The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-28 00:00:00

OLYMPIC.

King Afred the Griot; or, Harlequin History and the
Enchanted Raven, is the title of the Pantomime which
Mr. George Bolton produced on Saturday for the amuse-
ment of his patrons. The Olympic was, at one time,
celebrated for its pantomime, and Mr. George Bolton
has this year, well sustained the honour of his house.
The basis upon which it is founded, is, as the oills informs
us ; Bolton tell us an " Ancient Saxon Chronicle,"
which thus runs :—" About this time, ye good Kynge
Alfred beinge sorely pressed, didde fynde hym.,elf com-
pelled to f•ynge exceedinge small, and-ye cruelle Danes
havynge may-de themselves atte home in the Kynge, hys
land, he putte on ye garb of a gleeman, or street myn-
stralle of those dayes, in ye whyche guise he would
stryke merElye uppe anent ye doores of publycke taverns,
and send hys cappe for the coynes. Whylst ye poor
Kynge was thus so dreadfullie harde uppe he tooke
shelter at ye house of a Dame, who was makynge some
cakes, and when she sette hym to mind thate they didde
not burn, ye poor Kynge, thinkynge of hys sad plyghte,
didde forgette to turn them, and so got soundlie rated
for hys neglect, which was a daintie conceit he didde
laugh atte with good cheer. Then came to hym onne
who sayde that ye Danes were feastynge merrilie, and
makynge a night of itte at Stonehenge, whereupon he
attacked them with heartie goode wille, crybbedde their
magic Standard of ye Raven and kyllynge ye savage
Guthrum, ye Danish leader, didde gene hys own again
to ye wonderre and admiration of elle. Whence cometh
ye saying of Kynge Alfred and hys cakes, thatte lie
who doeth onne goode turne deserveth another."—An-
cient Saxon Chronicle

After a most effective overture by Mr. Thiriwall the
curtain was raised and displayed a magnificent scene,
representing the " British heroes in the realms
of history," which drew down rounds of ap-
plause from the crowded audience. History, whs
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White Horse Vale, Berkshire, where we find the Dines,
headed by Guthrie, interrupting a Saxon festival, and
doing awful execution among the viands. Edwin, a
young Saxon, whose lady-love (Elfrida) is captive to the
Danes, •after sundry hair-breadth escapes, joins
Alfred, who has received a magic lamp from a Druid,
and who having token refuge in the cottage of
Dame Wonapenny, of course, leaves the cakes according
to the tradition. Alfred, with his harp, and FAwin,
with a key bugle, serenade the Danes encamped at
Stonehenge, and filially overthrow them, and then
comes the harliquinade. Mr. Cormack being Harlequin;
Miss Annie Mott, Columbine ; Mr. Jefferini, Clown ;
end the veteran F. Dartland, Pantaloon. Cormack is
one of the most agile Harlequin's we have. ever seen, and
!Li
os ro)nl av,n,
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tshu ticeenitl
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Miss Mott, as Columbine, was exceedingly graceful.
iTuhreanneaemthes:tofc
The scenery, by Browning,
was beautiful, the tricks
pantomimes should be—a
The pantomime is very well and is what all
were exceedingly clever, and the
written,masks most. grotesque.
jl
Clown r nn
aPnadn t
quizzical commentary on the
events of the past year. The Olympic pantomime will,
no doubt, have a long run.

•
Who has not heard of Sadlers' Wells .
sales have not
panto-
mimes? or what person is there whose
dAanynofoDllocsrniinti will be the holi-
day To .
shook with laughter at witnessing them?
SA--DLERS' WELLS.
and its
,bethseomfears-4ftt!
not " bated one jot or tittle" of its former attractions, or
its claims to the merited support of the laughter-loving
people of the metropolis. The new pantomime,
hisathains
Harlequin and a Happy New Year, or, the White Got and
msfaedetiosnadtie
the King and his Three Sons," was equal, if not superior
krsnolviVetl
to anything which has been produced fur some years at
this or any other theatre. Mother Bunch's dioramic
illustration of fairy land,. and the enchanted lake and
forest, were got up in the beat style, and reflect great
called
credit upon the taste of Messrs. Fenton and Finlay.
Among the incidents calculated to lash the follies of the
age were the Wellington statue, upon which the " Moral
engine of Punch" being brought to bear, causes the
arch of Burton to crumble beneath the superincumbent
weight, and engulfs in its ruins the mammoth horse,
while its colossal rider, in his huge dimensions,
walks his " half hour" ou the stage in evident discom
fiture at the loss of his charger, and Trench standing
by, bewails the catastrophe with the most grotesque
lamentations imaginable. The Prize Peasant, in another
scene, receives his medal for his twenty years service,
close by the spot, at " Stuffpig's Agricultural Establish-
ment and Experimental Farm," where the appetite of an
enormous pig is being fully attended to by some dozen men
in smock frocks. The Duchess of Marlborough is not.
forgotten. Attired in the veritable "ladies shooting dress,"
designed by Punch, she brings down a pair of pheasants,
and is seized by one of the myrmidons of the law, but
shortly liberated on the ground that " ladies are allow e I
to kill." The Duke of Marlborough's mansion is "open
`de fy from ten to four, admission one chilling—.children

