14r Yratrri.
Two original pieces,—no small allowance for a London public,—have been produced this week. At the Strand there is a farce, called Christ- mas Bores, the heroes of which, played by Messrs. Rogers and Turner, detest so immoderately the practice of bestowing annual donations, that their moral character suffers in consequence. Each of them, in fact, so- licits the other to make love to his wife, that he may have a reasonable pretext for refusing the habitual gift. The craft of the wives is, how- ever, fully equal to the villainy of the husbands, and the presents are ob- tained cross-wise, each of the stingy profligates being coaxed and cajoled till he lays the tribute of affection at the feet of the lady who is not his own. There is nothing novel in this intrigue beyond its application to the usages of modern life, but the dialogue is extremely humorous, and the acting is in the best spirit of broad "fun." At the St. James's, that taste for private theatricals which is a charac- teristic rage of the present day is satirized in a wildly eccentric piece, called My .1Vinae is Norval. A party of shopmcn, in the employ of one Mr. Linsey Woolsey, perform Home's _Douglas, modified after a fashion that allows it to afford scope for the talents of the amateurs in the various departments of acting, singing, fighting, and dancing, the last branch of art being made the most prominent, inasmuch as Young Norval is repre- sented by Miss Lydia Thompson. However, the burlesque tragedy of Mr. Charles Young, who plays Lord Randolph, and the ballad-singing of Mies St. Casse, who, as Lady Randolph, introduces several Scottish airs, contribute much to heighten the effect of the piece, which is commented upon by Mr. Linsey Woolsey and his man-servant, while they are planted in front of the stage, like Mr. Pufl's friends in the Critic. The mirth arising from the absurdities of the actors, and the remarks of the supposed audience, is varied by the spirited dancing of Miss Thompson, who exe- cutes an Irish Jig and a Highland Fling.
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