The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-28 00:00:00

MARYLEBONE.

The entertainments furnished for the I 10 liday folks
at this theatre were Rowe's tragedy of J, ane Shore,
171 a pantomime called Eyes, Nose, and
.; Mouth ; or,
arlequin Prince Perfect and the Birth ..cf Beauty.
he uproar throughout the tragedy was s x• great that
It was utterly impossible to catch more th a n an occa-
sional sentence, and all that we can say ab of at the per-
formance is, that the piece, as usual at t' nis theatre,
was extremely well put upon the stage, s xl d that Mrs.
Warner dressed Alicia with great magni- it ence. With
the fall of the green curtain at the end o F the tragedy
,the storm in a great measure abated, and all was

flushed in comparative repose, when th, first scene of
the pantomime disclosed the " Retreat of Ugliness."
This monarch, at the opening of the piece, kindly
informs his attendant sprites (rejoicing in the names
of Uglimug, Ugorino, Uggermuggei !, and Ugo-
lino), and through them the audience, that he is
engaged in a struggle for life anc. t death with
the Queen of Beauty, who has had the effrontery
to think of detaching Prince Perfect I kon his alba-
,

glance, and to inspire him with the hope of possess-
ing- a perfect beauty as a wife. Fright is accordingly
summoned to countermine the plot of the Queen of
Beauty, and departs on his mission. In the next
scene we are transported to the Isle of Beauty by
sunrise on the Lake of Loveliness, when the Queen
of Beauty causes Prince Perfect (Miss Saunders) to
behold in a vision the Princess Paragon (Miss Mal-
colm). The Prince returns to his castle, and inserts
an advertisement in the Morning Post, headed " Matri-
mony.—A Wife Wanted." Ambassadors accordingly
come from the North American Indians, from China,
and the Ethiopian Court of Congo, with portraits of
the charming originals, who flatter themselves that
they realise the Prince's fair ideal of the sex. But the
Prince is hard to please, and at the suggestion of Fright
he determines to go, like Caalebs, in search of a
wife himself. He then travels through the " Empire.
of Eyes," when he meets but nothing but Amazonian
damsels peering through optics of the most portentous
description ; and flying that country reaches the
" Nation of Noses," inhabited by female divinities
with nasal appendages as long, though not so well-
looking, as pump-handles. Arriving finally at " the
Great Mouth itself, he finds himself in the Abode of
Ugliness, and matters having now reached that crisis
when the interposition of the Deus ex maclzinei, in the
shape of a benevolent genius, has, become necessary,
the "Bower of Beauty" bursts upon the sight, the
Prince and Princess are transformed into Harlequin
and Columbine, with the usual attendants of Clown
and Pantaloon, and the harlequinade begins. There
was plenty of bustle in this part of the piece, which
never flagged for an instant; and the tricks, though
for the most part not very new, went off surprisingly
well. When it is added that Matthews, as Clown,
sang a laughing ditty, by. Balfe, and afterwards, at
the special request of the gods, their favourite song
of "Hot Codlings ;" that he subsequently danced the
cachuca, and then a hornpipe ; that Miss Malcolm
made a very engaging Columbine, and that Howell
exerted himself with success as Harlequin, enough
has been surely stated to show that to the triumph of
the "legitimate drama," the management of Maryle-
bone Theatre have added the triumph of " legitimate
pantomime." We would fain, however, say a word
in favour both of the masks and the scenery ; the one
adundantly grotesque, the other well, and in some
instances, exquisitely painted. The house was filled
to suffocation.

STRAND.
Merry, happy Christmas ! Well it is that one short
week in weary fifty-two which is devoted to happiness,
or the o'ertasked workman's life would be indeed one
continued misery. Ere these practical days had
cast their shadow over our country, poets had feigned
that years of love, hours of unvaried sunshine bright-
ened our horizon, and that all the multitudinous
figures so copiously interspersed in the works of our
own earlier writers had each a " local habitation and
a name." Is it so now ? We fear not, excepting at
merry, laughing Christmas time. The Man in the
Moon; or, Harlequin and the World of Waggery,
is the title of the pantomime at this theatre. The
opening plot turns upon the adventures of Young
England, who pays a visit to Lunado, the King of the
Moon, in the kingdom of Moonshine, and thus be-
comes literally the "Man in the Moon." The King
is in great grief for the loss of his only daughter, who
has been stolen from his brilliant dominions by Dog-
star the First, king of a neighbouring country. Young
England ascertains the fact through the medium of
an electric telegraph to the moon, and consults Nox,
the goddess of night, as to the best means of ascending
to the moon and setting all things in a proper light
there. Nox, ;who is i• noc-ulated with the worldly
sin of punning, advises him to advertise for a genteel
house in the kingdom of Moonshine, saying that as
the moon is made of green cheese he should take a
villa on the Rhine. Young England suggests the
" Times," but Nox replies the Times is high, and
bids Venus take it to the " Star." Young England
objecting to make an errand-boy of the Queen of
Beauty, recommends its " Dispatch" by the " Mail."
Nox, though generally supposed to be in darkness
respecting the " News of the World," proves herself
a shrewd " Observer" of " Life in London" by
suggesting that Phaeton, his journey being done,
shall horse his chariot and take it to " The Sun," or
if Young England disapproves of this " Atlas" on
his shoulders shall bear it to the " Globe," or Momus
may " Herald'%it to his old friend "Punch." Ulti7,
mately it is decided that Bacchus, having an
interest in the Tap-tub, shall take it to the '
" Advertiser" and " Post" the duty. Young
England duly proceeds on his mission to the land of
Moonshine. Here a terrific conflict ensues between
LUntulu nutl King Dogstar, hut through the int..-
vention of Young England; always a pacificator, the
lost princess is restored to her fond father's arms, and
the peace and happiness of the liege subjects of Moon-
shine firmly established. Nox then changes the
monarchal personages into the democratic personages
of the parti-coloured heroes and heroine, Dogstar be-
comes Cluwn, his majesty Pantaloon, the Princess
Luna Columbine sand Young England Harlequin. The
World of Waggery then opens to the laughter-loving
friends of Christmas. Miss Jane Coleman, as Nox,
looked, acted, and dressed the character magnifi-
cently. Miss Kent sustained the character of
Venus very prettily. Of the Clown, Mr. H.
Cooper, we must say, for a first attempt
it was excellent, and reminded us very much of
young Grimaldi in his best days. Madlle. Blanche,
as Columbine, deserves great praise ; she exerted
herself to the utmost, a better Columbine we have
not seen for many a day. Smither's Harlequin was
good. Yarnold was the Pantaloon. The success of
the pantomime was decided, and with the judicious
aid of the pruning knife, and when the contre temps
of a first night's representation are corrected, it will
have a long and prosperous run. The scenery was
beautiful, especially London by Night, and the
Palace of Dogstar. The house was crowded to the
ceiling.