Star.
London, England, 1829-10-12 00:00:00

COVENT GARDZN.-NEW COMEDY.

A new Comedy, entitled " The First of May,"
drew us on Saturday to Covent Garden, curious to behold what
Managers, ander judgment of the immortal Mot/um, had selected
as the first specimen of novelty fur the season. The new pieces
which those Gentlemen attempted to reserve for the honours of
the •• Repertoire" last winter, were truly most contemptible ; and
if judiciously and impartially chosen, as the best of many offerings,
would prove indeed that dramatic genius is extinct amongst us. And
yet, we should like to see some of the rejected naanucripts, not
having that belief in Mr.Momeou'sisfallibilty in taste and judgment
which his friend Cuisaxes Kneaza appears to entertain. The fate
of dramatic writers has been too long dependant on the will of
such persons until it has become necessary that literature and na-
tional taste be at last vindicated from the humiliating conclusions,
which the arbitrary practices of monopolizing managers and their
hired readers, force u. but too readily to deduce at the expence of
our modern literary reputation. It is much to be wished that some
society of leittred men were established to invite such writers as
have been for several years rebuffed by Itcs•NOLDi. Mourou, and ma-
nagers to submit their rejected compositions for competent opinion,
when doubtless more than one dramatic jewel would be preserved to
the country ; acid the age re-cued front the charge of nothing contri-
buting to our dramatic glory. Peace and ItRYNOLDS, KEMILt and
Mouros, for the present, preside over the des:it:les of our British
dramatists; and it is to lie lamented, that under the auspices of
these illustrious dictators of East; in maters of theatric composi-
tion, that theiew pieces promoted by them have Willem. been
wretchedly unsuccessful. The two-act-thing of •• The First rf
May." we are sorry to say, does nothing to remove our
suspicions of false judgment, and partiakty in the direction
of the great Theaties. At the opelint of the piece, we
were agreeably impressed with the historical aspect of
the subject. The characters were east in the first force of the
Theatre ; but alas ! err our little half hour bad elapsed,we found our
hopes at Zeros an unconnected en‘broglio forms the business. The
lasciviousness of a caricatured King—the coarse good humour of a
Wapping landlady sort of a widow—a runaway ward, meant to be
disguised—a horse boy, the confidant of Majesty, imperti-
nent without wit—and for being a pimp, and treacher-
ously insulting a lady, is for the sake of morality hands
',timely rewarded, compose its interest ; while an operatic
kind of episode—tan end to end encroachment on the
bour,—forms its denousitunt, and gives a name to the foregoing
string of dialogues, tortured into slip-slop, lack-a-daisical puns,
limping along in a broken gait between ancient and modern
phraseology. To make the whole as worthy of the Theatre and
times as possible, the Songmonger is made to contribute some
smallware music to this said Comm' !—while the Itallet- Master
gives Thalia a lift with a merry-go-round.
Some of our contemporaries heard "cheerios;" as the Piece was
again announced. For us, we only could distinguish the rush of
the lobby-loungers, swaggerers, and frail ones, into this paradise of
drunker: joy, the delectable Musico :.bove.

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