The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-25 00:00:00

SADLER'S WELLS.

This theatre was opened yesterday evening, under new
management, that of Mr. G. A. Webster, 'and with the by
no moans insignificant advantage of the temporary acces-
sion of that talented artiste Mr. Leigh Murray, whose ser-
vices have been secured for a dozen nights. Nothing new
in authorship was produced on the occasion, but the pieces
presented wore judiciously selected and most favourably re-
ceived. The performances opened with "The Marble
Heart, or the Sculptor's Dream," which afforded Mr. Leigh
Murray an opportunity of displaying his fine histrionic
talents in a character in which he had previously gained
great celebrity. Peculiarly French in construction, there
is much in this drama to excite the sympathy of an Eng-
lish audience ; and, in the hands of Mr. Murray, a pain-
ful and growing interest was manifested by an audience
which appeared thoroughly to appreciate all the more
striking situations. The acting generally was satisfactory
and well sustained, especially that of Miss Jenny Marston,
as Mdlle. Marco ; of Miss M. Oliver, as Marie ; and of Mr.
Edgar, as Ferdinand Volage. The second and concluding
portion of the evening's entertainments was Mr. Planche's
"Invisible Prince," which was first brought out, if we
mistake not, about ten years ago, at the Haymarket, and
which is not likely to suffer in reputation, as it certainly
does not fail in interest, as presented last night on the nar-
, rower boards of the Wells. The part of Don Leander was
ladmirably take❑ by Miss Harriet Gordon, who exhibited
all the esprit and almndoil requisite to do justice to one of

the author's happiest productions. The theatre was com-
fortably filled, and the inauguration night of the new
management promised well for the future.

SURREY.

Mr. Henry Alayhew's well-known series of sketches,
biographies, and statistics has boon selected by the dra-
matist of this theatre as the basis of the Easter novelty.
The title of the new piece is, "How we live in the World
of London," and is presented in the form of a three-act
drama. It is a modern version of " Tom and Jerry," in-
troducing characters in low life—costermongers, match-
sellers, hawkers, dog-stealers, pickpockets, et hoc goats
onzne, whose peculiarities are brought out in the progress
of a sort of melodrama, the principal characters of which
avail themselves of the services of these representatives of
the several grades of London low life, on the one side, to
further the purposes of villainy, and, on the other, to
thwart them. The plot appears to turn upon the adven-
tures of a certain Sir Jasper Steelhard, who, having mar-
ried a woman ha adored, and finding her afterwards faith-
less, pursues her with unrelenting vengeance until she is
driven to the streets for a living ; but, by some one of
those inexplicable and mysterious agencies which occur
only in Surrey melodramas, his son is stolen, becomes a
houseless wanderer and a ragged-school boy, and, by
equally extraordinary means, manages to prevent the com-
mission of some additions to the catalogue of crime his
parent has to mourn for, and at length to be just in time
to witness the consummation of the respectable gentleman's
last crime, the murder of a pettifogging attorney, who had
been his instrument, but who was endeavouring to conceal
from him the evidence of his son's birth, in the written
confession of a Hindoo beggar, by whom the young gentle.
man had in his infancy been stolen. There is a peculiarity
about the drama which, as far as our recollection goes, is
certainly not drawn from Mr. Mayhew's book—that is, all
the London low-life characters, costermongers, street boys
women of the town, Hindoo tract-sellers, aresentirnentally
honest, scorning to accept a sixpenee for which they do not
give the very extreme value, either in goods or labour, and
with high moral principle continually in their mouths and
in their actions. Even a dug-stealer, returned convict, and
attempted murderer, is made to moralise and exhibit, in
words at least, something like an abhorrence of crime,
though he is ever ready to commit it for a "considera-
tion," his doctrine being, probably, that as crime is his vo-
cation, ho has a right to live by it. The acting was in
general good, especially that of Mr. Rickards, as Sir Jas•
par Stoolhard, the villain of the piece, who play° I a very
difficult part with much discretion. Mr. Widdicemb, as
Joe Brent, the sentimental and ultra-honest costernaung,er,
was as amusing and as broad as he always is. There is
some very effective scenery; amongst which may be no-
ticed Covent-garden Market by gaslight ; the dark arches
under the Adelphi, with the Thames and Goding's Brewery
in the distance ; and the burning of a private distillery
wherein Sir Jasper, having committed the murder, perishes
in the fire. Mr. Shepherd announced the piece for repeti-
tion amidst general applause.