The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-28 00:00:00

SURREY.

The inhabitants of the Surrey side of the Thames,
and not a few on the opposite side, naturally expect
an extraordinary treat at this old resort for thea-
trical entertainment during the various holiday sea-
sons of the year. The house last night afforded a
spectacle of unusual interest, both as regards the
pieces announced and the manner in which they
were produced. We have seldom seen so large an
audience. It may safely be said that there was not a
single seat in the galleries, the pit, or the more aris-
tocratic parts of the theatre, which was not occupied
at the commencement of the performance. What be-
came of those who had determined to patronise it at
half-price is a question which we lease them to
answer. But we must say a word or two as to the
bill of fare which created so eager an appetite. The
first piece was a new and original domestic
drama (in three acts) by an author of celebrity
(they might safely mention his name in future at the
Surrey)—entitled The Instrument of Torture ; or,
The Needle and its Victims. As will be guessed from
the title, the plot of the piece was founded chiefly on
the sufferings of a sempstress, and many allusions
were scattered through the piece to the various facts
which have recently been made known inc2nnection
with the distressed needlewomen of the metropolis.
A worthy old gentleman, named Abraham' Bags, an
old clothesman in the Minories, of the Hebrew per-
suasion, is the employer of the heroine of the play,
whose adventures, though they extend beyond the
needle, are closely connected with that " instrument
of torture" up to the close of the piece. By the bye, this
old Bags puts forth a remark which may be worthy of
being remembered, namely, that himself and his frater-
nity are, after all, not so guilty as respects this matter as
some who profess to pity the case of the sufferers, or
at least that they share the guilt with those who are
not willing to pay a remunerating price for their
:;arments. A word to those who profess pity should
be as weighty as a word to the wise. The piece was
listened to throughout with marked interest ; and on
the falling of the curtain the announcement of its
repetition was received with cheering from all parts
of the theatre. Next came a new tragic-comical,
operatic, historical burlesque, in one act, entitled
Creorgy Barnwell; or, the Unfortunate London Ap-
prentice, a very pretty burlesque, indeed, and one
which told well with the audience. In order to avoid
the incongruity of a real murder, the uncle was stabbed
with a pair of tailor's scissors, which, instead of killing
trim, entered a box of Holloway's pills, which he carried
in his pocket ; and thiS contrivance prepared the way
for a very satisfactory termination, as a part of
which the repetition of the piece was announced. A
Grand Visionary Fairy Spectacle, in two acts, en-
titled The Spirit of the Snow Drift; or, the Frozen
Charm, concluded the entertainments of the evening.
Mortals and immortals, fairies, sylphs, ruined towers,
and old oak chambers, in turn, varied the scene, and
did their best to make the beholders forget the mo-
notony of their every-day occupations. We cannot
speak too highly of the getting up of the above pieces.
The acting, too, was excellent, and afforded, to all
appearances, universal satisfaction. We have little
doubt that this theatre, while conducted as it is at
present, will maintain its long-standing popularity.

VICTORIA THEATRE.
The holiday folk assembled last night at this well-
known house in great numbers, but unfortunately,
through the peccadillo of one of the members of the
corps dramatique, they were doomed to be disap-
pointed. A piece, which was not produced, had been
for several days previously announced in the attrac-
tive phraseology, and conspicuously varied type of an
unusually large-sized playbill, to be in preparation
for commencing the evening's entertainments, and of
course much was anticipated, and, as a natural
iequence, many were disappointed. The piece was
Mated to be " a new historical drama, in three acts,
)I.eceded by a prefatory introduction in one act, en-
titled Hugo Maurarert, or the Poison King;" but as
the chief character had been entrustea to It
who had, within a few hours of the opening of the
doors, eloped, as it was rumoured, with the fair pro-
prietress of the saloon attached to the theatre, the
:audience were treated to the following notice instead
9f the historical drama :
" The public are respectfully informed that in conse-
quence of Mr. Freer having so suddenly and unjustifi-
ably withdrawn himself from the theatre, even at the
notice of a few hours only, it will be impossible to per-
t irm, for the present, the drama of Hugo Maura-
,,ert, as already advertised. The manager, therefore,
throws himself on the indulgence of the audience, and, in
giving this public notice, begs to announce that on this
evening, Monday, May 27, will be performed the cele-
brated play of the Stranger."
This at first produced a slight convulsion ; but the
excellent acting of Mr. Osbaldiston and Miss Vin-
cent soon restored order, and the evening passed
away with animation and good humour. Subse-
quently to The Stranger, two pieces were presented,
the first called Cm ' sar the Dutch Dog of the Castle,
and the second The Parting Kiss. Of the former,
the less said the better. It reflects no merit on the
author, while its incidents are a libel on the taste and
general good judgment of the indefatigable manager.
The last is a tvk,)o act nautical drama, of the old
school, being plentifully interspersed with music,
broad-sword combats, and abounding largely in ma-
rine scenic effects.

