THEATRE ROYAL.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2122, 22 October 1875, Page 3

THEATRE ROYAL.

Of all.the pieces the excellent theatrical company at present at the Thames have played up to this time, that entitled " Pygmalion and Galatea," by W. S. Gilbert, which was performed last night, was, without doubt, the most successful. All the other pieces hare been both good in themselves and -well played by the actors, but the performance of last night must certainly take the lead of the five plays hitherto produced. It is just such a piece as the present compauy should play with, success; not an actor in it was out of his or her place; the scenery is simple; the dialogue well written and amusing ; and with Miss Carry George to play Galatea and the others each in characters eminently adapted for them, it would be hard indeed if an audience far more critical tha,n -the audience of last night did not leave the theatre specially well pleased. Miss Carry George was what we expected, her to be—Gaiatea to the life. The expressions of her face, taken to be an index of the thoughts supposed , t& be " passing in -the mind of the i4eal Sal&iea, gate evidence of an actress of «|k ordinary power. Cy-^ nisca in Miss Morgan's hands but added to* that lady's fast increasing reputation; and the acting of Messrs Lawrence and Collier as the sculptor and warrior was worthy of that of the two ladies with whom they made their bow in answer to the.calls of the. audience they had.so much, delighted. What to say of Mr Poole we hardly know.- ; Q%n as he has appeared at the Thames wo have never seen him so completely identify himself with the character he personated -as be did last evening; bis make-up was so excessively good that, except for his name in the bills, he would have been unrecognizable by the of the audience, while his acting and general appearance on the stage left room for nothing save applause. His conception of the part of Chrysos and his embodiment of the conception were in every way a complete success. Mrs Searle and Miss Emma Kogers were good in their parts, and in i taking leave of" Pygmalion and Galatea," | we can only say what we feel sure the audience will endorse, that all who saw it" could not bo otherwise than pleased atit. "We then had the pleasure of hearing Miss Morgan sing two of her charming songs—" Mlyer Threads " and the song of the " Whip-poor-will;" the second was given in answer to the unanimous encore which the first was sure to elicit. Each , song was sung very sweetly and naturally ! and could not fail to please, and that it did please the applause was sufficient to show. A farce or comedietta called " The JJappy Man," in which Messrs Poole, Searle, Burton and Miss Patty Holt distinguished themselves, finished the entertainment. To-night Miss Carrie George takes a benefit whrch she richly deserves. She plays the part of Margaret Elmore in the play of " Love's Sacrifice." The character is said to be one of her most successful ones ; if it be better than those she has previously shown us, it must indeed be good. The entertainment will be under • the patronage of the Mayor and Corporation, the officers and men of the Volunteers and Naval Brigade, the Superintendent and men of the Fire i Brigades and the" leading townspeople, j There is not much need for us to say that the actors will do their paf^to make the benefit worthy of Miss George. The names of Messrs. Lawrence, Collier and Poole are sufficient guarantees of what will be seen, and it is not impossible that Miss Carry George will excel even herself. It only remains for the public to do their part, and show their appreciation of the beneficiaire by according her a bumper house. Miss Lizzie Morgan will sing one of her charming ballads at the j conclusion of the piece, an additional inducement to swell the house to-night. We would say in justice to this lady, that it is to be hoped that those in the pit will have more regard for her voice and less for their tobacco during the time she is singing. It is hard enough to sing successfully after going through a fatiguing part, but doubly hard to do so when the atmosphere is impregnated with tobacco smoke. There is plenty of time to indulge in a smoke between the acts, without converting the inside of the theatre to a divan, to the annoyance of ladies among the audience and actresses on the stage.