The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-26 00:00:00

Eugenia ... ... Miss Chester.
_ _ .

Laura
Mrs. Bell ...
Stban

Madame Vestris.
... Mrs. C. Jones.
Love.

it will be seen that last night's entertainments
N ere supported by the Haymarket and Adelphi coin
panics, the only exception of note being that of Mrs.
Gill, who, if we mistake not, is a member of the
Marylebone troupe. The Adt Iphi was the only house
shut upon the occasion. At the conclusion of the
performance a message from her Majesty conveyed to
Mr. Charles Kean a warm expression of the pleasure
which the performances had given.
_

It is understood that Mr. Grieve has received
instructions to superintend the removal of the
theatre, and to restore the Reubens' Room to its
original condition.
(From the Times.)
For the last month the plays acted in the " Reubens'
Room" at Windsor Castle have afforded a fertile topic
of conversation to those who take an interest in the
proceedings of the Court, and those who discuss the
fluctuating fortunes of the British drama. The fact
that the Sovereign bespoke a series of English
theatrical performances as a recreation in her own
palace has had at least the charm of novelty to re-
commend it to the attention of the curious. Fancy
has wandered back to the days of Elizabeth and the
first James, when such means of amusement were not
uncommon, and perhaps wandering forward has
argued that a new stock of dramaristi, worthy to
compete with those of the Elizabethan era, may
spring into existence from the effect of the Windsor
theatricals.

With respect to the series of performances just
concluded, it seems to have been conducted in the
very best taste, and to have given unequivocal satis-
faction to the distinguished auditors. Mr. Charles
Kean, under whose direction the whole has taken
place, Mr. Grieve, the head of the decorative depart
went, and the principal performers, have all received
the special approbation of Royalty, and there is no
doubt that an entertainment adequate to the Royal
wishes has been provided on every occasion. The
courtly assembly gems to have laid aside that frigidity
which is usually the characteristic of private theatri-
cals, and to have applauded with the zeal of a money-
paying public thoroughly pleased with the return for
its outlay. It is a fallacy to suppose that a theatrical
exhibition can go on briskly without applause. Ap-
probation is the meat, drink, and spirit of the his-
trionic artist, _ and his professional lite without this
aliment constantly bestowed is a dreary waste with-
out an oasis.

With the large public—the public outside the
Castle, the question a propos of these theatricals is,
whether or not they will confer a benefit on the
English drama. That the benefit will not be of that
immediate palpable nature which would result from
half a dozen royal visits in state, and the
crowds consequent thereupon, must, we think,
be conceded by any impartial person.
But, at the same time, we are inclined to
think that an indirect benefit to the English theatres
is far from improbable. When the highest personage
in the land considers that an English dramatic per-
formance is such an entertainment as to merit the
Construction of a stage in her own drawing-room,
with all the appurtenances of a regular theatre, the
opinion that the native drama is unfashionable re-
ceives an authoritative rebuke. The plays that are
acted at Windsor Castle are the same that may be
seen at the Haymarket and the Lyceum—the actors
in the Reubens' Room are precisely the same indivi
duals as those who eppear on the public boards—and
t would be absurd to say that an entertainment which
occupies a high rank at Windsor, loses that rank
when it comes to the metropolis.
The very circumstance that theatricals are now
generally talked about is in itself likely to be of
advantage to the English drama. A certain elevated
class of the public, by shunningEoglish theatres, and
skipping English critiques, might soon lose sight of
the native drama altogether. But now the plays and