The Sun.
London, England, 1837-02-28 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

Forrest's performance, last night, of Richard the Third, is
the greatest triumph, we think, he has yet achieved on the
boards of Drury-lane. The character is well suited to him
in every respect but appearance. But he made no attempt
(as Kemble did, and Kcan still more successfully) to repre-
sent the physical deformity of Richard. His person was never
better set off by all the advantages of costume—his various
dresses being not merely magnificent but tasteful. His figure
never appeared more erect and noble, or his action more
graceful and unconstrrined. The " mountain on his back"
was a mere mole-hill, scarcely perceptible, and seemed de-
signed as a sort of symbolical or constructive representative
o. deformity. Of course it will not do for a tragic actor to
degrade the character and lower the dignity of the buskin by
such a degree of deformity as would excite ideas of mean-
ness; but to personate Richard as Mr. Forrest does—to in-
vest the crook-backed tyrant n ith all the manly beauty of a
hero of romance, seems a deviation from propriety similar
to what he would commit, if he were to take it into his head

'as a great actor is said to have done once in a country theatre)
play Othello white. It did not appear to us that Mr. For-
rest introduced any new readings into the part, or deviated, in
any remarkable particular, from the manner in which it has
been represented by his most distinguished precursors. Such
novelties arc generally found to be errors ; for Shakspeare's
true meaning, throughout all his parts, has already been pene-
trated by the many men of genius who have personated them,
and a new actor, who, without any affectation or desire to ex-
hibit superier acuteness, takes truth and nature for his guide
will be likely to play any of these characters in the manner
that has been most ordinarily adopted by those who have gone
before him. Forrest, accordingly, frequently reminded us of
more than one great actor of former days. In his fran-
tic outbursts of savage ferocity--as in the scene where
Richard tries, by sheer brutality, to break the heart of
his unhappy wife—Forrest brought before our imagina-
tion the very voice, features, and gestures of Cooke. In his
sharp sarcasm, bitter irony, and occasional familiarity of
manner, he resembled Kean ; and in the concluding part of the
play, where the atrocities of the villain are lost in the martial
spirit of the last of the Plantagenets, he blazed forth in the
heroic grandeur of Kemble. We are not sure that, in parti-
cular parts, Mr. Forrest'reached the highest beauties of those
great actors; but we arc convinced that, taken as a whole, his
performance of the character has not been surpassed by any of
them. Mr. Forrest's voice appeared to be capable of more
exertion than it sometimes is, and he accordingly strained it
less. We were greatly struck with its power and fine qua-
lity, as well as with his clear and impressive elocution
in passages of a reflective kind. This was particu-
larly remarkable in the soliloquy in the tent scene,
which was delivered with consummate beauty. The same
melody of voice and graceful smoothness of utterance
were apparent in the scene with Lady Anne, and dimi-
nished, in some degree, the extreme improbability of the
termination of that strange courtship. In the great points
of the part the effects he produced was most powerful ; es-
pecially in the tent-scene, where Richard starts out of his
dream of horrors. No description can give any idea of the
manner which the actor represented this mortal agony of
conscious guilt. It was awful and appalling ; and the au-
dience were so thrilled by it, that some time elapsed before they
were able to express their feelings of admirat►on by repeated
thunders of applause. In the scene with Buckingham, where
Richard, after affecting not to hear his minion's importunities,
suddenly turns upon him with the exclamation, " Away 1 thou
troublest me—l'm not in the vein," Mr. Forrest, perhaps, in-
jured this passage by attempting to make too much of it.
The exclamation is an explosion of rage; but Mr. Forrest,
while he made it so, also uttered the last words in a tone of
sarcasm—two things inconsistent in such close juxta-position.
The whole of this fine performance is worthy of an analysis,
into which neither our time nor space permit us to enter. It
was received, by an excessively crowded house, with applause
which wail deserves the epithet of enthusiastic ; and Mr.
Forrest's triumphant success in one of the greatest and most
arduous parts in the whole range of the drama, must contribute
greatly to exalt his reputation. More than usual interest was
given to the other parts by the excellent acting of Miss Taylor,
Miss Huddart, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Warde, and Mr. Matthews.

UEEN'S THEATRE.—Last week Madame Vestris
and Mr. C. Mathews, with the whole of the Olympic company,
commenced an engagement for two nights a week while the
Olympic is closed during Lent. Madame and Mr. Mathews
are to play all their popular parts. The house was crowded
on Friday evening.
The Jerusalem cellars have been crowded during the
last week by amateurs in fine wine, who have had full per-
mission to taste and judge for themselves. The sale commences
to- morrow.