The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-27 00:00:00

STRAND THEATRE.

Boxing night turned out a bumper to W. Farren,
the spirited lessee and manager of this pretty little
pill-box of a theatre. Farren, since he has become
manager and lessee, has shown himself as good a
caterer for the public amusement as the best manager
of the day, and has proved that he can play the part
of the governor with as much vigour, clSscretion,
and excellent acting as be ever displayed in the
various other difficult characters he has sus-
tained, and the performance of which has ren-
dered him so deservedly a favourite with
the public. Although the strict spirit of pantomime
was not evoked at by Farren, as is the wont of
managers at Christmas time, its absence was well
supplied by the production of a new extravaganza,
in which the gods of Olympus had a glorious revel
upon earth, and entered with spirit into the manners
of the present age, and the follies and vices of the
present day. The pleasing drama of King Rene's
Daughter, translated from Henrik Hertz, com-
menced the performance of the evening, in which
the heart-stirring acting of Mrs. Stirling
elicited the most unbounded applause. They
were, followed by what may be termed the toast of
the night, namely, the new extravaganza called
Diogenes and his Lantern; or, a Hue and Cry after
Honesty. This is one of that class of burlesque pieces
so popular of late years, of which the dialogue, carried
on in rhyme, is made the medium for satirising the
prevailing vices and follies of the present times- The
piece, according to the bills, is an entirely
original, mythical, musical, satirical, political,
comical, gnomical, and politico economical extra
vaganza. The music is modern antique, the
scenery, bran new and intensely old; the dresses,
from designs by the oldest inhabitant of Modern
Athens; the machinery, from the theatre of the
Greeks ; and the properties from Pompeii. The time
in which the scene is laid is 319 A.C., the place, Oly m •
pus, afterwards Athens ; but the events sung forth
and stigmatised in verse are patent to all as of the
present day. The god Jupiter (a ruler who can't keep
things straight), Mr. Leigh Murray, finding every thing
going wrong, summons the gods and goddesses, who
appear around him in the following order, he seated
on his throne, the centre of a system :—Mars (head
of a reduced naval and military establishment), Mr.
W. Farren, jun. ; Mercury (the deity of " fast men,"
the original " gent" of the Greek mythology), Mr.
Henry Farren ; Apollo (God of Lyres, and patron of
poetry and fiction), Mrs. Leigh Murray; Bacchus
(the fine old proof Spirit of " the bottle"), Mr. H.
Butler; Vulcan (the Iron King with too many irons
in the fire), Mr. C. Bender; Hercules (the King of
Clubs--worshipped by all asses in lion's skins), Mr.
Tanner ; Minerva (a blue bell in full flower—an
amazingly strong-minded and proportionably unpopu-
lar goddess), Mrs. Stirling; Juno (the Mrs. Caudle
of the Olympian family party, Mrs. B. Bartlett;
Venus (authoress of " Love's" Lenten Entertainment),
Miss Rebecca Isaacs; Diana (the woman in the moon),
Mrs. H. J. Turner; and Ceres (persecuted by the
Protectionists, and protected by Richard Cobden,
Esq.), bass Adams. Having overhauled his staff for

abuses. in their various departments, the mighty Jove
indignantly winds up by cxclaiining—
" You're no more nec, when by y,:ur dci ds I try ye,
Than would be so rosny patriot Lords of the Trea-
sury."
_Chroons, Old Time (Mr. Harvey), " The good time
coming" (which has been so long on the road),
makes his appearance, and finds that innovation and
revolution have produced wonderful changes, altering
everything, and improving nothing, and he accord-
ingly makes complaints in accents "loud and deep,"
and calls forth remarks on men and things, from
several of the gods and goddesses, and among the
latter, from Minerva, who, in a play on Pallas, has a
touch at the "Palace" Court, hinting to
4. Those who look for innovation,
to

