The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-05 00:00:00

Adeiphi Theatre.

The new season commenced last evening at this
favourite theatre, and, although it has been closed
but a few nights, the whole of the interior has been
thoroughly re-embellished in a very tasteful style.
The chief attraction of the opening night was the
first appearance of Mr. Joseph Jefferson, an actor
from America and Australia, but, truth to say, we
have been so frequently disappointed in American
actors that we looked up to the event with a feel-
ing somewhat akin to indifference. In this instance,
however, we rejoice to say the importation is every
way worthy the high testimonials that heralded its
approach, as Mr. Jefferson is an artiste of undoubted
excellence. With respect to the piece " Rip Van
Winkle," the title at least is familiar enough to old
playgoers, because years ago it was performed in
London at the Queen's, the Haymarket, and the
Adelphi Theatres ; at the latter, the unrivalled
manager actor, Frederick Yates, sustained
the part of dreamy Dutchman, and the great
O'Smith that of the phantom skipper Hendrick
Hudson. Mr. Jefferson's piece, however,
differs very materially from either of those referred
' to. It is the same only in name as that. With the
exception of the main incident, " the sleep of 20
years," the whole has been rewritten and remodelled
in order to afford Mr. Jefferson the greatest scope
for acting. All the subordinate parts have been
reduced almost to nothing, so that the attention of
the audience, from first to last, is kept solely cen-
tred in the performance of the principal actor. In
the first act we have the good-tempered but
half-sottish Dutchman hit off with extraordinary
skill; and perhaps one. of the first bits of acting in
this portion of this drama is that which takes place
with Rip Van Winkle and the two children—his
daughter, a child of six years old, and her youthful
lover, Henrich Vedder. There was nature in every,
word of it, and the culminating point was the in-
cident where the boy reads to Rip the document
the roguish Derrick wishes him. It was a triumph
of art, and the audience recognised it

accordingly. Mr. Jefferson was equally
powerful in his acting in the scene where
his shrewish wife turns him out of doors during a
heavy storm to wander among the mountains ; but
perhaps the most elaborate piece of acting, and one
that went directly to the heart, was the waking of
old Rip Van Winkle, after his sleep of twenty years,
to find all his friends dead and his child grown to a
woman. Mr. Jefferson here held his audience
completely at his ' will—at one time a fit
of laughter would be evoked, whilst at the next
a flood of tears would fall, to show how true to
nature was his agony at the fear that even his own
daughter would not remember her old and doating
father. When, however, the recognition did take
place the audience, we feel certain, participated in
in the joys of the old man, and a burst of the
heartiest applause testified their appreciation of the
great abilities of Mr. Jefferson. We have heard
that Mr. Jefferson has a very wide range of charac-
ters. All we can say is, we shall be right glad to find
it so, because it Will add much to the-delight of all
the metropoliian playgoers to have amongst them
an artiste who is capable of sustaining the leading
parts in the old legitimate comedies, as well as the
Yankee heroes of modern sensational dramas.
Mrs. Billington deserves high praise for her
embodiment of the scolding wife of Rip
Van Winkle, and Master and Miss Conran
also claim the same approval for their performance
of the juvenile lovers. The other parts, as we have
said, were mere trifles, but Miss H. Simms, Mr.
Billington, Paul Bedford, Mr. Phillips, and Mr.
Felix Rodgers made the most of them.

The drama has been very beautifully mounted,
and doubtless it will for some time become the rage
of the metropolis.

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