The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-22 00:00:00

THE NEW ADELPHI THEATRE.

We think all our readers will be glad to hear that
the approaching holidays promise them no less a
treat than the re-opening of this, the most popular
place of theatrical entertainment in London. On
Monday, the 27th,theinewest, and now the prettiest
theatre in the metropolis, begins its course of
" seasons," and if we may augur anything from the
scrupulous care with which it has been constructed
with a view to the comfort of its audience, the rich-
ness of its decorations, and general splendour of its
effect, we believe that the fresh course on which it
is entering will be as prosperous to its manager and
popular with the public as during its best days of
old. The well-known company, of which we need
say no more than that it nightly drew crowded
houses to the ugliest and most uncomfortable theatre
in London, will re-appear with additional strength,
and for the first time an Adelphi audience will now
not only be able to see every part of the stage, but
to see it with such perfect comfort to themselves as
no other place of entertainment of the kind, save
the new Opera, can offer. No transformation
which this year's Adelphi pantomime can furnish
will be half so great or half so striking as that
which the audience will behold in comparing the
old theatre with the new. As has been truly said
of the late building, it was of such a structure that
one might have imagined an " Assembly-room" at
an old inn converted suddenly into a theatre, and
permanently kept in its provisional state. To some
such unhappy chance, in fact, it owed its origin.
It was originally a factory for colour-grinding, be-
longing to a Mr. Scott, and advantage was taken
of the material being on the spot to paint some
rough scenes and get up an amateur theatre, in
which Theodore Hook, with other celebrities of the
day, then often acted. It was afterwards gradually
patched up as a public theatre,and Sir Walter Scott
with Ballantyne, his printer, both lost their money
in supporting its manager. Its subsequent career
is too well known to recapitulate here, though it
has always been a marvel with a large section
of the public how a theatre so utterly unsuited
to its purpose, so cramped, comfortless, and
even dangerous to its occupants, could have
attained the immense popularity which it has so
long enjoyed. The new theatre, with the excep-
tion of the enlargements which have been made,
stands on the same site as the old. By excavating
the pit to the level of the Strand pavement, instead
of having it, as formerly, more than 10 feet above
it, and by carrying the roof a little higher, an
addition of some 25 feet is gained in the clear height
of the 'interior, and, of course, this important
enlargement is at once manifested in the lofty and
imposing effect of the tiers of boxes. The wall on
the western side, though rebuilt, is in the same
position as that which it replaced, but the eastern
wall has been moved some 30 feet further away, so
that, in fact, the area of the interior has been very
nearly doubled. Thus, the width between the boxes
is now 44 feet, 6 feet wider than the Lyceum, and
nearly 12 feet wider than the Olympic theatre.
The total length of the whole of the new building
is about 110 feet by 70, almost the largest minor
theatre in London, and this space is so carefully
and judiciously broken that the idea of space is
entirely removed, and the audience see only a series
of most graceful curves marking the line of the
boxes, and the 'fronts of which are so decorated as
to make them the richest and most effective por-
tions of its internal architecture.
The old entrance from the Strand still remains,
and through this the audience pass at once to the
level of the pit, which, as we have said, is nearly
twice the size of the old one. The part nearest the
orchestra is railed off for three rows of orchestra
stalls, each seat in which is an ample and well-
padded armchair, and gives the same dimensions
for perfect comfort to the occupant as is afforded
by the pit stalls at Covent-garden. Behind these
are four rows of pit stalls, the charge for each of
which is only 25.; while admission to the body of
the pit will be reduced to ls. 6d. Above the pit
is the first tier of boxes, or rather the balcony,
which projects six feet beyond the iron columns
which carry the other tiers. In this balcony are
two rows of seats, each of 1 foot 10 inches wide by
16 inches deep, with the backs sloping 4-1- inches
instead of two inches, the usual allowance at other
places of amusement. The front of this balcony is
a light and exquisitely wrought iron railing deco-
rated with white and gold, and with interstices
sufficiently wide to allow the varied colours of the
ladies' dresses to be plainly seen. Behind the
balcony, on a level as to projection with the tiers
above, is a row of public or private boxes, accord-
ing as one is taken for the night by a party, or
occupied by ladies or gentlemen who may prefer
being placed there. Beautiful spiral cast-iron
columns, with elaborate capitals in white and gold,
support the upper tier. The front of this is en-
riched with white and gold decorations, with panels
in bas-relief representing the figures of the Muses.
The sitting accommodation here is equal to that in
the stalls below, as may be judged from the fact
that the whole of this portion is only required to
accommodate 135 persons. Above this, and sup-
ported
by the same kind of columns, is the gallery
tier for gallery stalls. The price of admission to
these will also be extremely low, though the seats
are in no respect inferior in point of room or view
of the stage to any others in the theatre. The
front of this tier is also exceedingly handsome, and
adorned in panels with medallion portraits of the
chief dramatic authors who have contributed so
much to the proverbial success of Adelphi perform-
ances. Behind this is the gallery proper, with the
usual side galleries, every part being constructed
with the same regard to comfort and a good view
of the stage. In order to secure the latter import-
ant object a point of the stage 35 feet from the
front was taken as the centre, and from this the
seats were ranged, so that the radius of each is
unbroken by any obstacle. The ceiling is in
what may be called the Genoese style, but
the admirable effect of Mr. Sang's decorations
impart a lofty dome-like aspect to it, which en-
hances the appearance of the whole interior. Look-
ing from the pit, it is difficult to believe that the
ceiling is not a high dome, and the excellent paint-
ings of the four seasons, with the emblematic fruits
and flowers appropriate to each, aid this illusion to
the fullest. On the west side of the proscenium is
the Queen's box, on the east that of the Prince of
Wales. Each of these is as large as a well-sized
modern drawing-room, and the richness of their
appearance is increased by the fronts having balus-
trades of the most brilliant cut glass. The effect of
this handsome but novel style of decoration will be
beautiful, and, to carry it out to the fullest extent
of which it is capable, the execution has been en-
trusted to Messrs. Defries and Sons, whose artistic
labours in glass manufacture have done so much to
enhance the beauty of all our London theatres.
The whole of the proscenium, and the ceiling im-
mediately over it, is covered with bold yet delicate
traceries in white and gold, which preserve the
beauty of detail without detracting from the har-
mony of the whole. The proscenium itself is 38
feet high by 35 feet wide—several feet larger each
way than the proscenium of either the Lyceum,
Olympic, or Princess's. The .whole theatre has
sitting seats for 1,500 persons, but this estimate
allows such ample accommodation for each that one
may fairly say the new building will accommodate
2,000 with far greater comfort to themselves than
ever the old one did one-half of that number. The
Mode of lighting is simple but brilliant in the ex-
treme, the whole building being illuminated
from the ceiling :with one of Stroud's patent sun-
lights. The light itself is concealed, though its
effect is increased by an exquisitely formed chan-
delier—a glittering mass of cut glass coronets, pris-
matic feathers, lustres, and spangles, and which has
also been designed and furnished by Defries and
Sons, and reflects the highest credit on their taste
and skill.

But it is not alone with arehiteetu •al or decora-
tive improvements that Mr. Webster has contented
himself in catering for. the public in his new build-