The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-06 00:00:00

HAYMARKET THEATRE.

The cause of the drama obtained anotl:er glorious victory,
and one of her most zealous friends, a splendid triumph, in the
thoroughly successful production at this theatre on Satur-
It is scarcelyneeessary, to remind the reader that to be successful
on the stage a drama requires other, and sometimes different
qualities, than those which might entitle it to the highest
esteem among the dramatic poet!), of the library. And nobly
has The Athenian Captive passed through that severely
trying ordeal—actual representation. As an acting play
it is far superior to its predecessor, Ion; in exquisite poetry,
in beauty of thought, in nobleness of sentiment it is fully its
equal. Both belong to what may be termed the classical
school of the drama, which appears rather like Grecian sculp-
ture, to enrapture us by the calm perfect lovetness, or awe
us by the dignity and grandeur of its creations, than to agi-
tate us by the violence of contesting passions, or by great va-
riety of moving and affecting incident. In An, perhaps, as
far at least as the stage is concerned, these qualities were
carried almost to a fault, and the moral beauty of the cha-
racter was refined nearly to the abstract. With the
Athenian Captive it is far otherwise; for while not yielding
one iota to the other, in the pure, chaste, classic beauty of its
style, and the rich yet exquisite selection of its imagery, there
is enough of interest infused into the plot to fix the attention,
and engage it without a moment's flagging through a succes-
sion of natural and easily connected incidents to the very last.
From the instant we hear (at the commencement of the play)
of the prowess and the generosity of the Athenian warrior we
feel interested, we look eagerly for his appearance ; when we
behold his noble bearing, and indignant rejection of a life to be
purchased by slavery, our anxiety for his preservation prompts
us to join ardently in the generous solicitations of the Prince
of
f hard Corinth,co n
ditiotnh.at heNlw.eillseaeccept the offered boon even on that
" the iron has entered the soul"
of the freeborn Athenian as his limbs are arrayed in the
prisoner's ignominious garb—we sympathise in his yearnings
after freedom—in his patriotic aspirations towards the country
of his birth, " the land of the beautiful and brave." The charac-
ter of Thoas (the Athenian Captive) is well displayed in oppo-
sition to that of Ismene, (his unknown mother, the Queen of
Corinth,) who, having liberated him from prison, endeavous to
excite him to revenge her wrongs by killing the King. There
is a most striking contrast between Thoas, cne of those noble
minds, who, " with honour in one eye anddeath in the other"
would look on both ind;lTerently—vi hose soul revolts at the mur-
derous proposal, and the stern, cold, remorselessly revengeful
nature of Ismene, who reminds us not a littleof Lady Macbeth,
and whose fearful influence on the more excitable mind of her
son induces him to take an oath which, unintentionally, hurries
him on to the murder he shuddered to hear proposed. The
remorse of Thoas, on discovering that, in the darkness. he
bad killed the father of his benefactor, the Prince, and of her
who had become the star of his idolatry, is drawn with great
power. The scene in which the unhappy son discovers that
she who had instigated him to murder is his mother, and re-
pulses her proffered embraces with horror—is one of deep and
affecting interest, But the interest reaches its most thrilling
point when, before the assembled Court, Ismene solemnly ad-
jured to discover the murderer, of whom the oracle had de-
clared her cognizant, influenced by a mother's affection
(which even in her stern and cold heart), is still with
beautiful truth preserved by the poetry as the last remaining
evidence that her woman's heart was not yet wholly marbled)
denounces the Prince as a parricide, when she interposes the
authority which she mysteriously exerts over Thoas to prevent
the divu!ging of his guilt, which he earnestly desires to do ;:and
when, just at the moment when innocent blood is about to be
poured forth, the Athenian warrior, with a noble act of
martyrdom for justice, strikes himself a mortal wound, and
with his dying breath declares himself the criminal.
The acting of the play—the outline of which we have thus
sketched—deserves to be spoken of in terms of highest com-
mendation. Mr. Macready personated the Athenian' Captive
in a style of excellence, which himself only could have dis-
played. We have more than once remarke i that this fine actor's
taste and discrimination never are better shown than in a classi-
cal character. His performance of Thoas was as perfect an em-
bodiment of the poet's conceptions as could have been desired.
He admirably pourtrayed the manly, honourable, noble nature of
Athens' bravest warrior, who carried in his veins the blood of
Theieus' Royal race. His remorse, after the murder which
he had unwillingly committed, was terribly impressive. When
amidst the Nobles of Corinth, he hears " Ruin to Athens"
given, the burst of indignant declamation which followed was
splendid, and called down repeated and reiterated applause.
Equally magnificent was his acting in the last scene, and his
energetic appeal on behalf of the innocent Prince ; in short,
(for in such a performance it is vain to select beauties) the
character was personated with that completeness and sustained
fidelity which marks Mr. Macready's acting generally, and was
interspersed with a hundred delicate touches of pathos and
beauty which were absolutely electrical.
Mrs. Warner, as Ismene, well looked the imperious, revengeful
Queen, and her acting throughout was powerful and impressive.
Miss Taylor alto well performed Creusa (daughter
of the Corinthian King) ; and the minor parts were re-
spectably filled up by Messrs. Glover, Perkins, Hemmings,
and Waldron. The scenery was excellent, and tastefully ar-
ranged.
It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm with which the
play was received from the beginning. Every act was closed
amidst a burst of cheering ; and at the close the audience gave
vent to their admiration in thunders of applause, which were
not to be satisfied even by the appearance of Mr. Macready
and Mrs. Warner, who were, however, cordially cheered.
The cries for dr. Talfourd became loud and incessant, and at
length the learned author came to the front of a private box,
and was almost overwhelmed by rapturous and long-continued
plaudits.
We cannot help observing that not only the Attorney-Ge-
neral, but many Conservative Members of Parliament vigo-
rously opposed to Mr. Talfourd in politics, were present, and
among the most enthusiastic in testify ing their admiration of
his genius.

PUBLIC MEETINGS IN FAVOUR OF
THE NATIONAL PETITION AND THE PEO-
PLE'S CHARTER.

Oa Wednesday last a.very numerous meeting of the inha
bitants of Kettering was held on the Market I-1111. The
meeting was convened by the Kettering Radical Association.
Mr. Vincent (of London), and Mr. Jones, Secretary of the
Northampton Working Men's Association, arrived a little
before noon ; and at one o'clock, Mr. C. WILSON', a working
man, was called to the chair. Excellent addresses were deli-
vered. After adopting resolutions in favour of the objects of
the meeting, and voting thanks to Messrs. Vincent and Jones,
to which they briefly replied, the meeting separated.