The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-27 00:00:00

SADLERS WELLS.

The re ep. tohg e, this theatre, under the direction of
:qr.lp-, to'.k piece on Saturday night, the play
seb tied being the first part of Henry the Fourth, which
augurs well of the manager's deter tnieation to pursue the
system of playing the Shok-re rim' drama, which has
obtained such deserved celebrity- for the house for the
last two years. The joint management ot Mrs. Warner
and Mr. Phelps heving terminated with the close ot the
late season, the theatre has since been greatly improved;
the open .space at the back of the boxes has been en-
closed, and fitted up with comfortable seats, and a dress
circle has been formed in front, which were all occupied,
as well as every other part of the house. The cast com-
prised chiefly the members of the old company, with the
addition of Mrs. Brougham, Mr. Hoskins, and Mr.
Creswick, an actor of merit in the provinces; and from
his excellent and masterly performance of Hotspur, he
has not disappointed the expectation of his friends. He
showed that he had read and studied Shakspere care-
fully, his personation of the character was marked by
decided talent; besides which he possesses many of the
requisites for forming a good actor, his action is judi-
cious, his figure is good, and his voice pleasant; there-
fore we predict his becoming a favourite and
occupying a high position on the London boards
very seen. Mr. Phelps acted the part of Sir
John Falstaff. His delineation of the character
of the fat knight is reelly an astonishing performance.
We expected to see a very clever and careful version of
the part, but we were both surprised and delighted
to find Mr. Phelps entering fully into the
" humours" of " fat Jeck." The Falstaff of
Mr. Phelps is as surprising and as excellent
as was the Sir Pertinax of Young. Mr. G. Ben-
nett, as King Henry IV., was all that could be desired;
and Mr. Scharf, as Francis, was excellent. He is one
of the tew low comedians of the present day who can
play Shakspere. The play was admirably put upon the
stage, and all the eubordinate characters being properly
sustained, Henry IV. was better represented on. Satur-
day at Sadler's Wells, as a wi.ok, than we have ever
seen it represented. There was nothing like a blot or a
weakness to mar the general effect. Mr. Phelps, Mr.
Bennett, and Mr Creswick were called for at the con-
clusion. The houSe was crowded in every part.

FRENCH FLAYS-ST. JAMES'S
THE .TRE.

Mackmoiselle Rachel appeared on Friday in the character
of Virginie, in Latour's tragedy of the same name, which,
produced in 1835 at the Theatre Franpais, excited the hopes
of the classicists, who hailed in M. Latour "the coming
man" whose advent they had so long expected, who was
to depose the usurping Romanticists, and to restore Racine to
the throne of Poetry. Whether M. Latour is likely to do
this, we shall not now stop to inquire. We shall have
another opportunity of entering into the literary merits
of his production. At present we must confine ourselves
to the acting by Rachel in the character of the heroine.
The two great characters in the play are Virginie and Appius
Claudius ; and in the interview between thee► in the second
act, when Claudius ventures to speak to Virginie of love, the
outburst of indignant scorn, with which she meets his
avowal, was one of the grandest triumphs that Rachel has
ever achieved. She well understands the form of contrast.
The retiring maiden of the first act had, by the assiduity of
Claudius, become transferred into the indignant and insulted
woman, who ', ith witheriug sarcasm spurned from her pre-
sence this insulter, patrician though he might be The
villain dares to make a midnight attack upon her,
and her description of this attack to her father
is one of the finest pieces of acting ever
seen. Her utterance is impeded, and she seems choking
with mingled anger and fear while describing the scene to
her father. This representation of the character of Virginie
is, perhaps, the greatest triumph as a whole that Mademoiselle
Rachel has as yet achieved during her visit to London. It
was in every part perfect.

FRENCH PLAYS.—Her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Cambridge, accompanied by the Hereditary Grand
Duke and Duchess of Meclenburgh-Strelitz, and at-
tended by the Baroness Ahlefeldt and Mr. Edmund St. John
Mildmay, honoured the French Plays with her presence on
Friday; we observed also the Duke and Duchess of Beau-
fort, the Duchess of Sutherland, Countess of Carlisle, Lord
Morpeth, Marquis and Marchioness of Breadalbane, the
Countess of Chesterfield, Lady Newport, Countess and Ladies
Cadogan, his Excellency the Russian Ambassador and the
Baroness Brunnow, Earl and Countess Grey, the Belgian
Minister, Madame Van de Weyer, and Mr. Bates, Marquis
of Titchfield, the Ladies Bentinck, Lady Grenville, Lord
Beaumont, Lord Anson, Lord Cranstoun, Baron Koller, the
Earl of Scarborough, Lady Suffield, Earl of Clarendon, Mrs.
Villiers, Lord Duncannon. Lady Alice Peel, Lady Grenville,
Lady Kinnear Macdonald, Count Bellegarde, Sir George and
bliss Talbot, Lady and Miss Macdonald, Mrs. Errington, Sir
Robert and Lady Newman, Sir William Massey Stanley. Sir
C. Vaughan, Lady Fitzroy Kelly, Sir Isaac Goldamid, Hon.
R. Dundas, and Mr. and Mrs. Brownrigg, M. Canofari, Mr.
Rice Trevor, Mrs. Denistonn, Mr. Dudley, and the Misses
Majoribanks, Mrs. and Misses Hammersley, Mr. and the
Misses Bligh, and Mr. Lumley.