The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

SADLER'S WELLS.

Last night was produced, for the first time at this
house, the historical tragedy of Brutus ; or, The Fall of
Tarquin, in five acts, written by Mr. H. Payne. The
scenery, which was entirely new, was by Messrs. Fenton
and Finlay, and reflects considerable credit on their
judgment and taste ; the scene of the Forum, in the last
act, particularly so. The piece was well got up, and
the characters well sustained. The plot being already
so well known to the public, renders it needless for us
to enter into any description of it. The part of Brutus
(Phelps) was played very effectively. The manner in
Which he threw off his disguised madness, and swore
to effect the liberation of his country, was admirable ;
and in the third act his oration over the
corpse of Lucretia—he seemed particularly at home.
While the stern and unbending patriotism of the Roman
Consul, and the violent emotions of the affectionate
parent, the one demanding the punishment of the traitor
to his country, and the other struggling in its intensity
for the preservation of the life of the son, the scene of his
final parting, and passing sentence upon him, were pour-
trayed in the most vivid and truthful manner. The
conflict of filial affection with love for Tarquinia was
well depicted by Mr. Marston in Titus. Mr. Bennett
playei well in the character of. Collatinus, especially in
that part where he laments the death of his wife Lu-
cretia. Tullia's haughtiness, in captivity, and the re-
morse and madness of the dethroned parricide at the sight
of her murdered father, upon the forcing in of the gates
of the sepulchre where he was interred, were displayed
in a most talented style by Mrs. Warner. Miss Cooper
displayed considerable ability in the part of Tarquinia,
particularly in the last scene, where she makes a spirited
and affecting appeal to Brutus on behalf of his son. Miss
Ruddart appeared to advantage in the small part which
she had to perform as Lucretia. The minor characters
were wellsustained. At the conclusion of the piece a
comedietta was produced for the first time, called My
Uncle's Pet, in which Jules (Miss Cooper), the perso-
nification of a youth of seventeen, addicted to
horse-racing, and other sporting pursuits, and not in the
least degreee deficient of self- sufficiency, is the uncle's
Pet, who falls in love with Isadore (Miss Huddart), with
whom, however, his uncle General Hermilly (Mr.
Williams), aged 80 years, is also enamoured. Isadore
is a ward, and her tutor also wishes to obtain
possession of her hand. After some little trickery
and imposition upon the uncle, with the aid
and assistance of Zurich (Mr. Scharf), and
Madame Bertram (Mrs. Francis), both of whom are
servants to the Colonel,, the pet succeeds notwithstand-
ing the oft-repeated admonition of Zurich, " that it will
never do," in obtaining the affections of Isadore. The
uncle and the tutor finally abandon their claims to Isa-
dore in favour of the pet, and the marriage contract is
confirmed by a liberal dowry from the uncle. The lively
and clever performance of Miss Cooper was well re-
ceived, and the connivance of Zurich and his companion
at the young blade's intrigues caused considerable mer-
riment. An amusing farce, called State Secrets, the
laughable incidents of which, dated in the time of the
Puritans, finished the amusements of the evening. It is
pleasing to notice the marked improvement in the con-
duct of the audience at this house. Mr. Arles and
Mrs. Warner certainly deserve success fur the manner
in which they endeavour to raise the tone of feeling for
the British drama. Some allowances are perhaps to be
made far the present holiday season, but with the excep-
tion of an occasional inappropriate exclamation from the
denizens of the gallery, the whole of the performance
was listened to with marked attention, and received its
well merited approbation.