The National Register.
London, England, 1813-10-10 00:00:00

DRAMA7'IG REGISTER.

COVENT GARDEN.

The theatsical has lately been a• prolific as the political world.-..-
Whilst, in the latter, new champions of war have advanced amidst
scents of blood 'and devastation, and joined in the mighty contest
which enties the fears and hopes of mankind ; in the forineroew mock
heroes and heroines have sought, in a inure harmless manner, the
same bubble—fame, and Ailed to th.! peaceful enjoytuent dst the com-'
Dwny. A:nought these, pre-eminent in form, as in talents, stands
Mr. COX W AY, fron► Dublin, who appeared fur the first time at this
Theatre last Monday as Alexander, arid for the second on Thursday as
Vihtllo.

To nature this Gentleman h indebted for every thing necessary to
make a great actor. She ha, 1 tee a lofty stature. full 9f elegant
correctness in its proportions, and of grace in its motions. She htr
endowed him with 0.. e of those yr tinteriances whose marked features
combine expr %ion with mauls beauty, and re Beet, as a perfect mir-
ror. the workings of the mind ssithist, and the successive sivides of the
passions To maj...ry of look and of deportment, she has added a
eon! voice, whose sleep and nit flow tones now sp. ak the language
of the snfter feehngs with melodious accents, and whose kind energy
now reveals the bursts of tne violent passions ith faithful imitation
To bring all these qualifications into exercise, site s-ems to have im-
parted to ham a wind of con•idel3!e force and •ettsibi Hy. Sue)) have
been the gifts of itature to Nir C.a.t‘vssr, let us now examine what
art and study have do e for him.

Directed t.y judgment. studs' has improved it. He floes not pos-
sess the were t;iculty of disceriiiiig the meaning of his author, and
faithfully telienrsiog his words. lie knows l,ow to give them the force
cif express on, without which ilicy a•e nothing but the• outlines of a
line picture divested of the rwigic of c lours. Byre) then, art conies
to his assistance, and regulating the due exercise .of hi% sutural
powers, enables him to give a striking poitriiiiurc of t he affections of
the and of the varied einuiges and energetic ettCcis of the pas-
sions.

With such qualifications, it is almost needless ta add, that in Alex-
ander the Great. Ali. CuN %% AY was FiLlieVIC w itivint stiffness tender
without affectation, passionate without halting, and sts'olitue in madness
without roaring or distortion. Ills uttitusies, throw/64n. were natural,
graceful, and strikingly expressive, and. m the last scene. surpassed,
in those three qualities, any thine, we have williesst.d. They would
have given a tongue to silence itself. and his jurigmeot was never
inure conspicuous than in the ravings of anguish mid madness which
eiose his part. Vit'e regret that the ovei flow of political matter sl'ould pre
vent uur entering into greater details, which, we litipe, circumstances
Hill allow to another time. Ills recepti ii will, most enthusiastic.
and pcal. and Autos' of applause attended hint through the whole of
jiffy perfornuince.

In Oteeno he displayed equal ahililies, and, as the part 'requires a
greater visritty and depth of feeling Ili., 6: ere and his action, when
he ••eir.srates the coralneents in Ili. nightly breil;"were truly mrignificent.
The progress of jealousy contending with his c•nidiri nature, and at lass
overcoming Isis spisit wain:tit dettr sing its magnuilimity, was most sc-
cur,stely and forceffilly depicted, and the war of feelings which rends
his bosons in the last %cene, eon-imam with the seusibility, did nut de.
grad: the grandeur of Othello's character.
His reception in this part was as universally favourable as in the
former.

Mr, CoNw ay's chief defect is one which may probably be attri-
buted to I calities. He seer's unaccustome d to the size of our Theatres,
and then+ re as tet unacquainted with the exact management of voice,
which eitaties it to rise atid sink without ever growing too loud to be
heard with pit...sloe, or too I.ise to be heard at all. He wants • me-
dium, which habit alone can make lulu filid, and which, without pre.
vetoing his variations and totitresfol teues, will secure their he-
ing always audinle. The v. ice stifled by emotion or anguish it to a
whisper, is frequently expressive i the 'hieliest degree ; but it' it tots
too lea, it is only caught by the boxus ne.rtst the. stage, and the effect
is 'oat 'ay die rest of the !rouse. I ike•Mr. KE)IBLE, Mr. CON WAY
also passes too slightly over some scenes, In which he might even he
chat ged 'with 'nineties% This,• it is true, is redeemed by great beau
lira, as his collected powers burst subsequently with grander effect :
but it lenders:the perfirmance u chequered one, when he is evidently
eble to give it 'a more uniform and elevated character. Upon the
w.hl,le, he is a highly valuable acquisition to the metropolitan stage.
Let him, however; not think himself perfect. or he will never pass the
point of excellence which 1.0 has attained. Let hl4 study and his ex-
ertions continue he is' already a great actor, and if he is as yoting as
it is reported (only 24), and be alekes a proper uae of his piwer, he

L REGISTER.

messes the means of becoming one of the first pertormers this
,untry has produced.
_ _

Besides the attractions of Mr. Cotsteay, the tragedy of Othello pre.
rented, on Thursday last. those of beauty. feeling, and skill, united in
Mrs. Faucue, who made her first appearance as Dtsdemona. This
Lady has found the London public as sensible of real merit as that of
Norwich, which she lately quitted for the metropolis. A handsome
countenance, an elegant fignre, a pleasing voice, action at unce just,
eney, and graceful, formed her cl..ims on the favour of the audience, and
were not disregarded. Sportive and animated at the hour of jay, re.
sistlesslv insit.uating and persua,ive in intercession, awl interestingly
tender in atilicti.,n and danger, she could not fail to gain the noplause
of every hand that obeyed the impulse of the heart. Her success was,
therefore, great and merited.
On Thesday night n new piece, in turn acts, called the Nian•Descript,
was produced at ntis Theatre. As it' died in the penes of its birth, we
cannot do better then hive it a Non &script even after its death. The
oppusition to it commenced so early, and from so many quarters at
once, that it has been reported to have been occasioned by a party of
haberdashers, who understood that the piece was inte: •-(Ml to tuna their
effiminacy into ridicule. I3e this as it may, the first offence was given
by the outre appearance of Liston's dress, and the hissing which beguai
at the s,cond act ue, coptitined to rage with repeated cries of off, of,
to the end of the second act, which was hastened in compliance with
the wishes of the public, and the piece withdrawn.
Mr. 'fenny appeared last Friday as Shelock in the Merthane of
Venice, and Mrs. AVG, tinny as Parii.t. They were Loth sileces,fid„
particularly the latter, but we have no ruutu at present. fur *Arthur
couneut%