Star.
London, England, 1826-12-27 00:00:00

THE CHRISTMAS PANTOMIMES.

COVENT GARDEN THEATRE.
The Tragedy of Jane Shore was acted at Covent-
garden Theatre last night ; the parts of Lord Hastings
and Jane More by Mr. C. KEMISLE and Mrs. SLOMAN.
After the tragedy, to the great relief of the galleries,
the annual Harlequin Pantomime was produced, under
the title of MotherShipton, or Riquet with Me Tuft r the
last of which appellations belonged to a fairy piece,
performed about two years since at Paris, in which
POTIER acted the part of Biquet (the deformed Prince)
with very great success.
The first scene, by GRIEVE, a landscape in a fog, with
a bridge over a stream iu the foreground, and mountains
in the distance, is extremely well painted ; and the fog,
clearing off, discovers Mother Shipton's cottage, with
Mr. PARSLOE, in waiting, as her favourite torn cat, and
a cock at the door, gallanting sundry hens, whose crow-
ing gave general satisfaction. From this, we proceed
to the kitchen of Prince Riquet's castle, which is a scene
extremely well imagined and arranged, as well as paint-
ed. The festivities of Christmas are "toward," and the
dinner bill exhibits more than even fairy profusion. An
enormous hog, an ox entire, and a stag, are all roasting
before one enormous fire. On the right side are coppers
smoking and steaming, out of which a plum pudding, as
large as the body of the Lord Mayor's coach, is lifted
into a platter capable of accommodating, with standing
room, half the Court of Aldermen. On the left opens
an oven, the mouth of which looks like the entrance to
Tartarus ; and, while a brood of gigantic cats feed the
fire and turn the spits, ten cooks clad in white, with Mr.
GRIMALDI at their head, souse an old Scotch Lady—the
Dowager Baroness Mae Thistledown—(afterwards the,
Pantaloon)—in the dripping-pan. In the mean time,
Prince Riquet, who becomes the Harlequin, having
delivered Allen Star, the Calontbine, from a serpent—.
who is one of the very best we ever saw upon a stage—
the customary changes take place, and the " comic
business," as it is termed, of the pantomime commences.
—The scenery continues very good ; Leith harbour by
moonlight received applause, and the forest incantation
in which Mother Shipton raises her spirits—with the
transparency shewing the flying demons, &c. in the
back ground—is a fair comic imitation of the Demon
scene in Oberon. The 'I Steam-washing" scene is not
without whim: in fact, where three women have to
duck a man in a washing tub, the situation acts itself
it is impossible not to be delighted. Another inci-
dent of violence is also pleasantly effective, where the
Dowager Lady I%lac Thistledown does wonders (in a
breakfast quarrel) with a muffin as large as the moon,
stuck upon a toasting fork as long as the Monument.
—Among the best tricks are those of Mother .:hiptors
(managed by means of a hollow figure) suddenly va-
nishing, even from out of the hands of her pursuers. The
tailor's shop, with the sign of the Golden Shears, which
cut off the Pantaloon's head,with which a Newfoundland
dog runs away. And the conversion of the Light-house
in Leith Harbour, into a sloop in full sail, which
passes (against the wind) across the stage. The
ar-
rival of the steam-packet is new, because nobody is
blown op in it ; the scene of the cranipleger's shop is,,,
what the same subject has always been upon the stage,
a failure; and the Stock Exchange story, with the
!ast lottery, Ike. except in the whim of introducing
the ghost of the " Bubble System," flying over the
ruins of his trade, is not quite so humorously dealt
with as it might have been. Some of the .incidents,
however, have a measure of comicality about them—
such as the Pantaloon's falling out of a window through
the roof of a pig-sty; and running off, pursued by the
swine mother, for having abstracted one of the sucklings
in his pocket. Mr. GRIMALDI, too, furnishes some
amusement, by putting his leg through a parlour win-
dow, as the readiest way of entering a house. Besides
these temptations, the piece has the advantage of Mr.
ELLAR'S agility as the Harlequin; Mr. BARNES is the
best Pantaloon on the stage; and Mr. WILSON and
Miss BA NNISTEH, in a scene of " the interior of
Vanxhall.gardens," dance a pas de deux upon two
tight ropes, concluding with an ascent to the top
of a tower, and a display of fireworks. A repre-
fentation was also given of the ascent of Mr.
GREEN'S balloon, in which was a young Lady from a
temporary platform over the Orchestra, which, after
,making a circumvolution of the chandelier in the centre
of the Theatre, descended again, being managed with
great ingenuity and effect. They are then seen wan-
der ing in the ruins of St. Magnus, where they are released
from their labours and received in the Gland Pavilion
of Pantomime.