1 If price." The ducal poulterer invites purchasersito
p trchase his game, and finally " makes game of John
Bull." The ghost of the game laws "goes off with a
tremenduous explosion." Shakspeare drawn by the
tra4ic muse, is "removed from Covent Garden to a
stn tiler house." Time and space would fail to go
torough all the parts worthy of notice. One exact
likeness we must not, however, pass over, which waa
neither more nor less than the living type of Clown (Mr.
Charles Stilt), who, judging from the progress he has
n ale, and the effects of parental " training up in
the way he should go," will one day excel even his
father's doings, strange and wondrous as they are. Mr.
C. Fenton was an excellent Harlequin ; and all praise is
due to Miss Caroline Barnet, for the very tasteful man-
ner in which she disposed of the laborious character of
Columbine; and as for Pantaloon.(Mr. Johnson), Sprite
(Mr. R. Stilt), and Clown (Mr. Charles Stilt), their
achievements were of a most extraordinary kind. Mr.
and Miss Maskell danced the pus de deux Aeapolitaine
with the greatest precision and accuracy, and received
loud and long continued plaudits from all parts of the
house. We were sorry -to hear that in consequence of
the sudden illness of Mr. Phelps, he would not be able to
make his appearance in The -Stranger. His part was,
however, well sustained by Mr. Marston; and Mr. Hos-
kins, at a brief notice, played Baron Steinfort in a
creditable manner. Miss Laura Addison's acting in the
part of Mrs. Haller, was the best performance of that
lady's which we have seen for some time. The house
was crowded in every part.

SURREY.
The performances at this theatre commenced with an
entirely new drama, from the pen of Mr. Edward
Sterling, entitled The Hand of Cards, produced with the
effective concomitants of new scenery and additional per-
formers. The drama was one admirably calculated
to attract the lovers of sight seeing, as man) tremendous
positions were announced in the bills. It would be un-
necessary to follow the production through its entire
plot, suffice it to say, that all those engaged sustained
their parts with spirit, and the piece appeared to give
unlimited satisfaction, not one mark of disapprobation
being heard during the whole evening. Indeed,
although the attention of the audience was sufficiently
engrossed by the piece, it was evident that they were
expecting with impatience the grand attraction of the
evening—the pantomime—which was entitled, The King
of the Castle, or Harlequin in the Land of Dreams. The
production, by Mr, Irarebrother, affords ample scope
for splendid effect, and it must be said that the scenery
was arranged on a scale of magnificence very creditable
to the management of the theatre. The curtain rose to
a scene representing the Laud of Dreams, with the ex-
terior of Imaginary castle and the Enchanted lake.
Lunario is discovered sleeping, and under the protection
of Nymphalia and her train of fairies, by whom a clever
little ballet is enacted, Lunario dreams that he is united
to:the Princess Adorina. The scene is well changed to
the Illuminated Castle and Grotesque,,Hall of Statues
(we did not observe the Dnke of Wellington). The scene
was well got up, and a clever effect,, was produced. A
combat takes place between Fatterissidio, the Chamber-
lain, and the Prince Leanini, for the love of the Queen
Lollipoppi. Peacock Castle is then presented, and
Scrunchall, the monarch, dispatches divers state affairs,
and discovers the elopement'of his daughter, who has
been transported to Lunario by fairy power. All start
in pursuit, and arrive in the fairy grove, where Scrunch-
all and Lollipoppi are transformed to Clown (Herr R.
Deulin), and Pantaloon (Herr N. Deulin) ; whilst Ado-
rina and Lunario are transformed into Columbine
(Madlle. Theodore), and Harlequin (Herr Deulin). The
Chamberlain becomes Punch, the only competent per-
son. The real fun of the evening then commenced, and
no expense has been spared to render the tricks amusing.
Most of the situations and tricks were entirely new, and
there was little or none of the advertising system which
has of late been introduced into pantomimes. The thing
went off admirably, and though somewhat long in conse-
quence of its being the first night, and so many new
effects being introduced, there is no doubt that the prac-
tice of a few nights representation will render it such,as
will sustain the high reputation of this theatre for its
Christmas amusements. The Deulin family, by whom
the principal personages were represented, went throm,h
their parts with their usual spirit and agility, and the
concluding scene, the Temple of Refulgent Brilliants,
was very good. It is but justice to observe that a more
orderly Boxing night has rarely been witnessed at this
theatre, every word of the performances being clearly
heard, and nothing disturbing the harmony of the even-
ing except interjectional remarks of doubtful propriety
from the pit, with reference to hats in the front. The
curtain fell amidst the loudest applause.