The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-09 00:00:00

LYCEUM.

This amusing little theatre opened last night for the
season under the management of Mrs. Keeley. The
house was exceedingly well attended, and the per-
formances, which consisted of three new pieces, ad-
mirably suited to the tastes of an Easter audience, went
off with great applause. The first piece was a come-
dietta in two acts, called Hasty Conclusions, and turns
upon the ludicrous mistakes made by a General Mowbray
(Diddear), who is always too apt to come to decided
conclusions upon wrong premises. Mrs. Keeley played
the part of an arch servant maid, Nancy, with admi.•
rable naivite, and by her acting saved the comedy,
which would otherwise have gone off somewhat tamely.
The Post of Honour, which followed, represented Keeley
in one of those parts in which he never fails to
make a hit—namely, in the character of a quiet,
good-humoured, but somewhat over-timid gardener,who,
by some strange ill luck, finds himself metamorphosed
into a soldier of the burgher guard in a Dutch frontier
town, in which the scene is laid. No sooner has he been
persuaded to enlist in this guard, than he is ordered to
do duty at a certain post which the French are expected
to attack, greatly to the annoyance of his sweetheart,
Trudchen (MissWoolgar), who, finding that he must needs
go, resolves on accompanying him. The scene wherein
the Burgomaster (Turner), endeavours to reconcile him
to the dangerous post, by telling him that it is a post of
honour, and that if by any miraculous chance he
escapes with his life, he will win an immortal name
in history, was acted with infinite humour, and
nothing could . surpass Keeley's mingled expression
of horror, disgust, and apprehension at the idea
of his being compelled, against his inclination, to play
the part of a hero and a patriot. When told that he
ought to rejoice rather than grieve at the thought that
he has now an opportunity of " bleeding for his
country," he replies, with a world of dry and shrewd
humour, that—thanks to the tax-gatherer—he has al-
ready bled quite enough for his country--a delicate
allusion to that upright and lenient impost, the income-
tax, which was received with shouts of laughter. The
piece concludes with Cobus Yerks's (the character
played by Keeley) successful maintenance of his post,
against a host of fanciful perils, first from the enemy,
and, secondly, from the more dreaded ghost of a despe-
rate miller, and his ultimate marriage with Trudchen.
Miss Woolgar performed a secondary part with much
archness, and Mr. Turner, as the Burgomaster,
exhibited all the phlegm and self-importanse
of a heavy Dutch dignitary. The night's
performances closed with a whimsical parody in rhyme
on the favourite Arabian story of " The Forty Thieves,"
which was got up with uncommon splendour, as regards
scenery and decoration, and bids fair to run through the
season. In this piece Keeley appeared in the cha-
racter of Hassarac, lieutenant of the band of robbers,
and sang an admirable parody, with irrisistibly ludicrous
attitudinizing, of the famous drinking-song in Der
Fvischutz. Mrs. Keeley was the maid-servant, Mor-
giana, and displayed infinite spirit and self-possession
in her performance. Miss Fairbrother made a lively
captain of banditti, who entertains the highest
possible opinion of his own personal graces, and was
called on to repeat the dances, which she went through
in a very superior style. The piece was in rhyme
throughout, and abounded in puns and smart hits at
several passing topics of the day, which , seemed to be
particularly acceptable to the Gods. We have rarely
seen an Easter spectacle which created so much amuse-
ment as this quizzical parody on the Forty Thieves,