The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-27 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE.

" Bravo, Chatterton ! " so said one of the largest
audiences ever assembled in Old Drury last evening ;
and so say we, for most certainly the grand Christ-
mas annual submitted for the gratification
of the holiday folks is one of the most extraordi-
narily brilliant spectacles ever produced at this
theatre, now so celebrated for Christmaspantomime.
The great and jovial audience having most good-
naturedly sat out the short farce of " A Day After
the Wedding," the appearance of Mr. Tully in the
orchestra was loudly cheered, and on his gently tap-
ping the music- stand as a signal for the commence-
ment of the overture to the pantomime; the cheer-
ing was renewed again and again. The over-
ture is invariably a great feature to en-
tertainments on Boxing-night at Drury-lane,
as the gods invariably appropriate the popular airs
of which it is composed for a display of their vocal
powers. The opening strains were listened to atten-
tively, but when the air of the " Mousetrap Man"
broke upon the ear it was immediately taken up by
the jolly Christmas party above, and one and all
joined in merry chorus. The air " Champagne
Charlie" also afforded another opportunity for
vocal display ; and certainly Mr. 'fully has every
reason to be satisfied with the admirable manner in
which the great chorus of about 2,000 voices kept
time under his baton, more especially with "When
Johnny Comes Marching Home." The author, Mr. E.
L. Blanchard, has taken for the basis of his produc-
tion a well-known German legend, and the title
under which his piece is presented is "Number
Nip ; or, Harlequin and the Gnome King of the
Giant Mountain." The proper characteristics of the
German Elf and the scene of his mischievous
tricks are followed in the pantomime, and the
pencil
.of Mr. William Beverley has done every-
thing that Could be desired in the way of effective
illustration. A scene near the outset representing
" the Willow Island of the Drachenfels " and the
Rhine by moonlight at once stamped the piece with
popular approval, and the succeeding pictures were
equally good. Number Nip was cleverly embodied
by Master Percy Roselle, and the Rhenish fairy
Pipulee by Miss Lydia Thompson ; while as the
piece progressed Tom Matthews surpassed himself
by his ludicrous performance of the Silesian farmer,
Hans. Mr. E. Clifton, as Gammer Grethel, the
farmer's wife ; Mrs. 11. Vandenhoff, as Romance ;
Miss E. Bodenham, as Burlesque ; Miss Hudspeth,
as Nymphalia, Queen of the Water Fairies ; Miss
Seymour, as the Princess of Silesia, and Mr. C. Sey-
mour, as her grotesque suitor, all ably:contributed
their services. Mr. Fitzjames, as Count Hosschesnutz,
chief minister of the Prince, and Mr. Robins, as his
fat equerry—a 22-stunner, as he announced himself
to be—kept the audience in the most exuberant
good-humour. The story is introduced by an alle-
gorical scene, in which there is a bantering dialogue
between Romance and Burlesque on the popular
tastes and follies of the time. The succeeding bal-
let, which takes place on the island already men-
tioned, is an admirable representation, and its won-
drous variations elicited loud and repeated plaudits,
a large portion of which was bestowed on the prin-
cipal danseuse, Mdlle. Ferena Stussey, of the Royal
Opera, Dresden. Iu this ballet scene, it appears
that if Numbor Nip, who takes a new form every
winter, can be made to fall in love, and wooed into
matrimony, he will thenceforth be unable to change,
this being a legendary symbol of constancy. Hav-
ing been transformed into a ploughboy, and taken
service with Hans, the Silesian farmer, who culti-
vates the valley of the Giant Mountain, Nip plays
a number of goblin pranks with the crops and trea-
sures of the homestead. The palace of the Gnome
King in the centre of the mountain, to which he
bears off the Silesian Princess, is succeeded by a
wonderful scene in the cotter's dwelling, where 100
little nixies, or German Elves, perform astonishing
feats in shoemaking and tailoring. The giant moun-
tain itself, frowning gloomily on the spectators, is
at length exchanged for the transformation scene,
in which the nuptials of Number Nip with the Prin-
cess are celebrated. The pictorial climax of the
story is really a most brilliant spectacle, realising all
the most dazzling effects of fairy illustration, and
one that completely defies adequate description. At
the back of the stage a large fairy palace of crystal
rises from a bright and placid lake, composed of
the same material, and hundreds of water fays,
floating, flying, and drifting in all directions amidst
a shower of sparkling diamonds, make up a scene
of magic splendour unparalleled in stage illusion.
The audience were in ecstacies; and, in obedience to
an enthusiastic call, Mr. Beverley, the painter, and
Mr. Chatterton, the lessee, had to make their ap-
pearance and bow their acknowledgments to the
hurricane of applause their transformation elicited.
In what follows capital service is done by Messrs. H.
Boleno and C. Lauri, as clowns ; Messrs. Barnes
and J. Morris, as pantaloons; Messrs. Cormack
and S. Saville, as harlequins ; and Madame Boleno
and Madlle. Adele Marion, as columbines. The tricks
and frolics of the pantomime were of theliveliest order.
Among the objects of fun are the " Christmas waits,"
and the ladies' chignons, the latter being presented
under most varied and amusing aspects ; while
the now chimney-pot hats of the other sex are
seen enormously prolonged. An omnibus marked
" Turnham-greenm is magically turned into a
greengrocer's shop, a gigantic sherry cobler into
a youthful son of St. Crispin, and there are
many 'other surprising changes. In " Clown's
Chambers" we are treated with some capital
novel tricks in that well-used department, winding
up with a wonderful scene, iu which Clown's bed
revolves with him, and pictures and other articles
in Ole room are in the wildest possible mood. In
the course of the pantomime there is a capital drum
performance by a tiny infant, and an astonishing
exhibition in which a male performer spins a loose
flabby cap with a stick, under every possible attitude,
standing or sitting. It should be added that the well
known artist Dykwynkyn employed his talents on
the masks and allegorical devices, and that his
efforts afforded the greatest satisfaction. Another
good feature remains to be noticed--the perform-
ance terminated by about half-past 11.