The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-28 00:00:00

(From the Times)

The audience which assembled at this theatre on
Saturday evening to do honour to Boxing night was one
which might well gratify the eyes and gladden the heart
of a manager. It was made evident that no tightness
in the money-market can deter the lovers of pantomime
from celebrating this their fete par excellence, for the
opening of the doors was the signal for a general rush,
which in a very short time filled the theatre from pit to
ceiling. The large assemblage, however, conducted
itself with the utmost decorum, and but for the
crowd and the number of juvenile faces the ab-
sence of the usual noisy demonstration from the
inhabitants of the upper regions might have led any
one to doubt whether we were going, as our friends
on the other side of the Channel say, to "assist"
at the inauguration of a Christmas pantomime.
One gentleman, indeed, under the influence of the
drama or of drama, thinking that his genius for the
mimic art excelled that of the actors on the stage, during
the progres' of one of the acts of the first piece treated
the company to a different reading of the play, but his
efforts Xi& amateur were brought to an igeominous ter-
tnination, for they elided in his summary eviction from
the theatre, and conseq'ient loss of the pantomime, but
whether he continued his oration fer the benefit of the
neighbouring c ,bstand this deponent knoweth not. The
first piece performed was Mr. Morton's comedy of
" Speed the Plough," which, strange to say, considering
the occasion, was listened to with great attention, and,
stranger still, a rustic dance in the second act was actu-
ally encored—a fact perhaps without a parallel in the
annals of Boxing night. At the close of the comedy it
wa' evident that every one considered that the real i
business of the evening war about to commence, and after
a short interval the symptoms of impatience which had
become very apparent and very noisy among the dii
majores were put an end to by the orchestra performing
an ovetture arranged by Mr. Spillane, and which com-
prised a very judicious selection of popular airs. Tee
pantomime, which is from the pen of Mr. Buckstone, is
entitled "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, or Harle-
quin and the Spiteful Fairy," and is founded upon the
well-known story of the Sleeping Beauty, the produc-
tion we believe of Monsieur Perrault. The opening

introduces the spectator to that particular por-
tion of the residence of a king and queen,
who had been married for many years without
having any children, which is generally the last part
of a house to which strangers are admitted—namely,
the nursery ; and the royal baby who has at length
blessed their hopes is discovered under the care
of the royal nurses, Sairey Gamp, Betsey Prig, and the
, finally discovered Mrs. Harris. Great was the royal gra-
tification, and, in order to celebrate in a becoming
manner so auspicious an event, invitations are despatched
to all the fairies of standing in the neighbourhood re-
questing them to stand godmothers to the princess. One
old fairy, however, whose general amiability of character
and disposition had earned for her the sobri pet of Old
Spiteful, was accidentally or designedly omitted from the
list, and therefore, bent upon revenge, acts the part of a
wet blanket upon the occasion of the presentation of pre-
sents upon christening, making her appearance and de-
claring that when the princess arrived at woman's estate
she would prick her finger with a spindle and die in
consequence. Wickedness at least in a pantomime is
always doomed to disappointment, and the vengeance of
old Spiteful is frustrated by the superior power of a
beneficent fairy, who promises so to arrange affairs that
the princess should not die, but only sleep 100 years,
then to be awakened by a King's son, who, of course,
was to fall in love with her at sight. The King forbids
the use of spindles throughout the land, but it is impos-
sible to avoid destiny, so that when the Princess grows
up she escapes from the guardianship of the {Paternal
eye, and, finding an old woman spinning, in her endea-
vours to assist her she receives the fatal wound. She
falls asleep, and with her, to keep company are all the
Maids of Honour, gentlemen, officers, stewards, cooks,
scullions, running footmen, guards, raters, pages, and
valets. The hundred years, although a lengthened period
for a nap, is not interminable, and in due course the
King's son arrives, becomes enamoured of her, wakes
her, and chains her as his bride. O'd,Spitefnl, however,
- vows to destroy theirhappinees, and upon the arrival of tam
fairy the transformation takes place. Old Spiteful
becomes Pantaloon, one of her familiars Clown, the
fairy Columbine, and the Prin,e himself flarl,quin, Lbs
final result, of coiree, being the triumph of the Prince
a el Princess who are made happy by the friendly fairy,
' Such is the outline of the story, aryl the opening scene
displays 01(1 Spiteful (S'lr. Clark) seated on a warm
gridiron, which unpleasant position she has, been com-
pelled to occupy for 16 years, but release is ar ba 4. and
some unknown agent frees her from her uneasy chair.
We then have the royal nursery and the model nurses—
Sairey Gamp, Betsy Prig, and Mr-, Harris, who grea-ly
delight the younger members of the audience by the gro-
tesque and ludicrous manner in which they first perform
the duties of their nursery office, and then get c iinftrt
able after—very drunk indeed upon tea. In the visit of
the royal parents to the 'nursery the remarks of their
utteedants created a great deal of euerritn,nt, after which
we are introduced to little fairies, middle-sized fairies,
and large fairies, who, under the Samphire cliffs of fairy
land, are celebrating the joyous event of the birth of the
princess. The banquetting-hall of silver columns is a
striking piece of scenery, and here the spiteful fairy
makes her appearance and utters her weird prophecy.
We are then carried on in gradual stages to the awaken- '
ing of the princess, and are introduced to the golden
groves of the seven fairies, and amaranthine arcades,
which constitute the transformation scene. Then begins
the comic business, the whole piece terminating with a
view of a baronial hall, with Christmas as celebrated in
the olden times. It is rarely that on the first represen-
tation of the pantomime everything works well, and
those little delays, which appear almost inevitable, un- '
doubtedly occurred on Saturday. In the preparation !
of one scene—the golden groves—so great was the delay
that the audience displayed unmistakeable signs of im 1
patience, but they were quickly appeased by the com- I
pletion of the tableaux, a magnificent spectacle, which
reminded one of the gorgeous magnificence of the Lyceum
under the management of the late Madame Veetris. It
is but justice to say that the scenery, which is painted 1
by Mr. Calcott, is very effective, and in the scene of the '
Golden Groves the artist received the well-merited
tribute of a call. As regards the harlequinade, the
tricks are neither very novel nor very numerous, but
the dances are exceedingly well arranged, and the parts
of Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon, and Clown
are most effectively filled by Mr. A. Leclercq, Miss
Fanny Wright, Mr. Mackay, and Mr. Charles Leclercq.
We must not omit to add that, among the other advan-
tages of the Christmas entertainments at this theatre
there is this great one, they are brought to a conclusion
at a seasonable hour.

