30 DECEMBER 1848, Page 8

Even at the theatres where pantomime is the Christmas attraction,

we find burlesque making great encroachments upon harlequinade; that is to say, the introduction is made the most important part of the work. That of Bluff King Hal has been produced with more than ordinary splendour at the Princess's; and at the Olympic much pains have been bestowed on a bur- lesque version of the Norman Conquest. In the harlequinade portion, the Princess's has a great advantage through the possession of Flexmore, one of the best Clowns of the day; while Barnes, the new pantomimic humorist at the Olympic, is somewhat ponderous in his pleasantry.