The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-02 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S.

The revival of " Macbeth" at the Princess's Theatre may
be considered, without hesitation, the important event of
the dramatic world. When the great work bursts upon us
with all its wild and sublime magnificence—when the
genius of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean is displayed to its
full extent in the representation of the principal characters
we begin to ask ourselves, Why has this mighty tale o
guilt and retribution been so long untold on the boards of
the only theatre at which it can be adequately embodied?
Often, we fear, has the archaeological enthusiasm of 'our
great tragedian rendered him unjust to himself, while he
has 'selected works eminently fitted for the instruction,
moral and historical, of his countrymen. He has delighted
to revive almost every period of the world upon his boards.
He has consented to appear as the central figure in his mar-
vellous pictures, less for the sake of his own reputation,
than w ith a view to "general effect. But, surely, after wit-
nessing such a: per:ormance as that of " Macbeth" last
night—after three hours passed in admiration of that
wondrous union of power and subtlety—every im-
partial spectator will exclaim to himself, Can
this great and accomplished artist have condescended
to dissect the puny jealousy of Leontes ; can he have
cramped his energies for the realisation of such a passion-
less character as that of Prospero ? Such, however, has
been the case, fortunately for the people of London, who
have thus had an opportunity of seeing all the chief works
of Shakespeare performed in unexceptionable style.
By the revival of " Macbeth" our great tragedian does
himself full justice. The character of King John, fine as
it becomes in one situation, scarcely rewards the actor, who
has a right to hold the attention of his audience for hours
within his grasp ; and while we regarded with unqualified
admiration the deep import and significance given by Mr.
Charles Kean to the dialogue with Hilbert, we felt that
hero was a vast expenditure of power for the production of
a brief effect.

But in " Macbeth" we have a great genius adequately
employed. Scene after scene allows the actor to develop
new resources, and the talent that is required for the first
act is precisely the reverse of that which is demanded for
the fifth. Plunged in abstraction, the listener to super-
natural advisers—gliding down into an abyss of guilt,
horrified at every step, yet urged by a will stronger than
his own—absorbed in his own purposes, till they
assume a corporeal shape—scared by the spectre of
his victim—how different is the dreamy fate-ruled
Macbeth from the savage warrior, who, when all else
is lost, still has his animal strength and his animal courage
to depend upon, and dies regretting that he cannot strike
one blow more. It is the greatness of Mr. Charles Kean's
Macbeth•that he is exhibited with equal accuracy under
every aspect. When he is the dreamer, no one can be more
abstracted ; when he irresolutely commits his great crime,
no one can give a more harrowing picture of that contest
between good and evil, in which the latter must prove vic-
torious. When he is established on his ill-gotten throne,
he wears his throne. with dignity, but we feel that met-king
fiends are around- him, threatening his downfall. When
the final struggle—the fight for life and death, occurs, he is
really the man determined to die " with harness on his
back " The tragedy of pity melts the heart, but the
tragedy of terror more palpably shows the might of the
tragedian. We cannot say that we sympathise with the
Macbeth of Mr. C. Kean—Heaven forbid we should—but
we feel that he holds us at his command—that we must
follow him int.i.; the recesses of his dark mind, to the comple-
tion of his dark purposes.
Still, with a less consummate actress than Mrs. Charles
Kean, the picture even of Macbeth's character would not
be complete. The weird sisters who meet him on the heath
can only awaken in him the thought of evil, and
between thought and act there is still a vast gulf,
especially with a natere like that of Macbeth, who "would
not play false, and yet would wrongly win." Now, it is
the firm, undeviating resolution depicted by Mrs. Charles
Kean in all the scenes preceding and pertaining to the
murder, that exactly shows how the gulf may be passed by
a man so vacillating. The very appearance of Mrs. Charles
Kean in this play stamps her as one of those dominant
persons who must be obeyed by all who are infirm of pur-
pose; she is a woman born to rule in queenly fashion.
Firm in her purpose, when she has to counteract- the mis-
givings of her husband, and to accomplish a great end
equally firm of purpose, but most cautious of demeanour
when she regulates at pleasure the guests at the banquet,
and prevents them from discovering the rottenness that
lies below the surface •of regal splendour, she is always