PRINCESS'S.

The title of the piece de resistance for the Christmas
holidays at this elegant little theatre in Oxford.,treet, is
" Harlequin and the White Cat ; or the Princess Blanche-
flower and her Fairy God mothers"—and, for beauty of
scenery, taste and splendour of costume, and general
effectiveness, it must maintain a foremost rank amongst
the entertainments of the seasons In the opening we
have the infant . Princess at the court of her father,
King Simple Simon, monarch of the Verdant Islands,
and is accompanied by the well-remembered incident of
the spiteful Dragonetta, in revenge for not being
invited threatening vengeance on the babe. How this
action goes on to execution by the transformation
of her and her Biz attendants into white cats, and
how the king is changed into a rat, is pleasantly
demonstrated by the skill of the mechanist. The
White Cat has sat in the lapse of sixteen years, when
we meet with one Downinthemoutb, King of the Oh !
Oh 1 Islands, who proposes to his three sons that it
one of then will bring him the largest pearl in the
world, and show him the figure of a lovely young prin-
cess of sixteen, of whom no mortal has had a peep, he
will abdicate his throne in favour of the fortunate finder.
The conditions are fulfilled by the pearl being given by
King Salmon, who is caught with a hook, and who re-
deems his life by the early pearl offered fi.r it, and the
Princess being disenchanted of her feline form according
to the original story. In the transformati n scene the
acme of elaborate splendour is reached, in the pro-
duction of "the Fairy Christmas Tree." which
became gradual), expanded, and became daziing by the
gliltening ornaments upon it, and the glittering of the
gorgeously-dressed ladies amongst its branches.. This
scene, as a work of art and as a graceful design trace-
fully wrought out, elicited quite a tumult of applAuse.
Miss Kate Terry, who has rapidly shot up from fa Ey k ol
into a tall, grac .ful girl, with high promise of being
speedily distinguished as an excellent artist, was The
White Cat, and the fortunate Prince was most amusingly
enacted by Mr. Saker, whose copiousness of broad hu-
mour is invaluable in such extravagant characters. Mr.
Cormack was., as usual, a superlative Harlequin, and
Miss C. Adams a most charming Columbine. Little
Huline, the elfin Clown, achieved many marvellous
gymnastic feats, and Vie veteran Pau'o bore with impe-
netrable hide a bountiful amount of buffets and mishaps.
The masterly arrangement of the choregraphic depart-
ment reflects exceeding credit upon Mr. Cormack,
whose value and ability as a maitre de ballet are specially
evinced in the Fairy Dance in the first scene, and in a
dance of hop-pickers, entitled " La Garlandaise," sin-
gularly pretty and picturesque, and which was greatly
applauded. A clog dance by Mr. Huline, and a rattling
performance by Mr, Woodhouse on the new regulation
drum were received with best favour. Notwithstanding
the customary impatience of the " gods" on a Boxing.
night, the never-fading attractions of the "Corsican
Brothers" commanded their reverential behaviour, and
the incomparable aoting of Mr. C. Kean, in a part
which he has made his own as much as he has that of
" Louie the Eleventh" or "Richard the Second," has
lost none of its enthralling powers over the sympathies
of the Princess's audience,