The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-27 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE.

On " boxing night" one;;;;l1;Zits the theatre
for the purpose of witnessing the scenery, the gro-
tesque figures, the allusions to the events of the times,
and the antics which have remained to us from a
simple antiquity in the displays of Harlequin and
Columbine and Clown—one usually expects to see
such things on this long-looked for night—but at the
Surrey, besides an excellent pantomime, which has
been got up with great skill and effect, there was an
original performance, called The Seven Ages of
Man, or the. End of Crime. This piece has one con-
siderable merit, that it has a moral object, which, if
the piece does not exhibit very well, it at least illustrates
it very clearly. It shows how a person badly brought
up becomes a prey to his own uncurbed passions, how he
readily falls into the vices or crimes of society, till he
at last terminates his career by the gallows, transpor-
tation, or his own hand. Such a character is John
Heartless, who has been, successively, seducer,
gambler, deserter from the army, and robber; he
has, in fact, run round the whole circle of crimes,
from youthful drunkenness to murder in old age, when
the scene drops upon him, and we would hazard no
dangerous conjecture in saying that an Old Bailey
jury found him guilty, and that there was no chance
for a reprieve. We have allowed this piece its best
merit in saying it has the moral object of deterring
people from the commission of crime. The drama is
stated to be founded on Shakspere's Seven Ages.
Poor Shakspere I We can more readily ap-
plaud the comic pantomime called Pounds,
Shillings, D. It has been
and Pence, or X. S.
got up and written by Mr. Nelson Lee, and the I
scenery and dresses were really very creditable.
Like the first piece, the pantomime had the very
good object of teaching the audience the value of
pence, and the certainty of those who take care of
them getting into the palace of sovereigns. The
copper scenery was done by Mr. Brown, and was
very well executed. Harlequin (Mr. IV. H. Harvey),
Clown (Mr. T. Ridgway), Columbine (Miss Slater),
and Pantaloon (Mr. 11. Corri), were acted in a manner
reflecting great credit on the performers of those
parts. Throughout the piece there were some very
happy allusions, principally of a local character,
which were duly appreciated by the audience,
and caused great delight. In a scene repre-
senting the Surrey Zoological Gardens, Herr
Von Joel appeared, and gave some of his sur-
prising imitations of birds and beasts, which were
received with great gusto and applause. On the
whole, the pantomime was very good and successful,
and we shall be surprised if X. S. D. does not turn
out very prolific, and reproduce its own name abun-
dantly. The house, on the present occasion, was
crowded to overflowing.

VICTORIA THEATI?E.
The performances commenced at this theatre last
night with a domestic drama, entitled, Poverty, or a

Tale of Sorrow, the principal characters in which
were ably personated by Mr. Henry Howard, Mr. J.
T. Johnson, from the Surrey Theatre, his first ap-
pearance here, Mr. Searle, Mr. John llerbert, Miss
Vincent, and Miss E. Terry, also from the Surrey
Theatre, her first appearance on these boards. This
was followed by the laughable burletta of The Road-
side Inn, in which Miss Terrey, whn is a very clever
actress, and a great favourite with the playgoers on
the Surrey side of the water, introduced the "'Widow
Mahony," and was rapturously encored. The most
' discordant noises, however, prevented the words
which came from the mouths of the actors being
heard in the majority of the scenes, and the utmost
impatience was manifested by the audience for the
commencement of the pantomime. At length the
curtain drew up for the commencement of the new
Christmas entertainment, which bears the title of
Harlequin Hot Codlins, or the Little Old Woman and
the Demon of the Metal Mine. It is founded on the
old nursery rhyme—
" There was an old woman, her living she got,
By selling codlins—hot—hot—hot !"

Like the generality of pantomimes the plot is somewhat
vague, therefore we shall not endeavour to explain it.
The first scene introduces us to the pavilion of Po-
mona in the province of Pippins, and the opening of
the Pippin Parliament by the Queen of Apples (Miss
Terry), and was much applauded. The next scene pre-
sents a rural village at sunrise. Here we find Tol-
de-rol, a miller (afterwards Harlequin), Mr. Chapino,
in love with Fal-lal-la (afterwards Columbine)
Mdlle. Levite; Rifum Tifum, a dusty miller, father
of Tol-de-rol (afterwards Pantaloon), and Dame Tid-
dyiddy, the little old woman, mother of
are averse to the match, and at length a transforma-
tion of the characters ensues, and the fun and frolic
commences. In the scene which follows there
was an excellent hit ,at the wretched rate
which semptresses are remunerated for their labour.
One of those unfortunate females, who obtain a
wretched subsistence by their needle, brings two
shirts to her employer, over which is suspended a
placard, bearing these words, " Two shirts for a half-
penny." He gives her an I. 0. U. for two farthings,
and the Clown and Pantaloon immediately lay hold
of him, and put him into a bag, which, on being re-
moved, presents a " man of marble." The audience
caught up this allusion, and gave it one loud cheer—
a cheer expressive of the hatred of the British public
for a species of slavery which is inflicted on the young
and weak by their employers, whilst they are
amassing wealth by the wearying, wretchedly-
remunerated toil which they impose upon them.
Amongst the political events of the passing year
which were turned into ridicule were Lord
Brougham's Bill for the Abolishment of Imprison-
ment for Debt ; Prince Joinville and the bombard-
ment of Tangier ; and the espionage in the Post-
office. Several postmen were drawn up on the stage
with letters in their hands, and were drilled
in the opening of letters by the Clown (after Punch).
This created a good deal of laughter at the expense
of the Home Secretary. Prince Albert's hat and the
present Lord Mayor came in for their share of notice.
A box is brought on the stage, directed to the church-
warden of Walbrook, from which a placard is taken,
expressive of his Lordship's unaccountable propensity.
The baths for the million also were made subject of
laughter, as also were Captain 'Warner's long-range
and mesmerism, but, unfortunately, many things
intended as witticisms fell still-born upon the
audience. The scenery was very beautiful—many
of the scenes exceedingly gorgeous, more particularly
the " Kingdom of Knives," a " View of the Bay of
Trafalgar and the Victory," and the " Palace of
Fol-de-rol in the world of Song." Maddle. Levite is
a very charming Columbine, and danced with much
grace. Mr. Chapino is an agile Harlequin, and
Messrs. Cony and Blanchard (the latter of whom
was vociferously called upon by the audience to sing
" Hot Codlins" and " Tippitywitchit") sustained their
respective parts with considerable credit. With a
little judicious pruning the pantomime will no doubt
have a long run. The house was crowded, and the
audience, as is usually the case on boxing-day, was,
a good-natured one. There were about the average
number of rows in the pit and gallery, both of which
were so crowded, that it would have been a difficult
matter to have obtained access for another individual.