything like time and tune.
While the Faust story is delayed by this Primmer
Walporgis episode, it is obscured by the last soma, which
the author has made a compound of Leah sad Jennie Daus*.
Mr. Charles Mathews faintly ridicules Mr. Bucitault in
the trial-scene of the latter play, and delicately but ef-
fectively advertises theAdelphi Theatre ; while Mrs. Charles
Mathews rum lienself beans in a parody of the celebrated
Leak cone, and has an affecting interview with an intro.
tine potboy. Mims Stella Colas sea, of course, imitated in the
prdeascue between Gretchen and Faust ; bat marvellous
self-denial is shown in not imitating Mr. Fechtest,
Mr. Normand has gins the piece, here aid there, some
very good dialogue, and has need nursery rhyme, sad bits
of old airs with his amid felicity. Some tech nioaldeneriptione
of stage-machinery, however, may he left out wish advaa-
tags. The scenery is mane and heavy, but one tress, copied
from an old Drury-lane pantomime, where Faust and
Mephistopheles appear to pus through a brick wall into
Gretchen's garden, is very effective. The lime-light was
seriously used in ridiculous prolusion.
The acting. &skier, suffered much from the actors net
being very familiar with their words ; at any rate it wanted
OW and harmony. Mr. Charles Mathews, as Itembistee
phase, walked through his part with delightful eosin=
and playfulness, adwas of immure servicein places where
good bye-play was required. Mn Charles Mathews acted
Gretchen, as she acted Medea in the Golden Fleece' with'
much more spirit than judgment. She hes almost too much
life sad uncontrolled energy to keep within bozo& in these
parts, and requires the restraining inffunes of mantissa& and
high-comedy. Those who. ere the moat candid in telling her
of her faults will beet help her to attain that politics which
she may easily occupy. Her make- up as Greece= wee'
atrithabla, but she lost meth is not having another Lay in
the piece, it oily as • foil. Mr. J. Clarke played Dame
Martha with all his quiet force and humour, sad Mr.
Ashley was a good hearty representative of Faust. A cleverpersimal " tag," uttered by Mr. and Mra. Mathews, brought
the curtain down with appknee, and led to a general all to
the author.

MONDAt

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