PLAYS AND PLAYERS.

IT is still announced that KEAN and MACREADY, who are now playing Othello and lag° together, are shortly to alternate their resnective cha- racters. But how are we to believe the Drury Lane playbills? Those of Friday stated that the performance of Othello on the previous even- ing was received with "the loudest acclamations by one of the most crowded audiences ever in the Theatre." We chanced to be there— not to see poor Kraaar's Othello, but MACREADY'S Ia go ; and though the pit was full, it was not crowded till half-price ; and the boxes were more than half-empty. We do not expect playbills to be oracles of truth ; but we have not till now been used to find them se completely the reverse. MACREADY'S lag° is a very able performance; but of too grave a cast throughout. It is not only deficient in liveliness, but it wants the sarcastic levity of Iago's character. One critic says the villain shows too plain in MACREADY'S personation ; another says just the reverse : the truth lies between them. To Othello he appears frank and honest, and, if any thing, too really in earnest. In the scenes with Boderigo, the villain stands too glaringly confessed. This would have scared a may-fly like Roderigo. The self-possessed, plausive cunning of the man of the world, was wanting in both cases. YOUNG'S Iago was hard, cold, and supercilious. 141.acasAnv's is sensitive, ardent, and passionate. MACREADY made the motiVe of his malignant treachery more apparent than did Yotram, with whom' his.suppased injuries were rather an excuse than a cause for his villany. YOUNG'S is perhaps the true reading of the character. He looked the human fiend. MAO- READY has too much impulse, and is too warm and generous in his own personal disposition, to portray the deliberate, deadly, remorseless malice of Iago. KEAN is "great even in ruin." His feebleness is. the decrepitude • • of a detnigod. An-apology was made for him on the plea ofindisposi- tion. It is painful to see him. - Poor Don TELESTORO DE TREERA Y COSIO—Iet us do justice to his long Spanish name—is becoming quite a dramatic bore. ..He won't be -convinced that he has no genius. His comedy and farces have been damned, and now -we suppose he will try tragedy. The truth is, that be has neither wit nor originality. His new comedy, the Men Pleasure, according to all accounts—for we judge at second-hand, from the newspapera—is- made up of crude and commonplece remarks aod. • gross allusions, and. displays a very superficial observation. of .society: Tbe characters and scenes are mostly adapted from other plays. The Don—he is English by education, by the by—might perchance succeed in little light burlettas, as they are called, for the Olympic. He has considerable tact, though he lacks genius, and a most inveterate eacoethes. Let him- try VESTR i IS. She s a most successful and hale- fatigable caterer for the public amusement. No one gets up an enter- tainment better. She generally brings out a new burletta once a' week. We are in arrear with her novelties. The Conquering Game, which is

the first love adventure of Charles the Twelf i

th, s very popular. Vaterms is fascinating, as usual, in the lady ; and Wansaeu makes quite a portrait of the Swedish Soldier King. But he imitates PARREN too closely; and weers the character too much dike a masquerade dress. Then there is another, called P. Q., in which Mrs. ORGER assumes several characters very cleverly. A new burlesque burletta—a classical subject, we believe—after the manner of Olympic Revels and Devils, is announced for Christmas entertainment.

REEVE is worth seeing as Mr. Busy, at the Adelphi ; but the piece itself is very poor. YaTas's drunken scene in John Street, Adelphi, is inimitable. It is equal to REEVE'S " going to roost" in the Evil Eye; where, of course, he does not get a wink of sleep. The new horrid burletta of the Owlet's Haunt — (one of the Papers called it the " Howlet's Haunt"—why not the " Howlet's Aunt 9")—is the story of the discovery of a murderer, by means of the wadding of the fatal shot being found to have been torn from the leaf of a book entitled " God's Revenge against Murder." Here's a climax!

The Election, or the Rival Candidates, which was revived this week at Drury Lane, had nothing to recomMend its reproduction but the title ; which, says the Standard, "is a take-in:" What says poor Captain POLHILL, who has failed in his performance of the "" Rival Candidate", at Bedford ?

Much mystery is being made of some novelty to be introduced by LAPORTE in the performance of the Lent Oratorios. A good selec- tion and perfect performance would be indeed novelties, and of the

• right sort. " Some • of the more strict observers of Lent," rims the

• paragraph, "have complained that the greater part of the music was profane"—we should say prnIhned. "This evil LAPORTE intends to remedy by"—what do you think, gentle reader ?—" scenery and action ! " So the "strict observers of Lent," who -object to other than sacred music, are to be propitiatedby having an oratorio turned into an opera! Excellent.

DE MERIe is announced to appear at Drury Lane after Christmas. " She has herself bargained," we are told, "not to come out during the holyday week, nor during the run of the new Christmas Pantomime." • Fudge ! What difference can it make to her? The Manager, of course, won't bring her out until the Pantomime has ceased to attract, REAZLEY is tinkering up Don Juan, "in order to give greater novelty to the performance." What stupid humbug ! Tim greatest novelty would be a good performance of the music as it was written. SCHROEDER, • HAITZINGER, and DOBLE, the German vocalists, who are engaged, were, we supposed, to assist in this performance. But 13a:ael . EY'S name negatives that expectation. Their names are in the bills, mocking the arrangements of the Manager.

Mrs. GORE'S long-talked of comedy is postponed until after Christ- mas. Who is there at Covent Garden to perform in it?

/ There have been two deaths among the actors this week—names of some little note—Young GRIMALDI and LEMAN Marius REDE, late of the Strand Theatre. Both died young; GRIMALDI being thirty, and REDE thirty-four. Mr. REDE had, it is said, a presentiment that he should die in the month of December, about the 10th, on which day and

month his father died some years since. His presentiment doubtless promoted its own fulfilment. Some people care not at what expense they try to justify their weaknesses. He was an ingenious writer, and the author of the Loves of tke Angels, a clever burlesque, which we formerly noticed when we visited the Strand.

Young GRIMALDI—the son of old JOEY, who survives him—was educated for a Clown to succeed his father. He was a capnahleaper,

• could stretch his mouth from ear to ear, and twist his features all ways ;

and for aught we know, might have been able to shoulder his leg. He a was active and vigorous in pantomime, if nothing more. lint all these f accomplishments availed him not. He wanted refinement and gusto— `..1 hear it, ye Merry Andrea s, for ye are all alike.

ae. The performance of Virginias on Monday was interrupted by an in-

' cident that produced a most ludicrous effect. When Claudius, in the scene of the trial, exclaimed from the judgment-seat, " I say she is not Virginius'S daughter!" a person in the pit shouted back, " Why, whose ;daughter is she, then?" The luckless querist was ejected, after some struggle, amidst the shouts and laughter of the audience.

The actions brought by the Chamberlain against Mr. DAVENPORT, the stage manager of the Strand Theatre, have been withdrawn. They had better not have been commenced.

- he proprietors of the,theatre at Antwerp have had a grand military

spectacle got up for them by the two Great Powers, and are making a profit of what will be a losing concern to all the other parties. They have unroofed the theatre, from which there is a good and secure view of the operations of the, siege, and let seats to the public—from morning . till night—by' the hour, we suppose. LAPORTE and D.IFCROW will not be able to compete with GERARD and CHASSE in the • reality and noise of their exhibition ; though they may rival them in show. The Battle of -Waterloo at Astley's was quite deafening enough, however. The

' farce of" Diplomacy," that preceded the "Siege of Antwerp," was too long and dull. It has been justly damned; notwithstanding the skilful acting of TatiEvaaarnotheeprincipal performer. . -