Prepare to pay a swinging compensation."
Diogenes (a Cynic philosopher, who once took a tub
for his house, and mankind for his butt), Mr. P.
Emery, next appears, and anon we have him preparing
for " his nice look out," taking a new box, and
advertising his " sub." Casinotis, alias Venus, Mi,s
Rebecca I•aacs, anxious for an honest man upon her
own account, works upon the philosopher, who
determines to go in search of one, finds it difficult to
meet with such, exclaims 'tis all humbug, and Omits
that he is as great a humbug himself as any going.
The " collective wisdom" is re.erred to, as indicating
"a good time coming," but Minerva, in her character
of Wisdom, exclaims—
" No, there they scout me,
The House of C,,maions manages without me."
Jupiter, in the course of the scene, changes his cha-
racter, and goes forth as a "Reformer" under the
assumed, and not altogether unpopular name of No-
taxes. He ascends the rostrum, and proclaims, in
good set speeches, against all prevailing abuses, in-
dulging his own vices by exposing other people's, and
giving vent to his virtuous indignation against men
and measures, and winding up with an address to his
dupes—
" You're poor, and so am I, and what of that?
If I am poor, why then send round the hat."

Mars is converted into Drabidus, President of the
" Peace Society," of whose body Prattilus and
Borus (Mr. Mazzoni and Mr. Harris) are members,
and presently we find them disagreeing, and at
fisticuffs with each other, as to how the peace is to be
kept, Drabidus, in the melee, exclaiming, like a true
son of peace—
" Put any State down that does not like another,
And lick each man until he lours his brother."
Juno becomes a Mrs. Caudle in her way, and gives
some admirable lectures to her lord and master Jupiter,
on the duties of a husband, which are productive of
mirth, and a chapter to be studied by fast gentlemen,
fond of remaining out at night, and not remarkable
for the fulfilment of the domestic code. Mercury,
the fast gentleman, under the assumed name of
Telliates, becomes a proprietor of a magic
mart, breaking regularly once a year, and thriving
on ruinous sacrifices, of which the "poor shirt,
makers" and "poor needlewomen" are net the least.
Apollo, as Atticus, becomes the poet of this magic
mart, and throws off his lyrics as Master of the
Mosaic Muse, to the amusement of the house. Vulcan
(Mr. C. Bender) vulcanises him ;elf into the charac-
ter of Mammonides, a celebrated Railway King, an
excellent imitation, cooking the shareholders' accounts
first, and everybody's goose, including his own,
afterwards. Gammonides and Bamboozilus (Mr.
Geoffrey and Mr. Doo) represent railway directors
doing Mammonides' dirty work, worshipping him
while he is up, and blackguarding him when he is
down, thus showing the way of the world, its summer
friends, its shallowness, hypocrisy, and thorough
humbug. Diogenes has at length found "an honest
man," as he supposes, in a poor, poverty-stricken
Pixenix, a tailor, under the dignified name of Scis-
sarion (Mr. J. H. Turner), and consoles him, after he
has had proof of his honesty, in the return of a lost
puree, by telling him to be of good cheer, that
" there's a good time coiling," that "honesty is the
best policy," and "has its own reward ;" but failing
to give him anything. Fine words are cheap; and so
is " humbug,' which the piece, as the quality prevails
in the present age, exposed and castigated in graphic
and forcible verse. The audience were in raptures
both with the sentiments and the company, who were
well rehearsed in their parts, and who played
to each other with point, humour, and effect.
The scenery, principally of the classic cha-
racter, was very beautiful, and much
admired. The extravaganza, as a whole,
cannot fail to become popular; at the same time the
pruning-knife, judiciously applied, might be of con-
siderable service. The evening's entertainment con-
cluded with the representation of Poole's celebrated
drama of The Past and Present; or, the Annals of
the French Revolution.

SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE.
Otway's deservedly popular tragedy of Venice
Preserved was represented at this theatre yesterday
evening, and never on any previous occasi,,n did we
see the house so crowded. Long before the curtain
rose the theatre was densely filled from floor to
ceiling, and hundreds were obliged to put up with
no better accommodation than standing room. Ot
late years this theatre has acquired a deserved reputa-
tion for its maintenance and representation of the
national drama in all its purity, and no better proof
could be afforded of the thorough appreciation of
this highly creditable aim by the public than the
crowded state of the house last night. The part of
the amiable Jaffier was played by Mr. G. K. Dickin-
son, and was sustained throughout with great good
taste and judgment, despite his naturally weak voice
and some few peculiarities of pronunciation
which jarred on our ears. The generous
t'riendship, the noble and disinterested love,
and the touching ingenuousness thrown into
the character by the author were given by the
actor with singular felicity and effect. The less
popular but equally difficult part of Pierre was ren-
dered by Mr. G. Bennett in his usually effective
manner. The deep rich voice of Mr. Bennett, his
correct taste, and his manly and natural motions and
deportment on the stage, mark him out as a man who
will achieve the highest position in his profession.
Already has he earned for himself a reputation of
which he may well be proud. The author's concep-
tion of the bold soldier, the generous friend, and the
unscrupulous conspirator, embodied in the character
of Pierre, were in turn executed by him last night
with a fidelity and a force beyond all praise,
and which elicited frequent bursts of the
heartiest applause from the audience. Miss
Glyn played the touching part of Belvidere in a way
which reflected credit upon her judgment and skill.
der melting appeals for forgiveness to her implacable
lather, her generous, unchangeable, and confiding
love towards Jaffier, her unbounded joy, painfully
alternating with the deepest misery and despair, were
all rendered in a way true to nature, though the effect
was now and then marred by an infelicitous
smile or movement, or a look, apparently appealing
for approval to the audience. As it was, her
acting frequently earned for her the plaudits of the
house; and at the conclusion of the piece she and
Mr. Bennett were frequently called for, and both
appeared upon the stage and bowed their acknow-
ledgments. The acting of Mr. Graham, as Renault,
was singularly happy; and Mr. H. Mellon's Priuli
was equally unexceptionable. The play was followed
by the production of the Christmas pantomime, en-
titled Harlequin and the Dragon of Wantley; or
Moore of Moore hall, and Mother Shipton's Black
Dog; and as soon as the first notes of the overture
were struck the glee of the audience was perfectly
uncontrollable. Whenever in the course of this
musical medley any particular favourite air was per-
fortned, the whole house joyously roared forth a most
vociferous, if not a most melodious accompaniment. In
attempting to describe the plot of that part of the
pantomime which precedes the regular harlequinade
we certainly labour under great difficulty, as the merri-
ment of one half of the audience, and the numerous
and anxious calls for " order" from the other half,
rendered the dialogue almost inaudible. It was,
however, very evident that a voracious dragon, who
gobbled up children by scores for breakfast, and made
his dinner off as many men or women (being in
nowise particular), was the terror of the rustic
neighbourhood of Waniley. The Baron of Wantley,
while sitting down to his family dinner, is perfectly
dismayed by the appearance of this dreadful visitor,
who pops in quite unexpectedly, and after satisfying
the immediate cravings of his inordinate appetite with
the best of the Baron's viands, finishes with carrying
off the Baron's daughter, whom, as a delicate morsel,
he reserves for a future repast. In this intention,
however, the Dragon is disappointed ; for Moore
of Moore Hall, being in love with the young
lady, pursues her ravisher, and, in a pugilistic
encounter, gives him a blow that proves a
complete " settler." Then, of course, as nothing
else remains to be done, everybody is transformed,
and the usual pantomimic tricks and bustle ensue.
Guy the Grim, Baron of Wantley, is turned into
Clown (Mr. T. Ridgway), Moore of Moore Hall
into Harlequin (Mr. C. Fenton), the Baron's wife
is transformed into Pantaloon (.Ir. Gramani), and
the terrible Dragon, casting his skin, accompanies the
party as an attendant sprite. This latter part was
filled by Mr. Thorne, vaio in tumbling and leaping
exhibited so much agility as frequently called forth
the applause:of the company within the theatre. The
pantomine is altogether well got up. The scenery
is good, the changes are rapid and clever, the costumes
attractive, and the allusions to passing events suffi-
ciently pointed. The part of Columbine was grace.
fully sustained by Miss Kate Kirby. One or
two hits told immensely. Compensation to the
Palace Court lawyers was typified by a member
of the wig and gown in the stocks, and the audience
cheered as if every second man were a " Jacob
Omnium," and had defended a suit before the mori-
bund tribunal. The Smithfield Market nuisance
was the subject of a series of wooden jokes, some of
which told, while others were incomprehensible ; but
the strong point was that the cattle market should