Monthly Theatrical Report. 



197 



is, of course, an utter dearth of striking new 

 performances ; authorship either dreads or 

 disdains the stage, and the ability that 

 should delight and interest the British au- 

 dience for years, is exhausted upon the 

 feeble family of fashionable novels, the 

 work of a month, and the reading of a day. 

 Yet, what is to blame but the dulness of 

 the legislature, which denies to dramatic 

 authorship the protection given to every 

 other species of writing ? The copyright of 

 a song, of a rambling rhapsody, of an al- 

 manack, of a novel, of any thing and every 

 thing, is guarded in all sorts of ways : the 

 pirate, who touches upon the invaluable 

 nonsense of " Cherry-ripe," is brought 

 neck and heels before the Chancellor, and 

 nothing saves him from Newgate but retri- 

 bution in the shape of fine. But the mo- 

 ment the dramatic author plays his per- 

 formance, all the world may play it; it 

 may be used and abused in every theatre, 

 and every barn of the empire, until the 

 public are cloyed even with its excellence, 

 and men hate it as much as they sicken of 

 a tune on the barrel-organ. If the dra- 

 matist print his work before performance, 

 every theatre may, in like manner, use it, 

 without giving him a shilling. Thus, if 

 he publish his play as a book, it becomes 

 valueless to him as a play. If he play it, 

 it becomes valueless to him as either play 

 or book, for all the world may do what 

 they please with it. It is this neglect of 

 one of the most powerful, and certainly 

 the most brilliant portion of national lite- 

 rature (for what has British literature to 

 show in comparison with Shakspeare, or 

 French literature in comparison with the 

 writers of its stage, or Germany to contrast 

 with Schiller and Goethe ?) that humi- 

 liates the drama, repels men of ability, and 

 leaves our stage to struggle on, as it may, 

 through French farces, compilations of for- 

 gotten jest books, and the meagreness and 

 common-place of domestic vulgarity, 



We must hope that some intelligent 

 member of parliament will take up the 

 subject, add a clause to the bill of copy- 

 right, protecting the rights of the drama, 

 and placing the British author on the foot- 

 ing of the French. In France, the drama 

 has been raised by that security into its 

 present rank, and that rank enables it to 

 exercise a most extensive and important 

 influence on the national civilization. The 

 security of the author's right makes it 

 worth the while of clever men to attach 

 themselves to the drama, as a regular pur- 

 suit ; professional dexterity is acquired by 

 the practice of theatrical writing, as a pro- 

 fession ; good mariners are displayed upon 

 the stage, the stage reflects them to the 

 people ; and, probably, whatever morality 

 may exist in France, and certainly a great 

 portion of the national urbanity results 

 from the grace and elegance of its stage, 

 thus sustained by intelligent and accom- 

 plished men. 



Mrs. Glossop, Brahara, Miss Love, and 

 a very able company, are still going on 

 triumphantly in opera. The last year's 

 adaptation, " The Turk in Italy," is re- 

 vived, with additional songs and success. 

 But the spell of the month has been the 

 revival of the " Critic," with Matthews as 

 Sir Fretful, Listen as Don Whiskcrandos, 

 Jones as Puff", and Mrs. Orger as Tilburina. 

 Nothing nevr can be said of a production 

 which will never grow old. But no one 

 who desires to see the ablest work of 

 Sheridan in dialogue (which we consider 

 the first act of the " Critic" to be) repre- 

 sented by the ablest comedians of our day, 

 should neglect going to see this perform- 

 ance. The second act, always intended to 

 make the mere rabble laugh, and which 

 no skill of the stage can make either 

 pleasant or polished, is yet sustained, with 

 an address and animation, by Jones, of 

 which, highly as we think of that actor, 

 we had scarcely thought him capable. He 

 introduces a number of pleasantries, li- 

 censed by the habit of interpolation, in 

 Puff's party, and which, from their imme- 

 diate application, or their dexterity, excite 

 no slight applause. The second act, from 

 whose excessive caricature taste generally 

 turns away, is thus made popular ; and we 

 have an additional instance of the value of 

 combining the talents of able performers 

 in the same piece. Mrs. Orger is new in 

 the heroine, and nothing can be better; 

 she rants, whines, and weeps delightfully ; 

 her sob is electric, and the white hand- 

 kerchief is, in her hands, a weapon of very 

 formidable influence. She is in a perpe- 

 tual catarrh of the tender passion ; and if 

 Niobe ever screamed as well as wept, Mrs. 

 Orger would be the true Niobe of bur- 

 lesque. 



The King's Theatre has opened at last ; 

 but under the curious auspices of M. Lau- 

 rent, the indefatigable and universal entre- 

 preneur of theatres, has taken it, in con- 

 junction with Laporte, the comedian. 

 Some treasury difficulties retarded the 

 rising of the curtain ; and the story went, 

 that the Lord Chamberlaiu was to turn 

 stage manager, but the dissolution of 

 higher management than that of the stage 

 having disburthened his grace of so heavy 

 a responsibility, the honour has reverted 

 into the hands of the two Frenchmen : we 

 have thus the Opera and Drury Lane in 

 the hands of foreigners. The next change 

 will be Covent Garden purchased by some 

 German ; and English management will be 

 completely relieved of its share of good 

 or evil. 



The Adelphi goes on prosperously. Two 

 or three petites pieces, from the French, 

 giving an opportunity of more ingenious 

 dialogue and dexterous acting, have been 

 introduced with success. Yates is the. 

 lord of the ascendant, and his diligence and 

 pleasantry make him extremely popular. 

 Terry is in Paris, sweeping away the whole 



