THE THEATRES.
THE extraordinary interest that the debilt of the son of MATHEWS excited has been fully borne out by the result. CHARLES MATHEWS the Younger has proved himself to be " a chip o' the old black :" not a faint copy of the inimitable original, but, what is much better, another original, of similar spirit though different in kind. The Olympic Theatre, on Monday, was filled to overflowing im- mediately on the opening of the doors, by an audience composed not only of piay.goers, play-writers, players, and critics, but of less constant frequenters of the theatre. The Premier might be seen seated in a private box on one side, easy and gladsome, as if there were no State cares ; while on the other, in an obscure corner, the hero of Nevado() caught a glimpse of the stage through a port-hole of the upper deck. After the first piece was over— The Daughter, which on this occasion was endured only—the curtain dividing disclosed Luerosr, dressed in black, his hands clasped together over a white handkerchief, standing in front of an arm-chair, from which we supposed he had just before risen out of a fit of melancholy musing. He advanced amid thunders of applause, and, wringing his hands and handkerchief, with upturned eyes, and face heavy with grief, heaved a sigh, and gave vent to his pathos in words : scarcely, however, had he got through the first sentence, before a half-suppressed titter broke out into a laugh ; casting a look of indignation at his mood being mis. taken, LISTON proceeded, and with so much earnestness that it was soon evident he really felt what he spoke, and was on this occasion the " serious LISTON" that people were incapable of con- ceiving; and his force and fervour at last enabled the audience to dispel the crowd of comic associations which the sight of the rich physiognomy of LISTON conjured up, and to see in him only the old friend and fellow actor of Matuews, and the stage foster-father of his son. We may remark, by the way, that the anxious feelings of LtaroN, mingled perhaps with a natural revival of regret for his old friend, gave a more sombre colouring to the scene than the occasion warranted. The address, which sounded like an appeal ad misericordiam, was in fact lively and pointed in its style, and only duly serious in its matter. The curtain was now drawn up on the new burletta, The Hump- backed Lover, which was to introduce its author to the public as an actor ; and presently enters from the beck of time scene, with the bound- ing step of a boy fresh from college for the vacation, a young gentle- man-like person, about the middle size, with a light and compact figure, a second glance at whose face tells any one who bad seen the father, that this is the young CHARLES MATHEWS. The renewed applause seemed as if it would keep the debutant bowing his acknowledgments ail night at last, however, the greetings subsiding, allow the new t d r to resume his part of Mr. Rotation; and us be proceeds to de. Temp his character, eircumstatices, and the plan by which he is to obtain the consent of her father to his union with his mistress Louisa, by assuming the name and appearance of the humpbacked husband des- tined for her, the ease and address of the gentleman, and the eagerness and vivacity of the lover (whose animation amounts to restlessness), soon convince the audience that they have at last got a representative-of the heroes of light comedy in the actor before them. The resemblance of the son of Marnews to his father breaks out every now and then, unconsciously, in the manner and tone of some sentence delivered- in a spontaneous and off-hand style ; and these reminiscences elicit bursts of applause, which the actor seems at a loss to account for. As the excitement of his new position subsides, and he warms in his part, the talent of the actor and the humour of the man become more evident, and the performance less crude. The restlessness conin-amn to all young performers makes his cleverness and self-possession in other respects more striking by contrast : and finally, an English version of " Pupated," sung with taste, and with that rapid and distinct enun. ciation which is almost impracticable except by Italians in their own language, confirms the favourable opinion of the audience, who begin to find that the son possesses some of his father's acquirements, be- sides inheriting a portion of his whim and humour.
The next piece, The Old and Young Slayers, written by LrsmAN REDE, presents the debutant in a different class of characters—low comedy. He appears as Tim, the tiger of a young rake, and the son of a gentleman's coachman of the old school, who drives the fatherof Tim's master. LISTON personates the old coachman ; who prides himself on his morality and the dignity of his calling, looks 'iron his livery in the light of an official costume, and sits upon the coach. box as on a throne, the whip his sceptre, and the reins those of govern- ment. In this assumed character Limos: has ninny opportunities of alluding metaphorically to CHARLES MaTimews's position, and the past and present state of the stage ; which the audience readily take up. The burletta, however, has other merits than such as belong to a merely incidental piece; and, when curtailed, its smart- ness and pleasantry will make it a favourite. On the first night it dragged like a state-coach ; but LISTON'S figure, in the full costume of his order, stayed the impatience of the crowd. We never saw him act with greater vigour and reality. He looks every inch a coachman, and nothing but a coachman. Walking seems awkward to him ; lie appears to have been sedentary all his life; he moved almost in a sitting posture ; his form seems moulded to the shape of the coach box, and off the harnmercloth he is like a statue wanting a pedestal. Gravity and importance mantle in the thick folds of his visage, which only relaxes into a smile and gives wuy to a fat chuckle when some prospect of gain opens to him. The scene in which he lectures his son Tim, and gives the history of his progress from the threshold of the stable-door to the lofty honours of the ham- mereloth, is capital. We have been forgetting the hero of the night; but no wonder that the slim, though overgrown tiger, should have been eclipsed by the full-blown glory of the aristocratic Jehu. CHARLES MATHEIVS in this character evinces powers of personation, which, though not strikingly called forth, are never wanting on occasion. Ile looks the awkward hobbledehoy, who lacks confidence when lie can't bring his stable slang to bear ; and time contrast between his appearance and manner in his groom's undress, before he has quite conquered his rusticity—and in his smart livery, after his return with his master from Paris, a thoroughly accomplished tiger—bespeak the future finished artist. LISTON, however, does not cast Mal-news into the shade : on the contrary, the reality of the veteran's personation assists the novice, by making the allusions engrafted on the stage dialogue tell more effectively : the perfect keeping of time two characters testifies to the merit of MaTnews's performance. When, at the end of the piece, the Old and Young Stagers came forward together, LISTON looked like the old boy proud and happy in the success of the young one; and the fond smile of delight with which he hugged him—ducking Tim's head by way of obeisance to the ladies and gentlemen—was a bit of natural feeling that was pleasant to see.
A season or two before the stage-lights, and the cheering influence of the laughter and applause of indulgent audiences—the sunshine and showers of the actor's growth—will suffice to ripen the fruits of genius and mellow their present crudity.
Previous page
