The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-11 00:00:00

THEATRES.

CO VENT-GARDEN.
A hazardoua, but by no means an unsuccessful, effort
was. made here last night to perform Sheridan's School
for Scandal. The scenery and dresses were perfect,
and the audience were agreeably taken back to the
time when the comedy was first brought out, 1777.
Vestris, of course, played Lady Teazle, and on the
whole very pleasingly. Her assumption of coaxing was
decidedly the most successful part of her impersonation;
where the young country lady with her newly-inspired
passion for the glitter and gaiety of fashionable town
life were to be represented, the finished face and ai-
sured manner of the fair Manageress perhaps a little
marred the effect. Vestris, we thought, did not quite
look the character. With regard to Farren's Sir Peter
Teazle, while some of our brother critics declare that
it was last night even better than usual, others protest
that he over-acted as well as misconceived his part.
The audience, however, greatly cheered him, and we
think deservedly. Mathews was the busy, well-natured.
little-thinking rollicker, but he did not exactly pour
Sheridan's refinement into his own activity. Cooper
played Joseph Surface with considerable cleverness, but
with too much apparent evenness of temperament and
voice. Keeley dressed and imitated the action of the
JeW admirably but he has not quite caught the pci-
culiar accent of the peculiar people : he is a trifle too
foreign. Bartley's Sir Oliver Surface was frank, hearty,
and boisterous. Mr. Meadows played Crabtree, and
Harley Si'r Benjamin Backbite. The house was wesl j
filled, and all things seem to augur well for a good
season.

• HAYMARKET THEATRE.
Brother Torn, orffly Dear Relations—a very near
relation by the way of the new afterpiece Alive and
illerrs, was successfully prOduced here yesterday. The•
best, and the most like an original rcene in the piece,
was that in which Captain Ja,^,k, is speaking of his late
brother, and fancies, when he. scans Brother Tom sit-
ting- before him, that he is a ghost. A.ll the rest of the
farce, which is lively and bustling, was made up of the
calculations and 'squabbles of the different interested
and heartless relOons as to how they should dispose of
Brother Turn's property amongst them. The relations
were personated by Mr. Buckstone, Mrs. W. Clifford,
Mrs. Gallott, and Mr. Bishop. Theyhad very little to
Rio ;. but that little they .performed well. The farce con•
eludes with a marriage between a young lady and an
editor of a now paper, the Alarming Crisis.

ADEL PH I THEATRE.
Mr. Rice,, the veritable Jim Crow, whO is scraper
cadent, made his re-appearance here last night, in what
is called the " celebrated Black Opera" (Bone Squash
Diabolo). Squash is a, very miserable specimen of the
f'ree nigger of Atnerica who, being unsuccessful in his
avocation as a chimney sweep, nnd somewhat of a phi-
losopher, resolves to sell himself to the enemy of man,
and to live a short liftz and a merry„. He declares his
purpose in a song
,of most singularly, qu::er character,
to which a broken horse-la Ugh serves as chorus, and
those conic contortions 'Of dailee; for which Mr. Rice
is also uotcd. afford a rounding--embellisliment.. His
wish is He becomes master of 200..flullars--.
courts, marries, and gambles—loses the price of him-
self, and goes quickly to the regions below. -The hetitse
was well filled, and the audience well humoured. •

AST LEY' S.
We yesterday witnessed a private exhibition of the
extraordinary performances of Mr. Carter, the Ame-
rican " Lion King," at this popular place of public
amusement. The control which Mr. Carter •pos-
sesses over his menagerie, which includes a magnificent
Numidian lion and lioness, Brazilian tigers, leopards, &c.
far exceeds that of Van Amburgh, andis calculated to
excite the utmost astonishment, not untri'Xed with
terror. There arc three cages placed on the stage, and
in front of these a large compartment is fenced off by a
rather slight wire screen, about 12-reel high. Mr. Carter,
after " bearding the lion in his.den," and encountering
the tiger in single combat, brings the animals into this
open space in front of the. cages, where they arc corn-
paril: ively free, and .there exhibits his extraordinary
power over them in a variety of ways. Not the least
interesting part of the exhibition- is the harnessing of
the majestic lion to a triumphal car, which Mr. Carter
drives with al! the dignity of the conqueror
of this heretofore `'untam'abl'e king of the
forest. Mr. Duerom, with his usual zeal and indus-
try in catering 'for the public amusement, has made in
the present instance what." we calculate" will prove a
lucky hi:. 'The entertainments
.were varied by tho
wonderful perforrnincos of the elephant, &c., and eli-
cited the marked applause of a large 'party of friends,
among whom were several proprietors of theatres, most
probably speculating upon the advantages of 'the reVer.
lion of Mr. Carter and his menagerie.