The Sun.
London, England, 1814-11-07 00:00:00

THE THEATRE.

DIU) nY,:LA.N4, ---,Though we widely diner in
• opiniou froM the Correspondent who has favoured
us with the vOluntee.r account of Mr. KEAN's per
formimee of Mkirbtai; Saturdiiy- night last, 'at
'this Theatre, yet our knowledge of his camour,.
and our respect for his talents, induce us to give
it a' ready admission; reserving, however, space
for a brief report front ourselves.---in the fir,t
app-Cars to us to be 'evident that Mr.
X E V,'; • dots 'not •poss6s those exterior qualiftea-
'lions which -the imagination requires in such a
character as-tilacbeth, and Which it is obvious the
author 'contemplated, by the account of his " per-
sonal. venture in the 'rebel's light'," where he.

, " fortune, with his braililisli'd steel, . •
hick swuk'd Irblootly execution,- •
Like valour's minion c:arviul out his passage
'leis also called '" Bellona's blidegi‘tioni," ,and
decribed as having made his way co the " inerce-
less Afaccldnald," 'and •
"-Unseauid'hitu fiom the nave to the chOps.".

These, and other passages, 'denote, a masculine
I •
:and heroic forni, •and therefore Mr. KEAN had to-
struggle throng!), external deficiencies which, enti-
tle him to a lenient consideration. That he rightly
coif 'e ved the eliaraeter'is not surprizing, for it is
.tomulistipctly;drown hey the Author to admit of
nit take.—lt tnay .fairy:. be Said, _that INIr. KEAN
ztialoudy- exerted himsecK and that he displaykl
great feeling throughout: 1-1 c Was, as usual,
- too familiar in passages that demanded conu—.
tiOn,- as in the
,speech tin the,imainary dagger,-
er 'tracing it with surprize xt rteL,,,,,t-,---
.I;•ition -•* C run gesture
• when he ``-, there's
,no such thing," and.
whet* lie 'said to
.t 4 Doctor, Ow a long and
unseasonable pause, " throw physic to the dogs."
This mode may be deemed nafure, but it is to-
tally at variance with the probable state of Mac-
&th's ' only novelty in the scene after.
the murder. of -Darrearz, iii Wbich, he exhibited
-strong expression, , Was in hiding his-bloody hands.
• uinfer his starf, and Whedlie apostrophizes them,
raising it tip_to- look upon the crimsoned witnesses
to his crime. omitted manY•paSsages
site to - the illustration qf' the text ;_ bat
.as..he
dOubtleAs made this hazardous attempt under great
anxiety far the "result, we shlf trot dwell Out hem.
In the bangue.; %cetre,. on the second appearance
cif Banguo'6 Ghost,- We think he was right it) pot
adopting the traditional practice, winch, as , an
ingenious Poet ssays, -
.4 Bullies the bulky pLantoin off the stage."
. .
• Instead Of' cloicing "the spirit whet') said--
Henee, -horrible ! unreal mockery,
hence !"-,-bereniained on the:spot, of rattier. re-•
coiled, and covered -ItiS face f).om the terrific
sight. This manner we coaceive to. be:Judicious,
for it was not to be suppOsed:that:llidebeth.w.truh)
advance towards the apparition,'in.,that the, latter
would retire at his-" great bidding." - In the las¢
Act, he adopted a new reading; whiCh is dilferenf
frOm all the copies of the-play, and is' Certainly
erroneous :. instead ofsaying---
" Hang out our banners on the outward walls— •
' The cry is still they curie,"
lie pointed it thus, `:Hang ont our banner S---on
the outward waits "Ste. &c. It is obvious :11w. the
cry Must have
scuttle from the trutWard' and
that there could be no particular reason "to hang:
them Within,--Ele on-titter! t4e.,dying speech,
which,..a-s4t is not in thetext,,,cas avoiding what
has so often :been witnessed in Richard, : Upon
Abe whole, though Mr. KEAN took great7pain:
and played with strong einotion, there mis a want
of graceaud. dignity %T.hich 'axe essentially, rent&
site for the, part. •,
• • •

