The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-26 00:00:00

Mr. Alfred Wigan as Hamlet,

The Liverpool Daily Post publishes the following
criticism on Mr. Wigan's impersonation of 1481331e0
at the Prinee of Wales's Theatre, Liverpool' I),t
Friday night—'• While Mr. Wigan's Hamlet 0111-1
necessarily, like all othere, fall short of one's idea
there are scarcelyany that can contest the Pl'.„l
with it. It was once said by a clever periotilel
critic in the New York Vanity Fair' that to Prie.l:o
comedy well a man should be a tragedian•
saying seems a paradox, but it is not far feonl
truth ; and as a companion to it, we assert wi.tb°llo
qualification that no mere tragedian can touch tbo
part of Hiinlet, and that an excellent comedian .6r,
some of the prime essentials for distinction in 41
H imlet is the glass of fashion and the mould of
He is pleasant with those before whom he does 13°0
affr,ct madness, and jocose even with those wPcrii
he would deceive into thinking him insane. He
segnificantly respectful to his stepfather, since° a
tender to his mother, _Even the poor players °e
in him a cheerful and chatty friend, and evert it ,ee
sneakishness of Rosencrantz and Guildenstein (I'o'
not provoke him unto unkindness towards 0%4,
How great then is the necessity for the lieltc„a
softest acting, replete with the genuine spirit limo
tact of comedy and mobile in the utmost degrfil, of
give expression to the constantly varying detai'
,gut
the text. Such an actor is Mr. Alfred Wio
and all the lees serious passages of the play seed,
up by his lively, gay, and brilliant idiosynorflo
But this, though an important element in it;
impersonation, is, after all, a mere fringe t° est
for the essence of Hamlet is, of course, his gr
sorrow and his overmastering impulse Of 3„
venge. Whatever may be his passing occaor
tion or subject of converse at the mention r
thought of his father's death, he must begone °a(
cited to the verge of losing self-control ; and'' of
course, the more exciting incidents of the Pig gf,
necessity plunge him into almost limitless free'
Here, then, we perceive two requirements for oe
actor of Hamlet almost equally imperative. 10 ;he
Mr. Wigan is not yet what he might be.
opo
other he possesses more remarkably than Pt°r` be
any other Hamlet. At the close of the Piece so
exhibited a free abandon of grief which would LL.iti
raised the soliloquy in the second act very rntlel asl
our opinion, but as a rule the tumultously ettl°6°.,q' nt
passages were not given with sufficient power Yeg
the more subtle effects of voice and face in pass;gc
less directly concerning his father's death and itB
sequences were produced with a vigour, an inters® to
and a thrillingness which we do not remember 0,0
nave seen equalled. In the middle of another Fell' log
speech some far-off allusion would suffice 9 br
mio Mr. Wigan's face an expression of wade rpie
agony and perplexity, and the modifications °L of
voice and accentuation under various degree Dot
mental suffering are exceedingly fine. We Wilinzrit
enter into details. With this key to the •
„soli
of the performance our readers may 1116
obtain by glancing at the play a fair idea oot.
manner in which each portion of it was carried
"The fifth act was a noble culmination. Mr.Wigr jog
fencing was splendid, and his visible 011,13e0.061
from his wound, and the various details of
}ll6
hat
conversation with thee e about him, contained that
we consider a welonne importation fr°133.080
French school of melodvama in which Alr• ethet
has long been a celebrateal licentiate, Aitogi
h
Hamlet is exceedingly fine and poaverfilot, a
that on the first attempt he should attain e jj
--horoug
high point of excellence is
pro of how t
his 61.1'
master he is of everything connected with

FOUND DROWNED.—Ans- inquesrWa;irhbealart:llo
Leominster,
evening last, at the Red Li,on,
orefadim,riLnsotnedro,nb.efoFrerol‘mlr.wLchtantware
James Skaggs, of No. 3, Surrey'coroner,clortir
place. Sven er
the coron ,
transpired b t 111)°r1
the
body
it appeared that the deceased, in eoria e °r\ewith his 04°4
to thLisondon about three weeks or a moPnatuhYage ill•sen 61
v:islit
father-in-law, Mr Speake, of Cheney ..coarl tell
he
was Shropshire.
On the evening of the sth of the presen th°
s missed from Cheney, and on its being known. thatoo el•
had about £lO in his posse Lon, and also ahands°l326' Ltd
watch and chain, some fears were entertained that be '"' ~
become the victim of foul treatment. Bills were cirularoca
and a reward offered for any information respecting
of .
The discovery of a blue velvet cap upon the bank °.,,t,013(3
river Lugg, about two miles belowLeominster, Oa th,re 87:i
distance from the spot where the body of Count d° v Yi;_z,,,,
was found last year, led to the supposition that the 0
might be iwnetrhoefiLuuitglges., Dragsl Fraidnadyboats were
then employed in dragging for the body were resting it
the water
Ford's bridge, when looking in the direction ot
they saw what appeared to be the body of a wan gettLe,
identified as t
floating down the stream. It Wes at once
body of Mr skeggs. There was found upon the body about
£6 Jr £7 in gold and a gold watch and chain it bore 00
marks of violence. There was no evidence produced hefer
obtained, but_
the coroner to show how deceasedmgirtnil :I: rTilleP.
verdict was pronounced of "FouDd drownedt"