The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-11 00:00:00

ST. JAMES'S THEATia.

The story of Faust and Marguerite has been
se ected by Mr. Burnand as a subject for burlesque,
and it is not at all surprising that but a very clues.
tionable result has attended his efforts. The tale,
as told by one of the greatest philosophic poets, is
one of the most profound and serious subjects that
the human mind can recognise; it is no less than a
disquisition on the origin and progress of evil in the
soul*of man ; therefore, it is no wonder that drama-
tists should have seized upon it, but that burlesque
writers should have done the same is peculiar. The
story, alter it as you may, cannot be made fanny, .
and with such a drawback it is not surprising that
Mr. Burnand's effirt is not a success, although we
must at once confess that the laughter it evoked was
quite as loud and hilarious as attends the produc-
tion of burlesques in general. The produc-
tion, when measured by its own standard,
does not come up to mark, because had the
materials been sufficient there would have
been no occasion to introduce effects and incidents
from " Romeo end Juliet," and " Leah." The author,
however, it must be said, has been very careful in
avoiding vulgarisms, and although we have a bur-
lesque somewhat distasteful, we have one that
makes " the unskilful laugh." Mr Burnand trans-
forms Marguerite into a servant girl with a decided
taste for the sensational drama and Cremorne ;
Faust is an old chemist and druggist, distantly re-
lated to the Haunted Man of the Polytechnic ;
Mephistopheles retains his form as a cynical fiend,
redolent of sulphur; Valentine, Marguerite's brother,
is a sergeant in the A division of police, with crim-
son knickerbockers and the new regulation helmet ;
Siebel is a fat boy undergoing Mr Banting's pro.
cess ; and Martha is a she vampyre in the form of
a lodging-housekeeper. In addition to the above we
have a motley crowd of policemen, German rowdies,
demons_ both male and female, with dragon wings
shooting from their shoulders, which form as strange
a combination as ever figured in the bewildering
mazes of a modern burlesque. Of the general style
in which Mr. Burnand has treated his topic it will
suffice to say that while preserving, though in a
distorted form, some of the features of the original,
he has introduced a parody on the garden scene in
" Romeo and Juliet," and one from " Leah." Mrs.
Charles Mathews sustained the part of Marguerite
with amazing spirit and energy. Her imitation of
Mdlle. Stella Colas and Miss Bateman was excellent,

and when she uttered the travestie on the famous
malediction, she gave it with such vehemence as
to positively impart a dignity even to nonsense.
Mr. C. Mathews, as Mephystopheles, sings a couple
of "patter songs" in his own peculiar style, and Mr.
Clarke as Martha, the dutnna,' gave us a finished
portrait, original and forcible in design, and sing
gulav!y truthful and characteristic in detail. Mr.
Ashley es Faust, and Mr. Eburne as Siebel, both
tacked the requisites for burlesque acting. The
scenery, by Danson, is really beautiful, and the
dresses, music, and appointments are all in the best
aste.
The applause wag loud and general at the fall
,t the curtain, and thereloro the burlesque 111115 S be
i)ronouuced a success.