- Mrs. BAicILEY Was utterly. lost-, in Lqdy
beth, and in same. passages introAticed.a. kind" of
j
ocose and comie expression, tlinu which, nothing.
could be inCre: offqnsive to ,taste or sound judg-
ment.
.suboulinate, characters . hare
been supported bette'r,., if: there had not been
among them an cmulation." of. sound. and fury.",
Even the wounded s;)ldier. in the first-det, in re-
lating. the battle, " roarti and d in' the
index," _ . . . • . .
The Witches' were fepres.eptelllo4. Messrs. Dow-
TON, bovEG.RoYA, and le, hitter made
his part cornic, ye suppose,- to g(st supersedttl„
The plq wits brought forward with; a degree. Of
magni6eence worthy of a London Th.eatre, an ;I of
this unripped, :drama, itself. S'pthing, irujeetl.;'
can exceed the
bsplentlour-with .which- it -has been
got up. :Ile scenery is highly characteristic and.
the.:a sent of Hecate.. (finely susrilioc:l,,4 lien-El7
LA:ny), with sonic ,
aer_ attendats,
of ialn had
. - •
Igite.a,tnagical eilect.. The, repm reputation of. the u-
si:.vc' ocal andinstrtunental, is too yell estalol;shed:
;•
need.io. our conimendation wo_performcd with,
. great ability„,..

•' MR. 'KEAN'S MACItt,TH.'
(Fr;thiit Correspondent.) • • '
On Saturday evening, ,iltackth; *so long au-
flounced, was pe rfo hoed at -Drur-Dine Thea-
.
tre, to one of the mostero,u'ded houses tn:which.
we ever found ourselyesseated. A number of cir=
Cum,s.titnees combined to .excite public curiosity on
'‘;')cca.s:bn.. Of, the several inaster-piebes' of
ARCS genillS, perhaps there is no one
1 wh t ) comprehends so ilan.y carious dramatic „ cx-
eaitssrviertatuty there is -no One which, in
,Witt .41., otyer,_and,bciter..(talities,_affords
auliikelan.,qpportunity ?f disPlaling the decora-
tiews4 of the histrionic art—of calling into their
• • . • • •
uttilOst exertion tile talents of the scene-painter,
the"musician,- the mathinfst; and 'the dresser ---
But the feeling on the.part of the audience 'of Sa'-
_ firtlay,"to which* all other considerations were
:subordifuite„. was anxiety to ascertain whether or
no.olr. KEAN, in the arduous character Of the
Scottish. Usurper, would maintain the high'repu-
.tation which he had acquired by his former thea-
trical efforts.. ' •
.• • :
It is one of 111 t. KEAN'S greatest recommenda
tions, that. he is 012IGINAL—that•IIC thinks for.him-
self ; and that he acts with a manly, .though not a
presumptuous confidence, iu the aecuracy of his
n‘r o conceptions. In the intellectual feast which
he sets before us, the chief dishes are, of exquisite
and unrivalled flavour, and even the humbler ac,
compailiments
of the table have, as the conse-
,quenee of this originality, a relish which corn-
, ptetely distinguishes them from our ordinary diet.
There is this broad difference be:Wei:ll the Mac-

