The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-22 00:00:00

London Play-goers in 1863 and 1802-3,

The very long "runs," as they are called (though
they might more properly be termed long still-standings),
tend (according to a Saturday Reviewer) to make the
Londoner forgetful of his theatres altogether. He saw the
" Duke's Motto" last January, and thus consumed the
Lyceum some seven months ago. Soon afterwards a ver-
sion of " Lady Audley's Secret" enabled him to make
short work of the St. James's. Lord Dundreary retired
from the Haymarket, to leave the world in uninterrupted
enjoyment of Finesse. The "Ticket-of-Leave" and the
" Haunted Man" become respectively fixtures at the
Olympic and the Adelphi ; . and Madlle. Stella Colas
had no sooner established herself at the Princess's than
" Romeo and Juliet" was stereotyped in the bills.
In striking contrast to the foregoing resume of the past sea-
son, the writer thus summarises the season of sixty years
ago at Old Drury and at Covent Garden :—With respect,
then, to the season 1802-3 : Drury-lane opened on the 16th
September with Farquhar's " Inconstant," which was fol-
lowed by the "West Indian," the "Brothers," " Cymbe-
line," tho " Jew," and the " Rivals"--a series showing that
Cumberland's works were at that time exceedingly popular.
On the 7th October, Stephen Kemble, famed for his obesity,
made his first appearance as Falstaff in " Henry 1V.," and
then came the " Winter's Tale," the " Gamester," the
" Castle Spectre," the " Jealous 'Wife," " Mary Queen of
Scots (a tragedy by the Hon. John St. John), the " Merry
Wives of Windsor, the " Suspicious Husband," " Rule a
Wife and Have a Wife," the " Beggar's Opera," "Deaf
and Dumb," " Douglas," " Twelfth Night," the " Beaux
Stratagem," "Lovers," the "Wonder," the "Busy-Body,"
" Venice Preserved," " Every Man in his Humour,"
"Bold Stroke for a Wife," "Trip to Scarborough," the
" Count of Narbonne" (a tragedy by Jephson), and the
" Orphan." None of these works were now, but, with such
a varied selection from the mass of stock plays, no one
one could complain of monotony. However, on the 29th
of January, a play by Holcroft, entitled " Hear both Sides,"
was brought out, and it was followed in less than a month
by a tragedy written by Dimond on the subject of Gusta-
vus Vasa, and entitled the "Hero of the North." In the
beginning of March, an actor from America named Cooper
made his debut, and played a few Shakspearian characters ;
and in April came another new comedy, called the " Mar-
riage Promise," of which Allingham was the author. Of
the farces and other afterpieces, and of the benefits, we have
said nothing.

At Covent-garden, which opened on the 13th of Septem-
ber with "Folly as it Flies"--a comedy by Reynolds, first
brought out in the preceding year—Cooke was the great
attraction, and wont through a series of plays, which com-
prised " Richa:d III.," "Hamlet," "Merchant of Venice,"
"Every Man in his Humour," and the "Man of the
World." These were alternated with others in which he
did not appear, and which comprised " Romeo and Juliet,"
"Henry IV." the "Suspicious Husband," the "Cure for
the Heart Ache," the " Way to Get Married" (a comedy
by Morton), and the "Beaux Stratagem." All these pieces
were played in the interval between the opening and
the 30th of October, when a new comedy by Reynolds,
called " Delays and Blunders," was brought out. Other
novelties were nolcroft's " Tale of Mystery," one of the
earliest and (in its day) most famous of melo-dramas ; the
younger Colman's " john Bull," of which it is recorded as
an event little short of miraculous that it was played for 48
nights; and a version of Schiller's "Kabal and Liebe,"
entitled the " Harper's Daughter." Our list is by no means
com p lete, but, without looking further, surely here was
enoughus,
_for the inhabitants of a capital to talk about; and
it must
of bn admitted that the doings of the numerous play-
housesour own day, during a
corresponding
period of
time, furnish a chronicle indeed as compared with
this recrd of two theatres,