The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-02 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S THEATRE,

The Streets of London.
Last evening Mr Vining produced, at this theatre, gr.
Boucicault's adaptation of French drama, "Lee POW':
de Paris," under the title of "The Streets of Louden'
The piece, as most playgoers are aware, has beer rePre-
sented in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, &0., Sza•l at all
of which places it has been arranged so as to apply'
by
title
at all events, to the streets of the particular localitr
but although the success of the piece, wherever it Weil
performed, was I complete success, its representation
in the metropolis has been deferred until the present OW
sion. The drama has been w ell written up, and notwith-
standing that Mr Stirling Coyne furnished one adaptatieu
of the piece to the managers of the Surrey Theatre, wheree-
was produced in 'O'7, entitled, "Fraud and its Vieth:Bat" e
that Mr B. Barnett had also grounded a cornedietta,
" Pride and Poverty," produced at the Strand Theatresome time since on the seep subject, it " went" last even
ing at the Princess's as well as the most sanguine manage-
could desire. " The Streets of London" is in three o°l
with a prologue., The curtain rises and discovers the
offices of " Crawley and C 0.," bankers, Dloorg
essetreet,
City, where we become at once acquainted with the 1305i-
tion of the firm. Crawley has ruined himself by eve"
epeculation in the railway market, and, as recovery seems
hopeless, he is preparing to abscond to America with
such moneys as he can possibly collect together. lie
imagines the state of his affairs is known only to hifeseit"
but in this he is deceived, for his book-keeper, Bader'
has long been a keen observer of his actions, and tle°
exactly how matters stand. He refuses to allow Crawley
to escape without he is "squared," and whilst the rogues ar°
arranging matters, Capt. Fairweather enters and leaves ladle
hands of Crawley £20,000, the result of a life-long struggle,
for investment for the benefit of his two children. The
seaman receives a receipt for the money and departs, but
in a few minutes he returns, having in the interim heard
rumours of the insolvency of " the house." He is all ex"
citewent, and demands the return of his money, but while
it is being handed over to him he is' seized with apople3).
and expires. Crawley now determines to appropriate t
he
£20,000 to himself, and finding Badger is not at all inelis°
posed to participate in the fraud, he gives him £2,000, tied
then Badger arranges that the body of the captain 015'11
be quietly conveyed into a court at the back of the office,
order that it may be imagined that the unfortunate tar°
had suddenly died in the street. This is done. All sus-
picion is removed. Crawley gives up his idea of flight, but
Badger, not wishing to give a (thence away, departs
for California, having taken care to secure the rectiiPt
Crawley had given to the captain as an nalicl:
ledgment for the money. A period of fifteen years
supposed to elapse between the prologue, and the drfira9'
commences. The story of this part of the piece is ex°
told. Crawley succeeds in his speculations, and hece4llB
possessed of an immense fortune, whilst the two child-xi;
of the captain became famished and almost house%
wanderers in the streets of London. Badger returns fil?
California penniless, but, hearing of the success of Crawi•eel!
he obtains an interview with him, and then, to the eorienawf
of the banker, he learns that he is in the Pewer bit
Badger as long as he keeps possession of the fatal
vf paper. The banker tries various stratagems
71A
to est
tabs the receipt, but all his efforts fail, and he at in
comes to the determination of purchasing the Wl° to
which Badger lodges, and, having done so he sets fi:eivg
the building, hoping by that means to destroy the ditruntlto
mss
proof of his guilt. This act also fails, and then ce
climax. Through the instrumentality of Badger thsecorp
dren of the captain are discovered ; they, of course, l'eaddi.
rich, and the banker ruined and disgraced, with the dila-
tion of something still more terrible, viz., a callous/ 11e at
ful, and revengeful daughter. The drama, it Will be
once admitted, belongs to that class so popular "t'edi
10,
side o' the water ;" but though some years ago the Pr° aut
tion of such a piece at the aristocratic Princess's •w°o,o
have been looked upon as an error of management, 314
live in an age of surprises and change, and hundreds
who
would have then condemned the play at the period :
mention will now assuredly be found among its most end
thusiastic admirers, because it possesses within it le
and genuine sensation. The great tableau of the dri/T0
occurs in the last act. The vivid portrayal of
11;
horrors of a conflagration in one of the close and Oleo..
peopled courts of London, with the excitement cod
sequent upon its discovery, the bursting oi! the 11313301,
through the windows, the awakening of the sleeping ne'th
bourn, their efforts to save their hou Behold treasures'
crowd, the r aPrd
gathering of a great and tumultuous cro • mr
horses),
the helter
built " Merryvreather," drawn 14 real I, I a arrival of the brigade with their engine (a regy.
skelter to get the machine to work, al td' finally, the
00i_a
charge of the combating element upon, the burnicg_
blazing rafters, has been reserved for tr Vining and
so
band of clever coadjutors, and never has a mimic scene
clesely resemtled the terrible reality. Ft iar to some
until
took possession of the audience ; and it was not d
Vining led forth the artist, Mr Lloyd, that all could
s°
make themselves satisfied that there was ;Leo real it
alarm. The applause was so immensta that
id pee
been possible we think that the audientae owe
demanded a second sight of "the great effect.'
si'votty
of the scenic illustrations, " Charing •croaa e. 1,1,.
is a vier
night," deserves the highest commendation. It
thing that has yet been seen even on the boar
so
derfully true representation, something au
metropolitan theatre. Having already more thrall;
pied the space allotted to this notice we Sr.
brief in our remarks on the acting of the OAP tee
Vining as Badger, the clerk, the returned adycntuarver
to a
street seller of cigar-lights and bills of the Ph g the
series of the most finished representations. Theresad the
true artiste unmistakeably stamped in e radial*
audience were not slow in recognising his grey does,
to.
Mr. 'Lay, as the banker, played, as he alwsYs_rawielt
markably well, and Mr. David Fisher and alteaPtvers
permrdtoo any'
derfully
Murray each represented to the life the ullsr Cooleric
trusted to them. Mr. John Nelson's embodiments
d,
Livingston was but tolerable. It was and
old, rgeoipe
unimpassioned. Mrs 3larston's Mrs Puffy wwas
woo heft
bit of nature; and Miss Fanny Gwynne, nreosias
first appearance as Lucy Fairweather,, gave
being possessed of more than ordinary taArent.the
perforil'alle°'
Everybody was called for at the close ub
astie
apple
:
of the audience, the talented
and, amongst those who received the entla
ineonve
The house was crowded,
not forgotten. almost say
sve mig adapter,
ht a
niently so, for a hot summer's eveniog.Dir Boucicaultt