beth of Mr. KEAN and that of those of his in edeces-
surs whom we have seen in the character, namely,
that Mr. :K byevincinga stronpre-disposition
to the crime which forms the subj-ect.of the Dra-
wa,..,very gAllatitly relieves Lady Macbeth from the
pitshared. °dun? .to which she has hitherto been
subject on the stage: We may say "on the ;cage,"
hecittv•e if the play be attentively read in the'closet;
several passages gill. be found wlii.ch unequivo
cally show that. Macbeth had contemplated tbc as
sassination of Duncan before the visit of. the un-
fortunate Moparch..to Inverness. For instanoe„
when the Witt tees originally predict his accession
to the throne, Macbeth: says---!
Thi, supernatural Soliciting - • . • =
Cannot ili• ill ; cannot be goatl—lf
Why hat!: it given lite earnest of success'
Coinmeirciug in a- truth ? •ofCawd•or.
• If giiud. why do I yielti,t, that sutegestioa,
Whose lhorrid iniagc cloth uuiix my hair,
•-•And make: toy seated heart Inock'ilt.my ribs
• !! "Against Ibe'usa of Nature.? • Pi•esent feats. •
• , • Are less thatiborrible ituaginingsy .
.My thou;ht, harder yet IS but fantastical, •
Sluices sorry single state of with, that function
Is smother'd in .i.trtnisc.'"

Again, 'tsdien Duncan confers the title of "Prince
. •
of
Cumberland•!.na his .eldest son., .Mtiebeth wins-
pers.to himself, •
" The Prince of Cumberland I: that is i step
On which I tun fait itu*tt;_Or elo o'erleap, !
Fur iu my *ay it lies. .Sqr,t. Hide your fires; •
Let no light see Inv Iditzh- anti deep desii•es; `,i‘
, ,
The eye wink at the hand; 'yet Vet fhatitC" !
Which the eye fears, when it i34loate, l"

It is true that (hose who. think differently from
11.i:AN on this subject .may adduce •tbe cha-
of
racter <iiven Macbeth by his. Wife
learfltt e;
It is tot) full o' th' milk of human kittflu'ess •
' To catch the 11,.• trest w:ty,. Thou wouhk'st be great,
Art not wit lo);:t ambition, but without ; •
The illness ,hould tit tend it. What thou wouhrft highly,
That would'st thud Wim/d'stnot play false:'

eir opponents, however, wonid. finish the
(potation :

And yet would'st wrongly win

The filet is,• that • So AKSPeARE, fully:iptate of
.the strange inconsistencies ot•poor-hurnan etatfire,
was very fond of •painting. them'. Li ikonlet he
has- Carried this "passion to such- an excess : its ut-
terly to hall-le those critics who endeavottrJo:re-
. concile incongruities, which it was evidently the
intention of that great- toaster of the .human heart
• be irreconcileable.. •The judgment and the
taste of the,actor are thus.left. to choose the tpia-
litis. to- wl!ic.b„. attentive examination of
the whole -eharacter, .the predoutiOance seems
justly to belong,
~ • ,
Whatever- variety of'opinion,- however; --may
- exist with respeet- to- Mt-..K.EAts's conception of
the oharaeter of Morbeth,-- thc-ie can be btu one.
sentiment as to 'his execution of those passages
whiclpritaveAlw,ays beeti.deedied the touch Stones
of theatrical merit. • - - ..• • •

