The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-22 00:00:00

HAYMARKET THEATRE.

Mr. Planch6 has left extravaganza for awhile, to
throw into a new five-act drama The Knights of the
Round Table, produced at this theatre on Saturday
night with complete success, much of the sparkling wit
and epigrammatic point abounding in the class of enter-
tainment which his pen for some years past has made
famous on the boards of the Haymarket and Lyceum.
The scene of the drama is laid in 1740. In the opening
act we learn that Leonard d'Arcy (Mr. Howe), a pro-
fligate young man, moving in good society, has not only
squandered the small fortune left him at the death of
his mother, but has approprioted and spent the
larger fortune rightfully belonging to his half-sister, the
offspricg of his father's ecoud marriage with a German
countess. In order to possess himself of this money he
treacherously causes his young sister to be brought
away by a gipsey showman, who conveys her to this
country, and, after the manner of Antigonus in the
Winter's Tale, leaves his young charge on a moor in
Cumberland, D'Arcy in the meanwhile being left under
the impression that she is dead. At the card-
room of the Neapolitan Minister in London, D'Arcy
meets Captain Cozens (Mr. G. Vandenhoff), a model
swindler, who cheats him and other players to their
last guinea. D'Arcy is about to denounce him,
when his antagonist—a perfect Fouch6 in the possession
of secret intelligence—exhibits a thorough acquaintance
with all D'Arcy's affairs ; tells him, fur the first time,
that his sister lives, and that by breathing a word of her
existence, D'Arcy might be brought to justice for his tur-
pitude. The sister, five years before, had been discovered
upon the moor, adopted into the family of Lady Bootle,
and called Perdita (Miss Reynolds). At the period of
D'Arcy's career recorded above, young Sir Ralph Bootle
(Mr. W. Farren) comes up to London on his mother's
death, in the possession of enormous wealth, but with
scanty knowledge of the world. He seeks out D'Arcy
the acquaintance of his youth—as the person best able
to initiate him into the London mysteries of the period.
But Sir Ralph Bootle has not seen the charms of Perdita
unmoved, and to the discomfiture of his newly-found
friend he acquaints him with his passion. Of course
the wealth of the young baronet was to go into no
other channel than the pockets of D'Arcy, Cozens,
and bis confederates, the veritable Knights of the
Round Table. How to prevent the union? The
conspirators plot to circumvent their victim by charging
him with Jacobitism, and they seek to provide a
substitute for Perdita, who, having in the meantime
fled to London to avoid the advances of Sir Ralph,
not because she does not love him, but because a sense
of honourable delicacy deters her from what, in the igno-
rance of her origin, she believes an unequal union, has
been seen by General Grantley (Mr. Chippendale), an
old gentleman, who, by the strong resemblance to her
mother, to whom in former years he was himself secretly
but hopelessly attached, thinks herecognises thedaughter.
Various villanous contrivances are resorted to by the
wretched D'Arcy and his companion to blast the charac-
ter of Perdita and obtain the money from Sir Ralph ;
but their schemes do not arrive at maturity—one great
effort at Perdita's ruin, by marrying her to one Smith
(Mr. Compton), an instrument of Captain Cozens, having
failed, through the medium of Tom Tittler (Mr. Buck-
stone), who has otherwise largely contributed in the
work of frustration. The story is far advanced in the
fourth act ; and in the fifth virtue prevails and vice is
confounded. Perdita generously forgives her brother,
who is left to remorse and amendment, and Captain
Cozens receives hid quietus from the professional rapier
of Tom Tittler in a duel.
A drama, play, or what you will, in five acts, is a for-
midable thing to contemplate. But what matter whether
five acts or three, if the dramatist can keep the curiosity
of the audience on the stretch, enlist their sympathies,
or keep their risible muscles in full play for the time
allotted to a theatrical representation ? In all these
respects Mr. Planch6, in turn, succeeded. Capital situa-
tions abound in the production. Without much striving
at the creation of character, the keen and pungent dia-
logue of Mr. Planch6 pleased the ear when it did not reach
the heart ; and the comic writing for Mr. Buckstone, in
particular, is eminently suited to that eccentric indi-
vidual. The colouring of the dialogue, and the little
references to the localties and events of the epoch, show
the pen of a conscientious and a finished artist. Mr. G.
Vandenhoff has undoubtedly the best character in the
piece, and we may accord him the praise of superiority
in his portrayal of it. Before the curtain rose, this
gentleman made a graceful apology on the score of
hoarseness ; but despite this infirmity, which almost
prevented his utterance throughout the piece, Mr. Van-
denhoff acted his part with consummate skill. The
next is Peggy Poplin, a thorough London grisette,
most pleasantly and amusingly acted by Mrs. Fitz-
william. Mr. Compton has a splendid little bit cut
out for him. Some excellent fun also arises out of the
personal history of Count Livonwitz, Baron Grieffen
Klaus, le Chevalier de la Finesse (the knights of the
round table), who are three (Irish, Yorkshire, and
Hebrew) sharpers in disguise. Mr. W. Farren, as the
young baronet, was at first sufficiently verdant to be-
come the foil for his designing friends, and subsequently
displayed taste and judgrn, nt. Perdita is a mere sketch,
intelligently—of course prettily— played by Miss Rey-
nolds. The other characters were adequately sustained
by Mr. Chippendale, Mr. Clark, Miss Ellen Grey, and
Miss Grantham.
Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the
scenery, dresses, and decorations. All were in admirable
keeping.
The curtain fell amid loud applause—renewed upon
the raising of the drop-scene displaying the whole of the
company. To the general call of the audience for the
name of the author, Mr. Buckstone responded by archly
stating Mr. Planch6 ought to be somewhere in a private
box, but be could not see him. The piece was an-
nounced for nightly repetition.