QUEEN'S.
Mr. C. J. James, the enterprising lessee of this
popular little house, has brought several novelties he-
fare his Whitsun-holiday patrons. These comprise
every range of character, from the melancholy mur-
derer, the admired of the gods, to the " gay Lothario,"
the delight of the little ladies in the boxes. The
amusements of the evening commenced with a new
piece, written by Mrs. Hallett for the Queen's, entitled
Chester Fair, or the Provheey. The play is cast in
that troubled age, when ales was as yet uncon-
quered by England, and it opens with a view of the
fair in Chester market-place. The bustle of such a
scene is well enacted, and the diversified groups of
jongleurs, harpers, glee-maidens, and dancing-girls,
come up to our ideas of a merry-making in the
olden times. Sir Roger Dutton (Mr. J. Parry), the
High Steward of Chester, mixes with the motley
crowd, and is by a fortune-teller informed that he
will fight a duel for a dancing-girl, that by so doing
he will render his ladye love jealous, but that ulti-
mately " he will win her by timely rescuing her from
the Welshman, with a tattered army." The doughty
Knight fulfils the first part of the prophecy by res-
cuing Marian (Miss Stoker), a peasant girl, from the
hands of Chief Justice Glanville (Mr. Rogers), thus
securing the gratitude of her lover, Allan (Mr. Rey-
nolds), a minstrel, who has considerable influence
with the mobocracy of the fair. So far so good ; but
unfortunately the hero's ladye love, Mary de Lacy
(Miss Rogers), fired by her lover's supposed unfaith-
fulness, flies her father's castle, and takes refuge with
Earl Randolph (Mr. Renard), in his.castle of.Rothelan,
on the borders of Wales, the very worst place, as it
happens, to which she could have fled, as it is imme-
diately afterwards invested by the Welsh moun-
taineers. This calamity has its advantages: however,
for it gives Sir Roger Dutton an opportunity
.of ful-
filling the last link in the prophecy, by defeating her
enemies with the very ragged gentlemen who had
been enjoying themselves at Chester fair. Such is
the outline of the plot. It was a bustling thing
throughout, and the actors seemed at home
in their parts. Mr. Parry and Miss Romer,
with Mr. Hodson, who . personifies a drunken
Irish fiddler, were particularly happy. The
unities were not always well
.preserved by the
authoress, but, as a whole, the piece was very Auc-
cessful. This was followed by " a drama of intense
interest," called The Vision of Death, or the Post-
house on the Heath, which seemed to go off rather
flatly. The amusing burletta of Devils in the Room
succeeded; and the bill of fare was wound up by a
melo-drama, by Mr. Barnett, entitled The Skeleton
Hand, or the Demon Statue. The name will give the
reader an idea of the " glamourie" compressed into the
two acts. We have forests and caves innumerable,
banditti above number ; interesting gallants in cloaks
and dominos ; supernatural appearances and—the
Polka dance ! The performances throughout the
evening seemed to give general satisfaction ;
house was respectably filled, and the audience in the
upper tiers much more quiet than might have been
anticipated on a Whit Monday.

OLYMPIC.
Mr. G. Wild gratified the holiday-makers last
night, by a revival, or reproduction, of that panto-
mime of pantomimes; Mother Goose, which Creorge
the Third patronised above all others, and which
Lord Eldon—the always-doubting and never-deciding
Lord Eldon—went fourteen times to see. We be-
lieve its glories from tradition only, for we never saw
it ; and as Joe Grimaldi is gone, and the manuscript