The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-27 00:00:00

G, DECEMBER 27 1856;

CHRISTMAS AMUSEMENTS.

DRUR,Y-LANE THEATRE.

A glorious p'►ntorsime at Old Drury is quite a matter of
course on Boxing-night—as much a matter of course there
and then as a bunch of raistletoe at Christmas, as pancakes
on Shrove Tuesday, or a fat goose at Michaelmas ! Parti-
cularly with Mr. E. L. Blanchard as the author of the
Fairy Introduction—E. L. Blanchard, already the beloved
and idolised among the boys and girls of England as the
writer of " Harlequin Hudibras," " Humming-top,'•
" Jack and Gill," the "Seven Ages of Man," and all
sorts of delightful glorifications of Nursery Rhyme and

Reason !
There is fair cause to anticipate that " See Saw Mar-
gory Daw, or Harlequin Holiday and the Island of Ups
and Downs," is destined to enjoy as long a lease of exist-
ence and as wide-spread a popularity as any of its imme-
diate predecessors. To record that the house "was crammed
to the ceiling" is almost superfluous, since when, within
the memory of the oldest pantomime-goer, was Ohl Drury
not "crammed to the ceiling" on such an auspicious occe.
sion ? The plum-pudding of the entertainment was pre-
ceded last night by a light fricassee, represented by the
comedietta of " Simpson and C 0.," which sharpened rather
than allayed the appetite, and served as a stimulus for the
enjoyment of what was to follow.
The plot of the introduction proceeds, as we have
hinted, from the fertile imagination of Mr. E.
L. Blanchard, to whom the regions of metapho-
rical burlesque are a natural element and mon-
strous pasteboard heads as much " a feeling" as " high
mountains" to the poet. The time-honoured nursery
rhymes upon which it is founded are put to symbolical
uses, and a moral lesson is endeavoured to be imparted.
The curtain rises upon a " decoration" intended to suggest
the globe, across the surface of which is cast an enormous
" see-Raw," at either end of which is a group, the ono sig
nificative of wealth and abundance, the other of squalid
poverty and rags. A clever device pf mechanism meta-
morphoses Wealth into Poverty, aid vice versa, according
to whichever end of the see-saw happens to be uppermost ;
and thus are shadowed forth the " Ups and Downs of
life," to reconcile which constitutes the quasi philosophic
purport of the masque. The appearance of Holiday, the
Genius of the Season (Miss M. Stanley), in his " emble-
matical car" cuts short a dialogue between " Up" and
"Down." Snubbed, of course, by "Up." who is a snob,
and approached by " Down" with befitting humility,
Holiday proffers some excellent counsel to the opposing
parties, and just as everything is settled to the universal
satisfaction arrives Dame Necessity (Mrs. Selby), who
claims from Holiday her annual tribute in the shape of a
Christmas pantomime. Holiday invites all the personage

to his abode in the Green Bower of Mistletoe, and here,
after a grand ballet, the subject of the pantomime
is arranged. Margery Daw (Madame Boleno), daughter of
King Huggamugga, of the region of " Sixes and Sevens,"
is a very idle young princess, who will do nothing but
tyrannise over her household and oppress her father's sub
jects. But Dame Necessity is resolved to admonish her,
and suddenly transforms the palace, the scene of her es-
capades, into a humble cottage, where Margery is com-
pelled to do all the menial offices herself, and either to
cook her own dinner or to go without. She selects the

latter alternative. Not content with this, however, Ne-
cessity insists upon some other proof of reformation, and,
summoning an enchanted work box, from which issue in
rapid aucces,ion all the implements of woman's industry,
leaves Margery with a task to accomplish, which she pre-
sently achieves, in the shape of an elaborate piece of
needlework. Satisfied with the result, Necessity conducts
her newly-made proselyte in a "silkworm car" to the
habitation of Labour, who welcomes her as a convert to his
principles, and presents her with Holiday as a recom-
pence.

The scene of Holiday's " Winter Garden" and that of the
" Fairy Factory of Fancy" are, though totally different in
style, equally to be admired. The latter is one of those
magnificent and gradually unfolding tableaux in which
Mr. W. Beverley has no rival. The audience were en-
chanted with both, and not only recalled the gifted pain-
ter, but Mr. Smith, the manager. The sudden metamor-
phosis of the gorgeous palace interior of King Huggamugga
into the "cottage of Necessity," too, was admirably con •
trived, and effected with great rapidity. The ballet was
first-rate.

In the harlequinade there is a real embarras de ricleesses.
The transformation takes place at the " Fairy Factory of
Fancy," where, in the twinkling of an eye, Monsieur Holi-
day and Madame Necessity furnish no less than two. harle-
quins, MM. Deulin and Veroni ; two clowns, Messrs. Flex-
more and Boleno ; two pantaloons, Messrs. Barnes and
Tanner; two columbines, Madame Boleno and Miss Honey;
two sprites, grown up, the Messrs. Elliott; and two sprites,
diminutive—a "gent," or lover, Mr. Halford ; and a "gro-
tesque," M. Auriol. With the many accomplishments of
Mr. Flexmore, who is capable of almost anything, from
dancing polkas on ladders and spades to the mere common-
place somersault, we could not but regard the extraordi-
nary evolutions of the sprites, and even the neat and
finished tours de force of M. Auriol, as superfluous. The
concluding tableau, " Holiday's Fairy Home," formed a
glittering and splendid climax. The audience was one of
the noisiest as well as one of the largest ever assembled in
a theatre; but the "gods" were happily not less benign
than obstre 'erous, so that everything passed off with un-
disturbed hilarity from the moment the curtain rose upon
the first scene of the pantomime.

artistic feeling; not produced from violent contrasts and
common-place effects, but is picturesque and delicate. The
grand fairy scene near the opening ; a beautiful moonlight,
colt! and truthful; and the transformation scene, which is
fanciful and graceful, with the two babes supported on
fragile boughs, and surrounded with graceful groups, with
the swans in front, and a landscape, most delicately
painted. The Harlequinade was lively, as were some of
the scenes, particularly that of a fair. Altogether, " The
Blbes in the Wood" will maintain the credit this house has
obtained for truly elegant pantomime, and doubtless it
will give delight for many weeks, both to the large and
small children who delight in the pretty, the picturesque,
and the droll. The house was crowded to excess, and
the audience manifested their approbation by calling for
the author and artist, and bestowing generally their
uumingled approbation.