THE THEATRES.
OLD DRURY is once more converted into a saloon for promenade music ; 31. JULLIEN flourishes his batod where Gloster wielded his truncheon, and the decorative taste of Mr. GYE reigns supreme over the space
once beautified by STANFIELD'S pencil : in short, the " Concerts d'Ete " have recommenced ; and Mr. ELIASON seems determined to make the most of his short remaining term, before surrendering the theatre to
Mr. MACREADY. The new decorations are more lively than before; rose-pink and white being the colours of the fluted hangings, which are fringed with a network of bullion : the effect is very agreeable to the eye, being at once warm and light ; the amber silk draperies over the mirrors, however, look dingy and discordant—a brighter yellow, like the silk covering of the orchestra, would be in better harmony.. One new device, which was particularly attractive, and is certainly ingenious and effective after its kind, is worth a few words of notice. In place of a mirror, a large sheet of glass discloses a recess lined with fluted drapery, wherein BAILY'S statue of Eve at the Fountain is placed ; its pedestal is concealed beneath a mound of real turf, so that the plaster figure appears to be reclining on the grass ; and the fountain is represented by an artificial stone basin, not big enough for a bath, or near enough to reflect the face and figure of Eve. To heighten the incongruity, the sides of this boudoir of Paradise are bordered with flowering shrubs in pots. The Goths would have painted the statue, had they dared ; which would have made the monstrosity more com- plete. The programme of the performances is varied every evening; and the orchestral effects are to be aided by tableaux vivans. The novelty of the opening night was an arrangement of popular airs from the Sonnambula ; PURCELL'S music to SHAKSPERE'S Tempest is to be sub- jected to the same process as MATTHEW LOCKE'S music in Macbeth has been. Two or three new performers are added to the list of old favourites ; Mr. RICHARDSON on the flute, and M. JANCOURT, from the Opera Comique, on the bassoon, being the principal solo-players: the strange noises produced from the bassoon, in the attempt to attain rapid execution on so intractable an instrument, can only be likened to the efforts of a hog to imitate RUBINL The house was not so crowded as was expected on the first night ; but this may be accounted for by the increased price of admission to the promenade : the visiters were all the more select, however, and the diminution of the throng was an advantage to the promenaders. At the Haymarket, MACREADY and HELEN FAUCIT, CHARLES KEAN and ELLEN TREE, continue to play together on alternate nights; WRENCH, in a new version of Jeremy Diddler, called My Friend the Captain, vying with BULWER'S heroes in trickery; and CELESTE, as The French Spy, out-pantomiming CHARLES KEAN. The new farce has one good stage-situation among the stale incidents that are set forth in all the literalness of improbability, with very little humour to redeem their absurdity : it is that where the soi-disant Captain, while- making love in the dark, unconsciously betrays his imposture to all his dupes at once.
The Frolics of the Fairies, at the New Strand, are as whimsical, un- accountable, and ubiquitous, as need be ; Mrs. KEELEY taking the lead in the masquerading gambols through the Three Kingdoms, and diffusing gayety over every scene in which she appears : whether as an imper- sonate Will-o'-the-Wisp, in kirtle and hose of duckweed, with a ruby on her brow to represent the iguis fatuus—as a rustic Giovanni in leathers and highlows—or a miniature Highlander in kilt and bonnet—she is equally vivacious and fascinating. Songs and dances, " scrimmages" and practical jokes, satire and sentiment—with some clever acting by Messrs. HALL, ArrwooD, CORRIE, and SANDERS, and several pic- turesque scenes by Mr. G. GoanoN—make up a very entertaining. medley.
The burnt-out actors from A stley's are playing at the Olympic, which the Lord Chamberlain has specially licensed for two months for their benefit : next week they will have the effective aid of KEELEY, HAM- SIOND, and other favourites.
Mrs. WAYLETT is performing at the Lyceum ; where Barnaby Rudge is running a career of popularity. Vauxhall has added to its attractions the RAVEL Family, whose feats of gymnastic pantomime are not only extraordinary but diverting ; and the great Nassau balloon ascends and descends with a car-full of voyagers as regularly as the steam-boats discharge their freights of free passengers at the stairs of Vauxhall. The phsenomenon of a fine night fills the Gardens with company.
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