On'ilifacheth's first Apptiranee, amidst his troops
on the bridge.; he 'was received by the audience
With. a rapture -Whieh Manifested 'their anti4i-
tiou of the treat.which the were about to enjoy.
composedAnost OfGentleinen,.
Stood on the benehe.,, and e=ase several heiirty and
distinct clieer!:•; while ~.tble fair' 'Tenants of the
Boxes waved their hantikPfti'B,, in tofcein of a'
correspondent feeling. :Air: hEAN repeatedly
_boVvetl,ji acknowl-edguient of th gratifying: re
ception.; Bald from that moment, (asl'Appeats tti- be
his uniforin custom) he 'never allowed
ti
.
on to the business of the stage to, be withdrawn.
by the plaudits ottheauditricie,llTYtver frequent,
loud, and long-eontintied. The emotion excited
in his breast by tin!'" great 'prediction Of noble
having andof rorilltope," With .Whylt be'is greet-,
ed. by the witches, 'and j.his suipequent abstrite-'
tioii ou finding that the early-ptirl of that predic-
tion tvasverified, tOrti most' ttbly ponrtrayed. In
conieretKe with his wife lie '‘vas ?as() eininently
s'utcessCia;: pursning his coneeption-Ztfthe chafac-
ter of Macbeth; branilituncing the approach of
'Duncan with an -expression of voice and couple-,
naitee which dearly indicated the- Itttal conse-
qiience that. be-exPe,cted to result from the 'Visit.,
His t•i•flectio;~s• ih,the following Aceue on the. Cool:-
of.hiS intended gnilt were Ain Of nature and
Variety ; and the communieation JO Lady Mac-
betliTrif his tentporary repentance, _with the, re-
nulling determination which her 'sarcasms and ex=
bortations occasioned, were fin Cly closed 'by the
.vt'ay in which he gave the
''f'rzi.sett.lt.ti.l; and bend up • • 't
• :Eabh•corp'ral agt;.nt to thisterrilic' fe•W' 1
Velhaps, of all the soliloquies„With Iwhich
SHAKScEAIift. 11b01111(fS, 110 °Tie is iaireMebnated
than that, immediately preceding the murder
pucan. The very eiretinistance of its, fainiliaiity
must, -render it of more enibiarasSing_ delivery.
. Nofwithstainljng, this difficulty, Mr. li$AN, pre-
serving it; inherent and Well-known beauties,
iinparted to it an air of freshness and: novelty of
which it seeindl seiirccly susceptible. His
alfecteal start, his, strong surprise svheu he'found
't.lkat lie clutched vadnity, his increising emotion,
on• the' dagger'S leading bintf towardS rz's
:. chamber—worked. up to - agony at seeing ," on
and dudgeon gouts ,of jjloort,'whicl
was not so.before," :the agitation
to. remove the filyr•from.his eve., the_eiha
tranquillity to which he returned, and
utteranee'of-the half line—
,such thine'. I
i'ere...itchuirtible beyond JleSeriptiou.•
But we" lastc;n •tO that which , appeared Its
the- tnmseendent-exeellence of .the e Vening. • Ne-
ver, surely, was there. a'More 'finely horrible pic7-
fiU'e of a in in seduced bY,ambi.;i:in to the coin-
nik§ion of the blito,es,i.crime patuanha-
. tine is capab,le, .suddeiity ittylikeued toithe extent
of yriflt. appretinsiau44mil
over%thelined with yeiporseL--:t4iiii.:o;as
by Mr. hevi ggiigy:olll': frnlu :the cham-
ber of die murdered ..602.0n,'11,6 snooty ‘vearml
in his hand, be intirintired; in a'`vuicc deepened
and hrolteßhy agitatipp,..,-.7„v
dune dee4-1„ . . •
The effect of his subsequent ktesexiptifpn to Lady
Macbeth of thedisturbance of t lye TroorMitl"Of
the impossibility which he fek-14 I.‘
,A104r1,19‘:
to their blessing, must. haye beerivottilss'ettdo•be!
accurately conceived: It touched..every: hOrt,,for
'it was nature itself—or rather it kVaS;iir.t.,..i'lOt
stopping short at that point at which otnly(the,afe;
feetation of art is evident, but earac4 formarfAi

I was
imply'

