AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4664, 29 January 1877, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

EBINCE3S THEATRE,

On Saturday evening, Mra Scott - Siddonu clearly showed, that however great a delineator of comedy she maybe, her powers aa an actress are not confined to that walk of the drama alone, but that she is nearly, if not equally, as much at home as a tragedienne. It must, however, be admitted, that where great force of ex^ pression is required, a strongei voice would be desirable, but any slight defect in this respect is scarcely appreciable in the case of Mrs Siddons, and in any line of acting, is more than compensated for by her gracefulness and nobility' of mien, and the singular gift with which she is endowed, of apparently intuitively grasping the meaning of the text, and then instantaneously making every look and gesture accord with the meaning of the words to which she is giving utterance. On Saturday evening she appeared as Lady Macbeth, and her de lineation of this great character created a most favourable impression. It was in the first act that she succeeded in riveting the attention of her audience to the greatest degree. Her appearance while reading Macbeth's letter, and the absorbing interest which she manifests in its contents, created a most marked impression, which attained its fullest intensity when, with unyielding determination, and like one under the influence of inspiration, she exclaims: " Glaruis thou art, andCawdor, and shalt be what thou art pro mised." The celebrated invocation, "Come you spirits that wait on mortal thoughts," &c, had its importance fully recognised, and was delivered in a manner which showed tragic powers of a very high order. The: exclamation —"Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor!"—with which Lady Macbeth hails her. lord's arrival, was a signal instance of the power of instantly adapting the voice to the appropriate utterance of any emotion. Throughout the whole of the first act, Mrs Siddons presented a portraiture of the cruel unrelenting woman, determined to achieve the object of her ambition at any price, which will not readily be forgotten by those who saw her. The insinuating and emphatic manner in which she urges her wavering lord to murder the king, and her intrepidity in the dagger scene, in which she appeared a perfect picture of guilt, may fairly be characterised as the per-' fection of dramatic art. Throughout the banquet scene she played caiefully, and in the last act she was very effective, and her appearance was one of almost unutterable woe wid despair. Mr Datrell appeared as Macbeth, and played in his usual painstaking manner. His acting in the banquet scene, and in the finel act, being of a most praiseworthy kind. Macduff had an able representative in Mr Steele, and the parts of Duncan, Bsinquo, and Malcolm, suffered nothing by being entrusted to Messrs Deering, Clinton, and_ Stoneham, respectively. During the evening Locke's music was rendered in a very satisfactory manner by the members of the Company. We notice that "Romeo and Juliet" will be repeated this evening, and as it is a drama in which Mrs Siddons appears to great advantage, there will no doubt be a crowded house.