Haymarket Theatre.
The Times, 1824-07-17T00:00:00

A comedy in three acts, called Married aemd Single, was last night produced 2t this theatre. ft is a translation of a French piece, which, under the ti?ie of U.Eottnesre d Soicxantte Aws, has had a Kreat run at the ATcatre des Vartgtis, where it is now acting. The adap'ation to the English stage has been executed by Air. Poole wvith great ingenuity and good t.aste. The whole husinesse ot the prlay arises out of the effortws made hy r. /r. haftcrI(.r Farren) to keep up the character of a dashinlg young fellow ter he hrs attain- ed the ripe age of 60. His nephew, JMfr. AAelford ( Cooper), a por- traittpainter, is about to be sarried, buat has unluckilv incurred a ebt of 2001.. which he has no means of' paying, an. which he dares not cotmmunicate to his uncle. An ingenieus attorney's clerk lays a plan for arresting the voung painter by sending him word that two indies are watiting for him at the door in a coach. Mr. Shattert-'e servant, Scanp:r (Vining), overhears this plan, anad puts .Ifelfitrd ont his gruard. Mr. Sliiatter?y Day h:s ,nephew a visit, anrI the latter having quitted thc room for a few minates, the ulicle takes up his palette, whicih he is holding when the attorney enlers. fie delivers his traitorotas nessage to the uncle, who, de. lighted at the prospect of carrying off his nephew's rmistress, an- nounces himself as ,fr. JJfelfurd, and our ci-devanmtjeun-,e hntse, hoping that he shall have the credit of rivalling his nephew, runs it; head into the trap, and finds, when it is too late, that the blushing beauties itt the coach are two stout bailiffs. It is in vain for him to resist then, or to denv that he is ftr. .tArelfird: he is carried to a spungsl,rehiouse, and left there to Tpass his melancholy hours, while L party of guests, whanm hie has invited to his own house, are de- vouting his supper. and abusing him for not being at home to do the hontours otf his house. lie is ashamend to send to lis friends, because thlat would disclose his own folly, and he confesses one featute of hlis chtaracter to be, that he wvould rather be sbht at than laue.hebt at. At lengtlh tie debt is paid as for AfelfMrd by a Mrs. IPiddiy, who is inaebted tr -Mr. ShSattery; atad tIe old gentlermani reaches his owrI house ju9t at the erd ef' the evening's er.tertainrnent, accompanied by tihe young attor- ney, w*io will not leave htim until lre has rect,ived the balance of interest and costs. While A,lr.Shatterlr1 is gorre 'o fetch this tao- ey. the real M'r. Ifelfurd fat3s in with'theattorney. and is somuclt tightened at discovering wnho he is, that he decamips. A.nother of the consequences of the uncle having taken the place of the nephiew Is, tbtat the mistress of thie latter seeing him receive a letter,ity witicli the tact of Mirs. 117d,lp having paid the debt is mentioned beco.. 'lC` violentlyje;l;ous; she afterwards sends to him, inviting Nilm to a eirner in the coacl withl ierself and lier sister, but the terrifieew debtor, tancying it is Ohe bailiff's trick, sends a note in reply, which tire ladlies mistake for an affront. and the breach between the lovece is thus widetled. Aft. S1sutcrTy's misfertunes do not end witlh the payment of hiis nephew's debts. He is both married and aingle: for, while lie is leatling the life of a gay bachelor in London, he has a wife at Kensingtonv'T7ho is not disposed to bear things quieJy. She comes to town; other mistakes occur, which are tedious to tell, but pleasant enough to see; antd in tbe end, MIr. Shat.terly's story beine known to his frie,ds, they compel him, throueh his dread of ridlicule, to forgive his nephew, who is already forgivers by his mistress, and to pronmise to live as beeon es iris rears with hIis own lawful wedded wife. There is little plot. as may be guessed by the sketch we hame given: the main incident is that of the uncle's being arrested instead of the nephew, and Far. ren's is, in point of fact, the only claracter in the piece. Tbe man- ner of his acting was verv excellent: he described in the most faith- ful and aniusirrg manner the vain labours of elderl, young gentle- men tO get a reputation for irregularities which they cannot commit, arrd hich, If' they could, would be the death of then. 'I'he con- trast betweenr his appearance in the frst scene, just after nis getting up, arnd the next in which Ihis body and his spirits are screwed upD fusr the exertions of the day, was distinctly and admirably mnarked, and he took care not so confound Mr. Slsotriy writh Lord Ogle;n,e or any of those other characters to which it may be said to bersome external resemblence. The characters of Bcr and Mfrs. icHt. (3Mr. Pope and Mrs. Glover) have very little to do with the comedy, but are cleverly drarvn. They formi one of those matriinonial cou- oles w-hich abound where both parties brag of their felicity and good temper, and whose lives are, nevertheless, a rapid suc- cession of loving and quarrelling, of storm and sunshine. Alrs. Glover did much tnore and much better for the part than the suthor had done. but Mr. Pope made matters even, for he forgot what was set down for him. "iirs. C. Jones Dlaved Mrs. ShLUcrll like a woman of proper spirit-that is to say, in a manner which incautious people v;ould say bordered upea the termagant. Mr. Cooper is always bad in comedy: if he would ever hope to nmale an itdience laugh, he Lhould ncver try to laugh himself, for his at- Lempts are as painful as can be imagined. Mr. Vining hadthe goodf Fortune to nlav an active 'botman, and he did it in a wanner that chowed him rt orthy of his destiny. The greatest merit of IIr. WVest, as the slenderattorney, was, that he had carefully studied and tccessfully imitated Cruicks'rtan's drawing of Mr. Jones, in Peter Sc/nleilh. The whole representation was clever; but the comedy if that which isonly a farce, andwhich ought to be in two acts, must Ire called a comedy) Ls mainly indebted for its success to Farren'a acting. The dialogue is net and lively and although not remarkable Brt itS wit, it abounds in that light oking which people are glad to {et since wit became scarce. It was received with universal and nerited applause, and its announcemeirt for repetition was received with the most unequivocal approbation of the audience. HA YMA RKET THg TRE.