The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-02-07 00:00:00

tHEATARS.

DRURY LANE.
Massinger's fine play, A New Way to Pa Old Debts,
was brought out in full strength at this splendid theatre
last night, for the first time this season ; and the curtain
rose to a crowded and most fashionable house. Messinger
was one of the great band of dramatists, who, with Jolson,
Ford, Shirley, I)ecker, and others, followed on the im-
mortal Shakspeare, and poured the brilliancy of day
around the comparative tlarktexis of that early period of
our history. The sun of Shakspeare rose on that age
without one intervening ray of twilight to obscure its
brightness, and has continued through successive ages
since to reign unrivalled lord of the ascendant. In energy
and originality, Messinger approaches, perhaps, more nearly
to the great bard than any other writer. Ile has not
the tenderness of Ford, nor the passages of uncommon
beauty that prevail through the writings of Beaumont and
Fletcher; but his style is marked by all that vigour and
strength of cone .ption and expression that distinguished
this romantic age of hazardous daring. All the dramas i
of this period arc interspersed with pawges of pruriency I
and grossness ; but they are like the weeds that
shoot up beneath a burning sun on the rich In-
dian soil, amid a thousand flowers and shrubs, and take
little from the merit of these great productions. Three ,
of 'Massinger's dramas have latterly held possession of the
stage, and have been distinguished by the splendid efforts
of the great actor who now stands unrivalled in this
country. The Duke of Milan; Riches ; and the fine
play of last night, A Neu, Way to l'ay Old Debts, have
successively been revived with all the powers of Mr. Kcan.
Nothing could be finer than his acting last night. It was
perhaps the most perfect and impressive effort of histrionic
genius ever witnessed. His energy in some scenes was
overpoweringly terrific ; his eye—his action---his voice,
produced an effect we have not words to describe. His
early scenes with ,Thirritll, and the developement of his.
plans of family aggrandizement, were finely given. Nothing
could be more descriptive than the detail of his am-
bitious
views for his daughter Margaret, and his reply to
Mereall—

" She must part with
That humble title, and write Honourable,
Right Ilur.ourable, :Harrell. my Right Honourable daughter,
If all I have, or e'er shall get will do u,
I will have her well attended ; there are ladies
Of errant knights decayed, and brought so low
That fur east clothes, and meat, will gladly serve her,
And therefore nut have a chambermaid,
That ties her shires or any meaner office
Rut such whose fathers were Right Worshipful.
The transition almost immediately to sudden contempt
and ra,.e, on the appearance of the destitute Wrllhorn
was the citing of a great actor. His voice was choked
with passion in the exclamation,
• Avoid my sight thy breath's infectious, rogue t
I shun thee as the leprosy or the plague.
Come hither, 'Haman, this is the time to work ni."

His subsequent interview with his daughter, and the
way in which he unmasked his designs, and poured the
leprotis distillment of his villany into her ears, was finely
given; his searching look at once of penetration and con-
tempt on the departure of Greedy, and his address to his
timid daughter,
" Arid s. I said, Meg, when this gull disturbed us,
This Honourable
.bred, this

I t•ould have thy husband,"
were the perfectien of his great art. His address after-
wards, after urging her in the grossest language to coin-
pliance with Lord Lovell, and her reply, that when she
had given up her honour he must anti would forsake her,
•` How, forsake thee ! -
Do I wear a sword for fashion, or is this ann
Shrank up or withered ? Does there live a man
Of that large list I have encountered with,
(an truly u:y I e'er give inch of ground
Not purchased with his blood, that did oppose me?"
was delivered with appalling energy. The last scene of
disappointment of all his views, when he finds his deed a
blank, and then attempts to wheedle Morrill!, and the
subsequent discovery of his daughter's marriage with
.-11/worth, was the finest acting we ever witnessed. Hitt
sudden exclamation, and the look that accompanied his de-
nunciationof vengeance, were terrific.

" Village rumen
Ile.•en"e their wrongs with curses ;
A svilable net waste, but thus I take the life
Winch, wretch, I gave thee!"
Mr. Kttan's whole performance of this arduous ehoraeter
would • give immortality to any actor ; it was enthusias-
tically received by a most crowded house. 'Meer ell was
admirably played by \tundra. The Duke and Duchess of
Gloucester, and, we believe, the Princess Sophia, were in
the house, and on being recognised were greeted with the
most flattering testimonies of applause. The play was in-
terrupted, and the national anthem of God acre the King
loudly called for, and sung by Miss Porde, Miss Povcy,
and Mr. Horn, at the close of the play. The present sea-
son at Drury-lane has hitherto been most successful, and
deservedly so, from the continued attraction. Kean is in
himself a host. To compare any actor of the present day
with him is ridiculous ; he stands in talent and originality
completely alone. His Skah,e/• on last Saturday night, and
his performance of last night, are two of the finest repre-
s:ntations ever witnessed on the English stage.