The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-10-09 00:00:00

THEATRES.

DRURY-LANE.
On Saturday evening Colman's comedy of the Heir at
Law was performed here, on which occasion there were
several novelties, which we shall notice in the order in
which they present themselves to public attention. The
comedy itself certainly cannot be considered in that light,
and yet it has the great merit, with materials of no very
superior superstructure, either in plot or character, to be
received with undiminished applause after a lapse of nearly
thirty years ; indeed there are few stock plays in greater
favour with te public. The bred-in-the-bone vulgarities
of the warming-pan Peer, and the scholastic pedantry of
the Doctor, are subjects of irresistible mirth ; while the
ebullitions of the warm-hearted but irascible peasant, and
the soul-touching simplicity of his amiable sister, are
never-fading specimens of character, which, though not
! often met with in real life, still tell well among the general
caricatures of dramatic representation. The characters of
'Dick Dowlas and Kenrieic rely more upon the manner
than the matter, and the contrast they presented to each
I other in this respect, on Saturday, was never more contipi-
-I.cuous; the former seldom having been better played, and
the latter certainly never worse ; but we are anticipating. In
the character of &kid( homespun, a Mr. Edwin, from the
Nottingham Theatre, made his first appearance before a
London audience, and we have seldom seen a cue of more
decided success. In face he reminded us very much of
Russel—not J., but he of lisping memory—while in
style he is more original than any countryman of leis grade
we have of late seen. The chasm that occurred jtt this
company when poor Knight was taken away, not only from
this stage, but from that of the world, is likely to be ad-
vantageously filled by Mr. Edwin, who appears to have
every requisite to make a worthy successor to that epitome
of drollery; and we hope he will, in becoming his theatrical
heir, succeed to a proportion of that private respect which
the lamented individual in question so justly enjoyed.
Mr. Edwin is said to be a relative to the great predecessor
of Fawcett, who starred a short but brilliant career in the
galaxy of theatrical talent of that period. Mr. Hooper, at
a very short notice, in consequence of the indisposition of
Mr. Browne, took the character of Dick Darks, and has
! thus given us an additional proof of the decided acquisition
he is to this company. There is certainly not a great deal
to study in the character; but when we are assured that he
never played it before, and was wholly unacquainted, when '
called upon, with the text, we do offer this gentleman his
fair rimed of praise for the highly correct manner in which
he went through the part. His representation of the ori-
ginal Disk, the one-third lawyer, one-third gentleman,
and the remaining part of chandler origin, was very good,
from not being over-done; and the assumption of " Ho-
nourable" before his " sponsorial and patronymic appella-
tion" was neither more nor less than just so much of the
coxcomb as any MU might be supposed to put on with a
suit of " Stultz s particular." In the dancing scene with
Panglosr he displayed considerable spirit ; and in the
more impassioned ones with eice/y, particularly in
that of the declaration of his honourable inten-
tions, there wds a display of feeling highly creditable
to his talents, and which drew forth testimonies of marked
approbation from the audience. Before this gentleman
made his appearance, we predicated that if indeed he were
a gentleman, which we supposed to be his cut, he would
form no little addition to the present company. Such has
proved to be the cage; and, with due attention to hie
businese, Mr. Hooper is tolerably certain of becoming the
Jones of this house. On the present occasion be managed
his voice much better than we have hitherto heard him do ;
and his knowledge of the business of the stage, and of by-
play, was particularly conspicuous. Mr. Hooper's motto
must be toffjeers pert; and he may be assured that he
will lose nothing in public estimation by now and
then accepting a part, under the pressure of circum-
stances, which may not fall exactly in his line. There
has been of late a somewhat fastidiousness in this par-
ticular, which would have been more honoured in the
breach than the observance. It is the actor makes the
character of importance, not the character the actor—
and in the present instance it will have the desirable effect
of enabling Mr. H. to divest himself of that fashionable
nom-ea/once, which, however desirable in the representation
of some characters, can in others be dispensed with to ad-
vantage. Mr. Burke, Mr. Burke, you are no Edmund of
that name! From the Dublin theatre too ! Well, be it
so; you are certainly none the better for that ; and though
you are no doubt a very good man, you are the very worst
Irishman that ever crossed St. George's Channel.—
Dowton, in Lord Duberly, was, indeed, the Gosport
ci-decant chandler, and his representation of the cha-
racter stands second alone to that of Dick Sac!!.
Lordship's habit of swearing certainly loses
nothing in his bands. We are not squeamish about an
oath or two, but the thing may be over-done. Harley's
Pang/its, is not -the happiest effort of his genius: it is
highly respectable, but his buoyant spirits barely enable
I him to cinfine himself within the necessary bounds of re-
straint for the representation of this pedantic scholiast.
Mr. Mercer would have made a very good appendage to an
establishment carrying on under the appellation of the
name he bears, whether of silk or woollen ; hut from his
Henry Moreland the 'loner we are delivered the better.
Mr. Powell is an old and respected actor, and from Sled-
first, who has little to do, little is to be expected. The
grand effort, however, was that of Miss Kelly, who made
her first appearance for the season in ( icely homespun,
and the charm she threw around the character was supe-
rior to that of any former effort. The scene with Dick,
wbere she upbraids him for his unworthy proposal to
her brother, and her reception of his repentance,
was the seine of perfection. There arc many Cic, to
Momeepaes, but only one Miss Kelly. Miss I. Paton
gave as much interest to the part of Caroline Dormer
perhaps as it is susceptible of; but we could wish
that she would occasionally set h.q. eves upon things above
rather than upon things on earth : she has too constant a
habit of keeping her eyes upon the floor, as if looking for a
dropped bracelet or some other strayed ornament. Lady
Doherty lost none of her /on in the hinds of Mrs. Har-
lowe ; and upon the whole, with the exceptions we have
mentioned, in our judgment the play was extremely well
performed. The Epilogue was very well delivered ; and Mr.
Wallack announced the repetition of the Play for next
week, which was received with great applause. The Dutch
Fair followed, losing none of its attraction by repetition ;
and the performances concluded with the Den! to Pay. .
Dow tots was the veriest Johann that ever wielded an awl or
a strap, and Mrs. Davison's Nell was indeed a cluser. The
house was very respectably attended.