The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-25 00:00:00

PRIACESS'S THEATRE.

The Stralier is a play so well known to every
part of the British empire, that an observation upon
it would be almost as superfluous as upon the opera
of La Sonnambula, yet each is so exquisitely beauti-
ful, that the announcement of either is always a
guarantee for a full house. Such was the result, last
evening, of the announcement of The Stranger at the
Princess's; but no doubt the appearance of Miss
Cushman as Mrs. Haller attracted very many. She
is a young lady of great talent, and evidently under-
stood her part well, and appreciated it, too, for her
reading and acting produced a simultaneous disguise
of all the fair eyes and faces, and a display of all the
white handkerchiefs, in every box where a female
was visible. Mr. Graham's Stranger was a
good piece of acting, and such as proves
him to be a man of no inconsiderable ta-
lent; and both he and Miss Cushman were
well supported, and did not elicit a whit more ap-
plause than they merited, though it was loud and
long-continued. The new " Grand oriental burlesque
Extravaganza" was very beautifully got up ; the
talent of the painters to whom was entrusted the exe-
cution of the scenic department of the display, was
here most effectively brought out—the distances,
lights, wood, water, and perspective, were distributed,
softened, and fixed in a manner so skilful and true to
nature, as to rivet the gaze, deceive the senses, and
elicit an involuntary burst of admiration. It opened
with a view of an oriental palace supported on arches,
beneath which appeared to flow water between arti-
ficial marble embankments, until all disappeared in
the distant meeting of the horizon. Then came a
moonlight scene of beauty still more exquisite but not
less perfect ; while the crowded corps dramatique
heightened the coup d'ceil to an effect almost magical.
The author of the piece deserves much credit for the
terse sentences and home and witty hits he has made,
of the truth and facetiousness of which the audience
admitted many proofs by their repeated plaudits.
The couplets took occasional sly hits at the state of
" things as they are," such as when Timour was
taunted with not attempting to lay siege to England,
" Where might be reaped a harvest rich and good."
The mighty monarch compassionately exclaimed
"But then her walls are only made of wood,
"Yet if he did begin, he'd make them rue it.'
Whereupon his right-hand man put in an (aside)
" So Joinville said—l'd like to see him do it."
The scene then changed to a burlesque tournament,
the Largesse of which the King Timour gave forth in
these words, pipe in hand :
" Now, Heralds, blow, and blow it long and loud ;
"And while ye raise a dust, I'll blow a cloud."
The spirit of the piece was kept up with unabated
vigour to the end, near which the heroine, in reply to
an innuendo from the Grand Vizier, expresses her
doubts that
"A minister with power could ere abase it."
" Aye, quoth the V. do any thing but lose it."
" I will resist him, despite all his terror,
And make him know the law by writ of error."
" Be careful, madame—Don't increase his fury;
For if you do, he'll challenge all the jury.'
The piece had not concluded by twelve o'clock, and
up to that time the interest and amusement it created
and kept alive were such, that not a seat was vacated
until the curtain dropped.

SADLER'S WELLS.
The even course of the highly talented directors of
this renovated and now classical theatre, Mrs. War-
ner and Mr. Phelps, proceeds, unruffled by joyous
bursts of holiday extravagance, and undiverted by the
wild sports of periodical pantomime, which come
timely and in their season to relieve the dulness, and
briefly raise the hopes of those once great houses, from
which the spirits of Shakspeare, Massinger, and
Otway have long since fled, to find at last a re-
cognised temple and fitting worshippers upon the
banks of the New River. It seemed a bold attempt
to restore Shakspeare to his genuine granleur, and
to present the true play of King Richard the Third,
from the original text, upon the boards of Sadler's
Wells--real Shakspeare in the place of real water !
The success was as gre at as it was unexpected, and
as the talents and spirit of the managers deserved.
The performance was fully and carefully re-
' viewed in The Sun, upon the first night
of the representation, and last night offers nothing
new for comment but the remark able fact, that
Shakespeare's Richard the Third (and not even the
profane and popular version of Cibber), attracted,
upon Easter Monday, a full, elegant, and delighted
audience. There could scarcely be a greater tribute
to the "immortal bard," or a greater compliment
to the patrons and managers of this flourishing
theatre. Mrs. Warner, in the arduous and grandly
drawn character of Margaret, Phelps as Richard, ',with
Marston, G. Bennet and J. Webster, sustained their
well-earned reputation and were rewarded with re-
peated and judicious applause. We have only to add
our hearty encouragement to the managers. "Go on
and prosper."

OLYMPIC.
This house opened for the Easter holidays with three
new pieces. '1 he first, indeed, is stated to be only an
adaptation from the American stage, by Leman Rede,
but it may with much greater truth be termed an
original drama, as not only is the dialogue re-written,
but the plot itself is considerably changed and im-
proved. The principal object intended by the
talented adapter of the piece, was to intro-
duce Mr. Marble, the eminent Transatlantic
comedian, in the character of a thorough Kentuckian,
one of the earliest settlers in the back woods, " half-
horse, half-alligator, with a pretty considerable dash
of lightning," the connecting link as it were, be-
tween the red man and the civilised dweller in the
pity. Samson Hardhead, therefore, " the game-cock
of the wilderness," is in fact the only character, the
others being merely auxiliary ; and though Mr
Marble in this, as in all his efforts, kept up the in
terest of his audience, yet we could have wished that
the stale Jonathanisms had been less frequently in-
terspersed, and that something more akin to real
life and real feelings had been substituted.
The plot is of the most common-place character.
Colonel Mereville (Mr. Mellon), a landed proprietor
on the Ohio, is attacked in his residence by a war-
party of Indians, and his son is in his presence
knocked on the head and thrown into the river.
That son is rescued, and, at an after period, proves to
be Samson Hardhead. Until the discovery is made,
however, he settles in the neighbourhood of his
father's house, forms an acquaintance with Roderick
(Mr. Binge), a young gentleman affianced to his
sister, and, as might be expected, regards with a
corresponding hatred Dorrington (Mr. F. Burton),
that friend's rival, and Clara Mereville's (Miss Field-
ing's) rejected suitor. Then there is Nance Butler,
" the Yellow Flower of the Forest," Hardhead's ina-
morata, most felicitously represented by Miss Kate
Howard. Dorrington, chagrined at the refusal of his
suit, determines on the murder of his rival ; and with
the assistance of Dodger (Mr. Tumour), afterwards
conceals the purse, &c., of his victim in the cabin of
Hardhead. The latter is taken into custody, and, on
the presumptive evidence, condemned to die, when, in
the nick of time, the Dodger informs upon his prin-
cipal ; and while he is punished all the others are re-
' warded. A petite comedy, entitled The Plague of
Plymouth, went off very trippingly, Mr. Roxby sus-
taining the principal part. Then followed a dance by
Miss Wright, very beautifully executed, so much so,