until it became indistinguishable horn its great
, _

. .
" Arr es! cfletre

It is certainly an additional rceotninchdAtion of
that.medii)crity of fortune which the Poet. cif all
ages, and the Poets.only, have consented to praise
as the happiest state of life?. that It enah!cs us
Clain:peculiarly to enjoy the beauties of Mr.
KEAN:s performance.. Prohibited by our poverty
from visiting the boxes, but permitted by owr
niens to cuter the pit, we are there etn:liled to
plaee ourselves in a situation in which alone the
merits of this great Actor can be fully appreciated ;
and in tyliieb, alone all the under tones ot his voice
can br-diStiuctly heard, and all the glances of his
fine dark- eye can be distitnctly tn'arked. 7t s
true that . the .hroacier feathres of- his per;, lance are etrective. in, the, farthest part of-the
Theatre ; but every body' knows that it is the
" more," .which constittitesthe difference
bet Ween that which is-good and that which L= ex-
cellent. .It is this " little- taore"-which Mr. KE.A N
possesses. In the scene which we have itist men-
tioned, -for, instance, we are persuaded that. we
observed many minor beauties, which must have
escaped the notice of, those who were more dis-
tantly situated. Since the accession of Mr. KEAN
Ito the London boards, the Public have more than
ever reason to lament, the erection .of Theatres So
.Preposterously enormous, and of which the great-
est Actress. of the present day has said, that " she
considered' herselt fortunate that her •reputation
was established before they were•thought of.''
Our limits will nut allow us to indulge farther
eittimstv.ntial details. We pass, therefore, Over
the third and fourth Acts, in which,, unquestion-
ably, the character of Macbeth has less ot interest
in it than in the two first and the last, by merely
observing, that the addresses to Bong:La's Ghost
were very impressive ; and that the 'action with
which Macbeth accompanied the words,

• " Hence, horrible shadow !
Unreal mockery, hence !"
was completely
In the fifth act, Mr. KERN assumed all the spirit
and energy of a mart who. is determihed, " blow
wind, come wrack, at least to die with harness
on his back." The. indignatiOn with which he
treated " the cream-faced loon," who announced
to him the approach of the Engliih army ; the
cmotempts with which -he replied' to the Doctor,
on learning-that he could not " minister to a mind
di"Seaketl,"—

. •
" ThrowThysieTto theTdoiTs--,l'll none of it;"
the invianeboly of:his reflections on'sthe_cleath • of
the Queen ; -and the rage with he struck to
the earth the I.Nlesengc.r who • told Inua that hir-
-narn.Wood was moving,'were all a.drnirable.. No-
thing couldle more aft:eCtingthan the tone of. ut-
ter in- which he pronouticed.the
colieltitlifie part (it 'We:following passage, which
occurs at; the last-mentip9ed occasion

If:thop speak'st
- Urosi.the. next tree stiali:thon hang
:014famint: cling thee : 1 •± spec ell'bisuoth,
I cake pot if tlitati'LlP'st44 -

. It is not surprising thar.,::the extraordinary ge-
ninS With iNtr:KEA;,:- in ilith ar4; actually
prof niged the conception of thel'oet*in his death,
should have:exciiedgreat interest With respect to
.the weir ‘Vhich ite would die ia.ilificbe.th. After
maintaining che conflict' with /Tilled/Ye in the most
determinett manner, and again Sheiing his*dexterity
iwthe tts.e of..thie weapon, as 4ell 4S-the elegance
of his highly finished figure, he 'received his
mortal wound. Still, retaining7lii-erect position,'
by Several.. hall--expressed writhingsfollowed by
a certain indeseribable 'stiffness of the trunk and
liaNs,*•he exhited .the spectacle of in in who
sudd:.nily feels:the hand. of death chilling and
eraihping every vital energy,. At thiS interesting
,period,' the most,profouud silence reigned in the
Tliea-tre.,. Crowded as it was`to exceNs, any one
who had closed his eyes for a, quarter of a minute,
.niight.have easilybuagincd that during that time
not a single Li,tman being breathed within a mile of
him'. • At. length, Macbeth feeblylifted, his arni,
and appeared to aim a stroke at his antagonist. 'lite
effort was unavailing—the point of his sword
dropped--.his body rested for. an• instant- on the
acid the next moment fell prOstrare and mo-
tiopless on the boards... The plaudits, which, like
thouder, burst from every, part of the liOuse, loud
as they were, _had a still greater 01'er:effort) the
solemnity of the pause to which they succeeded.
play Was given out for •representation three
times this week,. amidst the most general huzzas,
and cries of Bravo !