The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-09-09 00:00:00

THEATRES.

COVENT-GARDEV.
Mr. SnrawAN's brilliont comedy or %Le .%cG;•l
.fur Scaridul, was last night representetl.
house was extremely well filled—and we have ratv;v
known the vivid limit's's of wit which 111(111;14e

innster-intre of comic wfttiug, to cre.k!e s towr
electricul rtfeet. Mr.. DAVISON smorarril no ;hr..,
boards. for the first iinie. es Ludy Tea:le. Stir

was received with enthusiastic plats
her
trance—and similar testimonies of satisf..enli vine-
liberally bestowed on her lierfortitic,ce
the evening. She displayed in the course oi
representation, all thst spirit, anon, atr .

nese of manner. and pointedowso of remark, w!

constitute the life and mud of the chdr.i..b.r.
humorous ipiarrels with Sir Prier were m •
with infinite comic effect—althofeL.,h, lit souse Ire
instances, her colourien( wits chrism:n*l4,rd ify tr.
much breadth and boldne•s—sod her ticriteif er

the members of the scandalous college, weer
with a degree of keen, yet amusing
smacked of the genii's of him by whom they we,..
written. The interview between her and that "
inciting monster," Joseph Surfare, before the arri-
val of .Sir Peter, was skilfully and effectively ma.
tinged :—but Lady Teazles sulisequesit confrsimi
of frailty—the accusation of her insidious coati.
dant—the expression of deep contrition, flowil,
from the knowledge of Sir Peter's atArle
towards her—were too elaborately titterid to boot
the heart. Declamation, in these i.istai:ces, usurpto
the place of feeling—asid, though we cannot say the
this portion of the play was ill performed, we inuo,
in justice observe, that we have often see,, it melts
better acted. Miss O'NEtr.t.'s perform:wee, in the
particular passage, was a splendid il I itri ration of tu.
toe aroused to the assertion of its owii di=mly_ f
tenderness revisiting a heart from who ii tar rr.
forts of a querulous temper had estranged it—
and of a deep contrition, created by a 1/11V•
ful and powerful sense of past impruden:e.—
Mr. MACREADY supported, for the first tan,,
the character of Joseph Snsface, which wd• tor.
merly personated by Mr. YOUNG. The ramie
is certainly not an improvement. Mr. NIACIEIDV
laboured to render Joseph a more meek and 51:11t-
like sinner than the character, to he understood ite
the audience, would admit. With this view,
whispered mod murmured the dialogue sr, /11.10 br.
fur the most part, inaudible beyond the first eon.
of the pit. In the scene, where, being interrogatii
by Sir Peter, with respect to the petticoat
the screen, Joseph states that he law ceiwea!t,l
" a little French milliner there," the whole .h.ely.
sure would have been a perfect mystery to us, if 'Sr
had then, for the first time, been present at the pPt-
formaace of the comedy. Mr. You nri was eminently
happy in his delineat lan of Joseph. lie %cis sufficiently
specious and sanctimonious in his manner—but he
took care that the audience should not lose a pa;.
tide of SIIERtPAN's inestimable dialogue. Tie
other characters were cast its usual. Mr. C.
KgstaLe was an admirable Charles. Gay, volatile.
and humorous, it was impossible to look on his
career with any feeling like purity. Mr. Tease's
Sir Oliver was a sterling representation of the
" little Nabob," who is not more distinguished 1w
the blunt honesty of his mind, than by the genuine
philanthropy of his heart. Mr. W. FARREN'S
Sir Peter Teazle is a performance of such et.
traorditiary merit. that we feel that no coin.
mendation of our's, however warm, no descrip-
tion, however elaborate, could give an adequate
idea of its excellence. We never beheld a
fitter performance. It excited unbounded laugh.
ter from beginning to end. Crabtree and Sir
Benjamin Backbite were sustained with 'bun&
ant humour by Messrs. BLANcHARD and Linos.
Mrs. Candour and Lady Stseerwell were sup-
ported by Mrs. Glass and Mts. Cow son is a
style highly creditable to their talents. Nor
must we omit the trifling parts of Trip sod
Moses. which, in the hands of Messrs. FARLEY sad
Simmons, added considerably to the general ewe,
tat inuent which the comedy afforded. lu the
auction scene, when Clarks Surface offers to sell the
portrait of one of his relatives, who had been Moyer
of Norwich, for eight pounds. the remark of Sir ob.
ver—" No ! six pounds is enough fur a Mayor r
was evidently applied by the audieuce to a %meetly
Magistrate, of the preswest day. mud called forth
several rounds of applause. The audience were
still mote delighted. when Charier says, " Make it
guineas, and VII throw the two Aldermen into the
bargain!" But, when he desires his friend "10
knock down the Mavor and Aldermen," the esso.o
*riots of ideas produced hearty peals of laughter.
which continued fur a considerable time.

IiATKARKET.

The comedy of The Honey 37,,,,a; tat Ititile in
incident, bright with imagery and wit, awl opal
with jest and repartee, was pet tot Wed lest
and performed in a style of excellence seldom
equalled. The characters *rye. without a ringte
exception, cart in the most judicious manner. 111.1 i
supported with admirable prow levy and felicity.
The most prominent part in tlw niece, the Duke
Aransa, was allotted to Mr. %% •111:11t, sod could
scarcely have fallen into the hands of a more
adequate representative. From beginning to end
he appeared the man of sense, feeling, and fireworks.
as well as the nobleman of elevated mind, and
refined and finished manners and deportment.
His apparel; step, and bearing, indicated a person
who had long breathed the air of courts ; while
his mild sod softened gravity of countenance, ha
suavity of address; his temperance and smoothness
of language, bespoke the understanding which
necessary to derive improtement from a commerce
with them, sod to guard from their infection.
Worked' on by the strongest gusts of passion, his
equanimity never forsook him; and the polished
Gentleman was as visible wider the disguise
of a peasant, while joining in the rustic dance
Ott the green, as under the gorgeous hisb;i!.
mettle of a Doke, am rounded by a train of attend.
ants to his castle. and avowing has real character.
lii
short, we could not use terms too strong to exptco
our conception of theeatteordivary merit of this pen'
formative. Mrs. EDWIN poortreyed the listoglitT,

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