The Express.
London, England, 1856-08-14 00:00:00

Will order ear wlege, and be off to the Weer

They get on very well without the West. They
make money as fast in the reseal as out of it. They
take their pure after their Oriental fashion just as
eagerly in August as in April. Their thoroughfares
are more crowded in the dordsys than in the
midst of a hard frost. Bishopegate.street is at this
very moment thronged with as many hundreds es
will make "its everlasting flints vocal" at Christmas.
tide. Margate and Gravesend, no doubt, make heavy
draughts at this time of the year on the population
of the Mast, but they produce no sensible impression
upon the umbers who circulate in the streets.

People whom knowledge of the acted drama ia
limited to the apace included between St. James's-
street and Coventlarden will be surprised to hear
that there is a theatre in Bishopegate-street which,

when full--a not 'infrequent consomm►tioo-containi
nearly fin thousand Reran,. Yet this is actually
the case. On the occasion of the benefit of a favourite
actress, the Standard Theatre lately held within its
walls more than four thousand moron hundred spec-
taton. It is to be feared that cheapness has more to
do with the attractiveness of this theatre than the
powers of either the dramatist or the actor. Without
any wish to disparage the capabilities of either one
or the other, we must still doubt whether they would
" draw "if the management should put an additional
twisty per cent on the charges. At present the
prices are so low that the critic who comes away un-
impressed with the elevation of the art, may at all
organ console himself with the moderation of the
cost.

With respect to architecture and decoration, the
Standard will endure a comparison with its rivals at
the %felted. The entrance is spacious, well
lighted, and ornamented with good taste. The inte-
rior is fitted up with every attention to oomfort and
elegance. "Barbaric pearl and gold " are scattered
as lavishly in the " gorgeous East" as the most extra-
tepee Orientalist amid desire.
No person who taketh his ease in a box at the
Standard will envy—u far as mere physical comfort
is concerned—the occupant of a box at her Majesty's
Theatre. Let as add that the tenants of the boxes
seem thoroughly aware of their privilegee,and are not
at all disposed to think slightly of the dignity of their
position. The ladies are in full evening costume.
Bonasts are avoided as a pestilence. The gentlemen
entertain views a little more lax as to the proprieties
of dress. Frock coats, we are bound to sa7, are the rule,
rather than the exception. In the pit an esteems
latitude is allowed. Most of the male portion of the
sodium in this part of the theatre in all probe.
bility possess cuts, but not many wear them. On a
late visit we observed one gentleman, under the pres-
sers of axtreme excitement, divest himself first
of his cravat, then of his coat, and after-
wards of his waistcoat. He terminated the
of relief by unloosening his braces. One worersass:
the interest taken in the performance by the specta-
tors. Never have we seen an audience so absorbed
as that which listens to the evolutions of melodra-
matic auks and passion at the Standard. Piccolo.
mini and Rirtori might in this respect envy Mrs. R.
Homer, who "does the first business" at the great
theatre in the Beat.

A• eLoala isea;iiiittaa 6o L. .U., to 0000loy 50 oar
readers any adequate idea of the "Romantic Drama
of Intense Interest," Balled "The Hebrew Twins,"
which brought out the enthusiasm of the audience
in the East at the time of our visit. But,
in spite of the most diligent attention, we
were unable to fathom the mysteries of the
plot, and we cannot be expected to convey to
others the knowledge which we have not acquired
ourselves. We hays a somewhat distinct impression
of a highwayman whose time is divided with tolerable
impartially between the commission of acts of plunder
and the enunciation of sentiment. He received im-
mense applause is both portions of his performance.
Then there was a Jewese, or rather two Jeanne,
played by the sense person, the tragic queen of the
theatre. One was, we believe, the wife of the high-
way men ; the other, we think, the wife of • person of
high rank. One of these personages was dose to
death by a truculent character whose prow
appellation, it seem, was Benjamin Bone, bet
who, we are told in the bill, is commonly called
"Old Death.' The events in this Oriental
drama noosed each other with startling rapi-
dity, and the Wore have all much more to do than to
say. The lattice of the East and Return of the
Guards or, War and Iforror, Peace and Plenty
—gave us • somewhat different impression of the war
to that which we have received from " Our own Coe-
respondent." We were not surprised to see "Ser-
geant Richard Davis (of the let Coldstream Guarder
and " Sergeant Achille Boohoos:De (one of our noble
allies)" meeting together; but we had some difficulty
in making oat what business in common brought
"Count Witzeoff (general officer commanding the
forces marching on Kan)" and " Baron Romanoff
(general of the forces of Sebastopol)" on the
same stage. Them difficulties did not seem to
perplex the audience, a large portion of which con-
sisted of real Crimean heroes, who looked upon the
SOON with an intensity of admiration which was at
once amusing and perplexing.
A traveller to the Eastern districts in search
of dramatic excellence will do well not to limit
hie observations to the Standard. Let him turn
his steps, after quitting the theatre, towards
the Monument, and he will, at the distance
of a few hundred yard., otiose upon the City
of London Theatre. The kind of art which is petro-
aimed here is similar to that which is favoured at the
Standard. There is perhaps a little more " breadth*
both in the performance and in the manner in
which it is received than is the case at the
Standard, but oo the whole there is not
much perceptible diffistenoe between the tone of the
two houses. It was our fate to see "Jack Shep-
pard "enacted whoa we visited this theatre. We an
booed to confess that this inattentive play was re-
markably well performed. The amatory and preda-
tory hero was airablyrepreeented by • Miss Marian
Lacey; Blueskin was equally well yertonned; and
Jonathan Wild, dressed alter the manner of a cava-
lier, wee a most picturesque villain.
Bishopsgateatteet seems the chosen abode of
the lovers of the dramatic art. Within a very
short distance from the City of London
Theatre then is a temple dedicated to histrionic
pursuits, where visitors are admitted for the
small charge of one penny. The stage here is
about the size of a tolerably large wardrobe, and the
actors, as might be expected, appear of preternatural
dissensions. Of the dramas enacted it is impossible
giveacorrect
desc
understand them.
suggesting situations which never happen. A stmt-
lax remark applies to the performers. A young lady
in the shortest of muslin petticoats gave to the Una.
ptyion, are as
chiefly
ginatioc the promise of a hornpipe. The promise, we
regret to state, was not fulfilled, the whole of her
action being limited to &deeming from the sidemen*
at regular intervals with her arias pointing upwards.
' We have been accustomed to hear penny theatres
denounced, on account of their immoral tendon:in.
We are obliged to cooties that we sew no symptoms
of anything of the kind at the theatre in 13ishop.
r gate-street. The drama we maw way Insufferably
slow, sad es virtuous, that it might have been written
by the indignant critic in the Noes who thueders
with sash vehemence pilot La Trariata.