THE THEATRES.—The Great Houses have closed ; Drury Lane, after
a succession of disasters, to allow the new lessee to prepare for his operatic campaign ; Covent Garden with a congratulatory address, and a..
most consolatory promise from the manager of repayment to the sub, scribers of part of the sums advanced to enable him to open the theatre.
The Haymarket Theatre opened oa Tuesday, with the new piece of a Camlet Cloak ; which the manager has since very wisely cast off—the size of his theatre not being favourable for concealment. It is certainly one
of the advantages of this house, that we can hear and see without strain.. ing either our ears or eyes, and the actors can be heard and seen without bawling or distortion.. But it has this disadvantage also, that the per- formers, having accustomed themSelves to the extravagant grimace and Stentor accent necessary' to point a bon snot for the perception of the Gods in the Great Houies, foiget that in this the audience and they are such near neighbours ; and they enact their parts with such persevering energy, that their hits are fairly knock-down-blows to the sense, and their insinuations positive informations laid against the author. There are exceptions to this remark, however ; and we wish we could include
Mr. Cooper among them. Kean is working out his last engagement, he
says, on a stage where the alternations of his expressive countenance cart be seen, amid where his diminished powers of physical exertion may find some relief. He seems on excellent terms with the audience, and with himself. With the exception of this great acquisition, and the addi- tion of Miss Mordaunt, whose features and style of acting are well suited to the close neighbourhood of an audience, Mr. Morris's company is much whatit was last season in regard to principal performers, and very thin and meagre in secondary characters. Nay, such is the extreme economy of the arrangements in this respect, that the prying eye of a con- temporary has detected "doubling" of parts in Richard the Third, as well as "kitchen-dips ten to the pound" in the regal tent. Miss Mordaunt played Lady Teazle last night ; not unsuccessfully. Her pleasing
face and manner aided her more than either her study or conception of the part ; and with Farren's Sir Peter, and Cooper's Surface, the
School for Scandal went off very passably. Mrs. Glover's Mrs. Candour, though too boisterous and wanting the stinging venom of Mrs. Gibbs, was clever and effective. It is a pity, that with so many really good per. formers, Mr. Morris should grudge a few respectable subordinates.
Miss Fanny Kemble has been performing, with chequered fortune, at Bath, and she is now puzzling the critics of Edinburgh.
LADY Lesox.—We regret much to hear that this lady has yielded to the seductions of passion, and that, setting at nought the respect of her husband's family and the opinious of the world, she has betaken herself to the sheltering arms of Mr. Wood, and become the mistress of a man she might, under other circumstances, have commanded as her husband. Miss Paton, for so we must henceforth call her, is living, we understand, with Mr. Wood, in Norfolk Street, Strand. A separation, formal and final, has been acceded to by Lord W. Lenox ; who retains the property he at present possesses, pays all debts up to the time of the elopement, and leaves the lady henceforward the full benefit of her pro- fessional exertions.—Observer.
Mr. John Kemble, son of Charles Kemble, is to make his &Wit next season.--Brighton Gazette.
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