The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-14 00:00:00

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

We may, without the slightest hesitation, pronounce
the "Merchant of Venice' "produced when Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Kean took their benefit on Saturday night, to
be the most remarkable of all the Shakesperian "revi-
val," that have made the Princess's Theatre one of the
principal wonders of the metropolis. Our great trage-
dian has had an entirely new ground to work upon, an
entirely new class of objects to present. Venice is not
Italy—it is something altogether distinct in itself—but
never till now have all its distinctive peculiarities been
put upon the stage so as to stand perfectly defined before
the eyes of a London audience.
During-the time that the play lasts we literally live
in a world of canals and bridges, save when we take a
trip of twenty miles to that fanciful Belmont, where the
lovely Portia resides, and vary the delight we have
received from the contemplation cf architectural miracles,
enlivened by a living pomp and gaiety that have long
since passed away, by gazing with the lore-stricken
Lorenzo and Jessica at the stars that sparkle over the
loveliest of landscapes. We roam on the margin of the
waters, and when the gallants of the play pass and re-
pass in gondolas, se real does the new state of existence
become to us, that London is entirely forgotten. Some
magic spirit has transported us to a region where we can
listen to the difficulties and aspirations of a real Bassanio,
can hear a real Gratiano talk an infinite deal of nothing,
can watch a real Lorenzo breathing vows of devotion
to his Jewish love—that magic spirit is Mr. Chas. Kean,
who has wafted us to so many regions, earthly and
imaginary, showing that time has no power, space is no
obstacle, when set against his determination to snake
present the distant and the past.
How gorgeously does the Queen of the Adriatic rise
to view ! The first removal of the curtain reveals the
place of St. Mark, peopled by countless vendors of
humble merchandise, and by opulent merchants, who
wander mysteriously together, talking doubtless of
freights and " argosies," and such like topics of medi-
ceval commerce. The ordinary business of the day is
interrupted by the clang of trumpets—the Doge passes
with his lordly retinue, a canopy shielding his august
head from the invasions of the sun. The development
of the plot has scarcely begun ; but we are already deep
in the Venetian life, in the midst of which the action is
to take place. After tarrying a little while at Belmont
to listen to Portia's pleasant railing about her hateful
suitors, so charmingly uttered by Mrs. Charles Kean,
we find ourselves on the Rialto 'eland, on the Venetian
'Change, and hear Shylock gravely weighing the risks
that may attend the loan of 3,000 ducats. He looks the
ideal of the cautious, calculating money-lender, but the
eye of the public has pierced through his gaberdine.
This hard, extortionate usurer must forget his character
awhile ; the plaudits of the public force him to acknow-
ledge that he is Mr. Charles Kean, the most munificent
of managers, the creator of those wonders of scenic art
that greet the eye from every corner of the stage. The
great tragedian may henceforth employ all the secrets
of his art—may show us the rage and grief of Shylock,
impressing us all the time with the grand truth, never
so clearly revealed by any other actor, that the Jew was
still a man ; but at this moment he must be him-
self, and hear our expressions of gratitude for the
privilege of beholding such an expanse of ever•
varying beauty. Expanse 1 Expanse iu the small
Princess's Theatre ? Aye ; here especially is
the greatness of Mr. Charles Kean's managerial genius
displayed. He has not a large stage, like those on
which effects far inferior were produced in the dap of

the national theatres ; but the narrow limits in which
he is placed flee before the vastness of his ideas, and the
floor of the Princess's expands into a bread plain that
may be intersected with canals, or covered with battling
armies, without any discrepancy discoverable by the
eye of the entranced spectator.
Again to the house of Portia, and this time to the
saloon, a wonderfully fine set scene in which the caskets
are preserved. Portia sits like a queen around the
glories of her father's inheritance. Her destiny is linked
to the three chased boxes that are piled opposite her
throne, and their importance is infinitely heightened by
the restoration of the scenes occupied with the attempts
of the two unsuccessful suitors. Not only does this re-
storation allow the introduct on of the gorgeous cos•
tames of Spain and Morocco, but it has for its
consequence a further development of Portia's cha-
racter. When the play was represented in the ordinary
way, we merely saw her fears lest Bassani° should fail ;
we now see the terrors of au opposite kind, lest two
hateful suitors should succeed.
The new arrangement of the trial scene, in which the
excitement of the senators reflects and reacts upon the
feelings of the audience, is another instance of the man-
ner in which dramatic instinct can be heightened by a
mere modification of stage-business, when this takes
place under the dictation of a manager of such poetical
genius. Mr. Charles Kean has often played Sbylock,
but never did the vengeance depicted by our great tra-
gedian appear so terrible as now, when we see his judges
start with horror. Mrs. Charles Kean has , ften played
Portia, but never did her speech on Mercy sound so
inusi al as now, when the same judges audibly testify
its effects upon their hearts.
However, the grand scene of all, as far as character
is concerned, is that which is modestly termed, "Exte-
ricr of Shylock's house," but presents a cembination of
gondolas, bridges, canals, totally unparalleled on any
stage. The devoted Jessica, charmingly played by
Miss Chapman, who made her debut on Stturday, is the
smell central figure of the action that chiefly occupies
this marvellous picture. When she has fled with her
lover, a sort of episode is introduced in the shape of a
rush of carnival merrymakers, who occupy every part of
the stage, and indulge in a frantic southern joy that is
totally indescribable. That carnival drama would be
alone sufficient to stamp the " Merchant of Venice" as
the most wonderfully life-like of all the Princess's re-
vivals. It reflects the highest honour on the skill and
taste of Mr. Cormack, by whom the dances were arranged,
and on the liberality of Mr. Kean, that placed at his
disposal the means that were turned to such admirable
advantage. But, brilliant as it is, it is only one gem
in a gorgeous carcanet of beauties.