The Sun. — 1827-10-16 (London, England)

THEATRES.  DRURY LANE.  Dr. Brown's noisy tragedy of Barbarossa was reproduced last night, for the purpose, (we presume) of showing that Mr. Kean, jun., possesses few or no qualifications for a first-rate actor. His mind, indeed, is most singularly undramatic. It has evidently too much intelligence to win its way by dint of sheer noise and impudence; and too little to give. effect to the more mental parts of character. It reverses, therefore, the old adage of "medis tutissinzus, 4.c." In his last night's performance of Achmet, Mr. Kean gave moderate—and but moderate, satisfaction. His chief defect was an inability to mark the conflicting emotion by which Achmet is so deeply oppressed. In his scene with his mother, where, though solicitotis to press her to his heart,he is compelled to address her as a stranger, Mr. Kean evinced singular indifference—even frigidity. He spoke to her with as much :aneroid as if he was speaking to a coalheaver on the subject of a chaldron of coals for winter—perfectly business-like and inanimate. In his conversation with his " sweet-heart," Irene, he was "equally methodical. Indeed we have heard of an eminent living Judge, who addressed the daughter of his washer-woman in chambers, with far deeper emotion. In the third act, however, there was here and there a gleam of better spirit, while, in the two last we recollect nothing more impressive than the words, " dost thou then repent thee of thy crimes?" which were delivered with very commendable tenderness. Mr. Cooper enacted Othman as usual, with the abundant assistance of his left arm, and Mr. Mude did Barbarossa with an equal abundance of lungs. After the tragedy a new piece (translated from the French) entitled " The • Gambler's Fate, or, A Lapse of Twenty Years," was produced, in which horror was superadded to horror, with true November effect. The plot is something like the following :—Albert (Wallack), a wealthy young man, is seduced by his friend Malcom (Cooper) into the habits of a gambler, And loses a large sum given him by his father to purchase jewels for his intended wife Julia (Mrs. West): His friend, meanwhile, supplies him with false jewels, which are discovered to have been stolen, and for which he is tried and condemned, but escapes. Twenty years after this we are again introduced to him in rags and wretchedness, so much so that he is induced to murder a traveller for the sake of his funds. Just at this crisis Malcour (equally wretched), reappears, and contrives to find out the secret of the murder, which they both go out to bury. Mean time, Henry(Albert's ) t's son comes to his father's house, who learns from his infant child, that a young stranger just arrived, has a large sum about him. This is enough for Malcour, who • of course resolves to " do him," when, unfortunately, just as he is in the act of ", doing him," (i. e. murdering him), the victim's Mother, followed closely by a thunderbolt, enters the house, when Albert learns that he has assisted in the destruction of his own child. Of course at this moment the police-officers, who are always at hand in melo-dramas, rush in and seize him ; but his eonscience anticipates their business by disposing of him in a very summary manner, viz. by a broken heart. Such is the bare outline of a play, which is made up in its details of every fiendish atrocity: There is notta villain in the piece; they are all demons. From first to last it is a monstrous, exhibition of unadulterated diabolism, and 'as such can only startle or disgust it can never amuse or improve.