The scenery for the greatest part is exceedingly well painted, par-
ticularly the opening scene—the View of Edinburgh.—The Tri-
umphal Arch erecting for the Palace in St. James's Park.—A Land-
scape—The Ruins of St. tlagnus, Ste. including the Forty Fountains,
and the splendid last scene. The tricks are exceedingly well de-
vised, and entitled to much praise-..i.ne of them, a piano forte.sent
to a tailor's daughter is changed into a concert of tailors, fiddling
and blowing Runt inharmoniously, while one with an extending
lace and up wiling eyes is warbling borrible-dikord. There is also

a I

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a very pointed aatiti upon tbsi- Ipateulators ind bubble-mOngert of
the day, among which the Greek Lain stabil* prominent. Their
offices seen open, are presented almost immediately boarded up, an
explosion is heard, the bubble has burst, and the ghost of them rises
and dissolves in air.
The music is characteristic and pretty ; the vocal part is also gene-
rally entitled to praise—a very pretty trio and chorus by three little
" Bin? a Brooms" was Infored, and the whole raitominie passed
off to the applause and satisfaction of a very crowded audience.

DRURY-LAN&
•
After the Tragedy of Barbarossa last night, the
wished-for Pantomime at length came according to
custom. It is entitled the Man in the Moon, or Harle-
quin Do,gstar, in order to particularise it ; but such is
the number and variety of incidents, that it might be
as properly designated by any other title. Most parts
of our own globe, as well as the moon, are put under
contribution to make up this annual tribute. The
Pantomime opens with a view of Hudson's Bay,
with a ship stuck fast amid mountains of ice. This
scene is by STANFIELD, and is well painted. Mr. YAH.
NOLD, as the leader of a Joint Stock Travelling Corn-
pany,had some raps at Joint Stock Companies in general.
In the " Whaler's Storehouse," also by STANFIELD,
Mr. COMER, the Man in the Moon, descends from that
planet, and affects to be witty on all brother lunatics.—
The "Interior of the Moon," painted by MARINARI, is
a splendid scene, extremely rich in colouring and in
fancied objects, including moors and manors, hills and
lakes, and living human creatures of various monstrous
shapes. Some of them, finding their heads too heavy
for their shoulders, carry them under their arms. The
machinery introducing the King of the Moon and
his consort, heralds, &c. in splendid cars, was sell
contrived. Among the rest of the scenery the best
were a view of Vauxhall Bridge by MARINARI, and a
Battle-field bySTaNeret.D.This lastwas much applauded.
After this notice of the scenery, which is a chief ingre-
dient in pantomime, it is fit •to make mention of the
actors, Miss BARNETT played Colorable with ease
and grace. She did not skip about with all the lightness
and agility of a fairy form, but she danced with elegance,
and obtained great applause, particularly in footing it
to the air of " Blue Bonnets over the Border,"which she
was called on to dance twice. Mr. HOWELL is already
known as Harkfuin. Mr. T. BLANCHARD as Pantaloon,
bore the usual quantity of thumping and bumping, with
a great deal of good humour. But the most amusing
of all, as usual, was Mr. SOUTHPY, as Clown. Another
Clown, Mr. USHER, made his appearance last night.
In a seen* representing Vauxhall Gardens, It. DIAVOLO &mom°
performs his reaUy surprising and seemingly perilous evolutions on
the slack rope; while Mademoiselles ANTOINE/II and Fume/mint
are exhibiting on tight ropes, Ramo Sams balancing his balls, and
three other young foreigners balancing themselves with heads in-
verted on poles, chairs, and ladders. One of these runs down head
foremost between the rounds of a ladder with the velocity and
pliabiUty of a weasel. With exception of two or three occasions,
in which the machinery did not answer Harlequin's wand, the
whole pantomime went off well, and a very full house received with
applause the announcement of it for' every night till farther notice.'t