OPENING OF THE HAYMARKET THEATRE.
THE "little Haymarket "—once the pet of playgoers, but by mis- management become a bore—has got into new hands. Mortals has let it to WEBSTER, of Covent Garden ; who has opened with a well-chosen corps, composed of the best of the old Haymarket favourites, and a selection from Covent Garden and other companies, for the perform. ance of tragedy, comedy, and farce. We have seen a performance of each kind,—Hamlei, the School for Scandal, and My Wife's Mother; and though the efficiency of the company for representing tragedy is not first-rate, it is tolerable, considering the present state of the stage; while in comedy it is very respectable, and in farce strong. MACREADY and &rex, Miss HUDDART and Miss ALLISON, take the lead in tra- gedy; FARREN and STRICKLAND, VINING and WEBSTER, MTS. GLOVER, Mrs. NISBETT, and Mrs. HUMBY, are the principals in comedy and farce; COLLINS and Miss VINCENT are the vocalists.
Hamlet was selected for the opening night. MACREADY'S persona- tion has many and striking beauties, which the moderate size of the house enabled the audience more fully to appreciate than in the larger area of Covent Garden. What we still desiderute for a perfect per- formance, is a little more buoyancy in the sportive sallies and fitful gayety of the character : the picture wants a few touches of light to relieve the gloom. Miss /I Ullealer is the best Gertrude we have seen for many a day; we sympathize with her sorrow, and take pity on her frailty : she seems worthy of Hamlet's filial regard. ELTON enacted the Ghost with good discretion ; but in attempting to give a hollow, sepulchral tone to the voice, he made it feeble and monotonous. The tone of the " perturbed spirit" should be that of plaintive exhortation, with as much modulation as the words and sentiments require, but without loudness or vehemence. ELTON avoided the vulgar error of dressing the Ghost, as COOPER does, like a corpse in armour : the ap- parition should have the look of the living form, though with a dusky aspect. STRICKLAND'S Petunias,WEnsmit's Gravedigger, Mid VINING'S Osric, were respectable ; but J. WEBSTER'S Lacries and SAVILLE'S Horatio were below par : they would have done for Rosencrant: 111(1 Guildenstern, who were properly petsonated by SELBY and WoruieLL. aliSS VINCENT'S Ophelia was a very met/Hailed piece of madness. The School for Scandal was very strongly cast. No need to speak of Fannex in Sir Peter Teazle. ELTON'S Josyh Smface is a most finished performance : his solemn gravity is perhaps scarcely hollow enougb—it seems rather natural than asrumed; but nothing could be more spontaneous than the way in which be let out his aside speeches:, us if the truth must out : it was the real face peeping from behind the mask. His insincere profession of sympathy for the distresses of Stanley, and the over.politeness of his bowing-out, were capital ; but the triumph of his acting was in the screemscene. his wily manner in tempting Lady Teazle, and his suppressed exultation when he thinks he has succeeded—his assumed mock.modesty, and merriment when he imposes on Sir Peter with the story of " the little French milliner"— and the stammering attempt at an explanation when his treacherous baseness is exposed—were perfect. Ile looked the baffled, convicted scoundrel, shuffling to the last, from an instinctive meanness and habits of falsehood rather than an expectation of being able any longer to keep up the deception. It is as fine a piece of grave comedy as any on the stage. rhis is ELTON'S forte ; we hope to see him often in similar characters. Mrs. GLOVER'S Mrs. Candour is a charming specimen of a bland and genial destroyer of peace and reputation poison drops like honey from her lips, her smile is withering, and her glance kills. Mrs. Nisarrr's Lady Teazle is distinguished by ease and sprightliness, but not by that innate delicacy which keeps the volatile Oa from falling into the snares laid for her by the heartless profligacy of the crew that surround her occasionally we detected even a dash of vulgarity. STRICKLAND'S Sir Meer might, we think, have been improved by closer attention to the part: he wears it as easy as a glove—and as loosely. VINING is always edgy and conventional ; but he proved a very passable Charles w i Surrnee. Swot, an Trip, s every inch a footman—and he measures a good many- Woartm. was Careless,—careless and easy too: he is one of the few tolerable "walking gentlemen " on the stage. Snake was, as usual, the most innocent of the set ; Sir Benjamin Backbite a fangless slanderer ; Crabtree a cordial and kindly old fellow ; and Lady Sneerwell an innocent and injured woman. Miss E. PHILLIPS is Luty.fike girl, but she is too uniformly frigid and precise : she makes Maria as cold as an icicle whom Charles's love cannot thaw. Mr. COLLINS sang the song at the dinner-table vigorously enough, with the accompaniment of didactic action—to point its moral, we presume and WEBSTER was duly nasal and obsequious as Moses. We have been thus minute in enumerating the cast in order to exhi- bit the character and pretensions of the company; but we have two omissions to supply. There is that most fascinating of speaking auto- mata Mrs. HUMBY, who looks and moves like an animated woos figure; and Mrs. TAYLEURE, the most incessant of stage gossips, with vinegar enough for half-a-dozen old maids. Mrs. HUMBY is a fixture at the Haymarket,—and the smartest of them by far, for, though they have been refreshed, the decorations are still dingy. This is the conse- quence, however, of the parsimony of the former management, which Wensrsa is not responsible for. The scenery is not only shabby, but mean in style. We wish WEBSTER'S success may be such as to enable him to renovate the wardrobe and properties : but we fear the old prices are too high—he should lower them to those of Covent Garden.
A new tragedy, comedy, and farce are announced. This shows signs of a spirited management : butt the strength of the company is not equal to lofty tragedy or the old genteel comedy, nor are our exist- ing dramatists likely to be successful in their efforts at the highest style of dramatic writing. Petite comedy, the tragedy of common life, and broad farce, are the best fitted to employ the talents both of authors and actors to advantage.
The farces here go capitally. What a rich treat is illy ilife's Mother, with Mrs. GLOVER'S Mrs. Quielifidyet, and FAItusar's inimi- table Uncle Foozle. What a picture of a sleek, quiet, comfortable old boy, wrapped up snugly in Imperturbable self-complacency, and enjoy- ing an elysium of content and satisfaction in the haven of widower- hood after the stormy strife of matrimony. He hops about, singing and twittering like a bird : nothing can ruffle his serenity: he nestles down into his easy chair as if he were tucking his head under his wing. He replies to Mrs. Quicklidget's abuse with a jocund chirp, a twist of his head, and a waggle of his tail ; and then turns round to the audi- ence with a perking look of wonder in his twinkling eye, just as if he was going to whet his beak on the bass-fiddle in the orchestra.
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