The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-05 00:00:00

tIURRE Y THEATRE.

This theatre opened last evening for the dramatic
season. The house is re-decorated in a style highly
' creditable to the liberality of the managers, Messrs.
Shepherd and Creswick. The ornamentation is of a
very tasteful character, and renders the appearance of
the interior light and brilliant. The entertainments
commenced with a new Pastoral Drama in four parts,
entitled The Seasons, the action of the several parts
being supposed to occur at short intervals, so as to
embrace a period of forty years. The plot of The
Seasons is as follows :—Redland Brightheart, at the
age of 24, falls in love with Amanda Leigh, and in-
continently marries her, to the great annoyance of his
father, who disinherits him accordingly, and to the
great mortification of Leeward Loftus, Esq., one of
the black sheep of the fable. This is the main feature
of the first part, which takes place in Spring.
In the next season Rediend Brightheart and
his cara .sposa re-appear on the scene : they
are some ten years older, but they are also
richer than when they left Hertford, the lo-
cality of the drama. In the meanwhile Leeward
Loftus has grown poorer, through the act of
his agent—another of the black sheep of the fable—
who panders to his extravagance, and thrusts him over
head and ears into that " slough of despond"—debt.
Brightheart has come to take possession of his father's
property, which bad been won at dice—unfairly won
—by Loftus; and it is, of course, "wormwood and
gall" to that roué to find that the mortgagor under
the rose is his rival and his enemy. The " season"
closes with the ejectment of this " village tyrant,"
amidst the acclamations of the assembled villagers,
who, by-the-by, celebrate the event with a feed.
Redland Brightheart and Amanda, his wife, have a
large family, and in the third part, or season, they
are introduced full-grown "sons and daughters of
beauty." But the eldest son has been led into
gambling transactions with Loftus, in London,
and eke with the brother-in-law of that needy
scoundrel, "a leg," named Rooke, and the result
is that he has given bills to the tune
of 8,0001. These bills at once pass into the hands of
Ephraim Iron, the agent in question, whose tools both
scamps now are ; and he makes use of them, to seek
the daughter of Brightheart, the sister of his victim, a
beautiful young girl, in marriage. Foiled and re-
pulsed in his aim, he lets out the nature of the trans-
action ; whereupon Brightheart, in the plenitude of
his virtuous rage, banishes his son at once from his
presence. The fourth " parr," or season, is " pre-
sented" in winter, as the latter was prefigured in
autumn. All the original parties are now aged,
some of them indeed are in their grand
climacteric. Iron, the agent, however, is the
stoutest of the lot ; and little to be surprised at
either, for he has become a landed proprietor, of
great wealth, and is no longer the servant of any
one—except the devil. Brightheart, who sorrows for
his lost son—as Rachel sorrowed for her children—and
will not be comforted, remains in statu quo, a magis-
trate and a rural magnate. But Loftus and Rooke
have become paupers and tramps—they were always
vagabonds, and being rejected even by the thimble-
rig brotherhood, as too base, they had come down
to Hertford to " try it on" with Iron. The ex-agent,
however, harshly refuses them relief—even a crust
of bread or a penny ; nay, more, he actually shoots
his former master, Loftus, when the wretch, urged by
hunger and despair, followed on his track. At this
moment Redland Brightheart, jun., returns after an
absence of fifteen years, and hearing the shot, seeks
but in vain for the cause, and in so doing
drop; his pocket-book, containing " pearls of
price" and much other valuable property. On
discovering his loss he " tries back" and picks
up the pocket-book of Iron. This he pre-
sents to his parents, but upon their discovering it to
belong to that person it is sent back. And now, em-
boldened by success, Iron determines to annihilate his
enemy—the virtuous Brightheart, sea., and at once
charges Redland, jun., with having robbed him and
attempted his life, calling upon the father of the pro-
digal soa to commit him to prison. This the Hert-
fordshire Brutus in question is about to do, when
Rooke, in semblance of a scare-crow, enters the
justice-room and proclaims Iron the murderer of
Leeward Loftus, erewhile esquire. The tables are,
therefore, turned with a vengeance. The happy
parent commits his enemy—of all things in the
world—for perjury; the happy mother embraces
her son ; the happy son kisses both father and
mother; and the happy villagers " swell the note of
praise" with a spontaneous shout of enjoyment.
The piece is enlivened by the peculiarities of Joe
Griffin (Mr. Widdicombe), a farm servant, who mar-
ries and brings up his son as a regular " griffin."
The latter, after showing fight to his father, goes for
a soldier, and returns after several years
of service
with a wooden leg, a wife, and five children. The
acting was very good, especially on the part of Mr.
Creswick,
andasnßoneedloefnd Brightheart, and Mr. T. Mead,
who is aTiaheexcelleni performer in his line, as Martin
boards, re were several debits on the Surrey
them discreditable to the ma-
These were Miss Clara Wynne, from the
nagement.
Theatre Royal NEdeivvocbaatle ; Miss Bowring, from the
Theatre
Messrs.R oylavl
Robeurgh,
and who played pleasingly ;
Younge, and Harwoodrets:on; J Davis, Elmore, A.
markably well put upon the esrt.ageT,
and appropriate costumes. Ur. Shepherd's make
wheithPieeeffeectwivaes sce-
nery,re-
phases was admirable,
up as Tom Rooke in his several
b: turnout" and literall
the in especially when " at dissipation's enu
out at elbows, and Mr. Widdicome'
second part was irresistibly ludicrous,
wT
ehde drama
was quite successful, and Mr. Creswick was recalled.
A new and extravagantly broad farce fella
Widdicombe,
ihenMeeriniaLcontinual roar.
act "drama
aGsotihneg
etxo
-vCarietemro:kneep,
titnbewahaidc
ofT hien intense v'e'littthitlaedtwTohe Divorced.
sfeordmoimanecsetsiccoinatcelruedset,d„
The house was crowded to excess, and all promises
fair for a highly successful season, which the untiring
exertions of Messrs. Shepherd and Creswick, eminently
hitherto
deserve, for they have placed the Surrey. 'Theatre on
a higher footing than it had ever, attained,
and it is now one of the most attractive places of
amusement in the metropolis.

THEATRE ROYAL, PLYMOUTH.
On Monday last, in Pizarro, Mr. T. C. King
personated Rolla, the great Peruvian warrior, with
enatimmate skill. The scene in the dungeon between
him and Alonzo (Mr. Newcombe), was given witn
tine expression. Mr. Warde'slrro was true to the
origkat character, and procured for him a good re-
ception. Miss 114nny Huddart played with great
spirit and much good taste, the bold aryl enthusiastic
eha.racter of the Spanish maiden, Elvira Cora, the
iuVV c,111,c1 rr-
sonatur in Miss Page. At its conclusion both Mr.
Ling 4ed fir. \Verde were called before the curta a