The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-06 00:00:00

ADELPHI THEATRE.

A dramatic version of Charles Dickens's Christmas
Carol was produced at this theatre last evening, with
the most complete success. All the incidents in the
" Carol" are preserved, and are presented in a series of
tableaux, which are most efficiently got up. Mr.
Fizziwig's ball, which closed the first stave or act,
was excellently managed, and vociferously encored.
0. Smith was Scrooge, the miser, and certainly his
Scrooge is one of the most artistical things we have
ever seen. He enters thoroughly into the spirit
of his author throughout. In the earlier scenes,
as the sordid, calculating, money-getting hunx
—the hater of every innocent amusement—he
was, indeed, the man of the frozen heart ; and then,
at the close, when he discovers that even money may
be bought too dearly, that all his avarice is bnt folly,
or something worse, that there is a happiness beyond
what money can purchase, and determines to make
that happiness his, by making those about him happy
—when his heart thaws, and the remembrances of the
better feelings of his youth come crowding on his
memory, there was a mellowness, a warmth, a hearti-
ness, a pathos about his acting which we never re-
member to have observed in him before, and for the
possession of which we had never given him credit.
His Scrooge is a first-rate piece of acting, and it is
worth a visit to this theatre to see that alone.
The other characters were all well supported.
Wright's Bob Crutchit, the half-starved clerk, was
admirable—his look, his manner, his dress, his atti-
tudes, all were in keeping. Nothing could be better
than Bob's Christmas family dinner party. Mrs.
Crutchit (excellently acted by Mrs. F. Mathews),
Peter, Martha, and though last, not least, poor little
Tiny Tim, all were there, and all were happy. Tiny
Tim was beautifully acted by little Miss Maynard.
This child is exceedingly talented ; there is a truth to
nature in her delineation of this most interesting charac-
ter, a quiet intensity of feeling which she could never
have acquired from teaching. The mite en scene of the
piece is beyond all praise, and it will doubtless have
a long run. 0. Smith was called for at the fall of
the curtain, and when he retired there were loud
calls for Wright, who also made his appearance, lead-
ing on little Miss Maynard. They were both loudly
applauded. The house was exceedingly well filled.
ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE.

Romeo and Juliet was produced at this theatre last
night. It would be unfair to pass a harsh opinion
upon Mr. Harvey Tuckett's Mercutio, as the bills
announced that Henry the Fourth was postponed for
a short time in consequence of that gentleman having
a severe cold, which announcement was confirmed by
his performance• He evidently laboured under phy-
sical inconvenience ; but there were occasionally skil-
ful, and even brilliant, points in his performance,
which lead us to infer that he will, by practice and
attention to his art, become a superior actor. Mr.
Wentworth looked Romeo, but his delivery of many
of the love passages evoked contrasts, which the
memory abundantly supplied. The Juliet of Miss
Angell was a very creditable performance. She
played the love-sick girl with feeling and taste, un-
divested of "rant," and that is saying much now-a-
days, when " mouthing" and " ranting" seem in the
ascendant, and are the ready means to win the au-
diences' applause. The house was well attended.