210
Bagshaw and Bradshaw, the critic had to admit that "what it was all about we were utterly unable to discover" (NCH 4.6.1859).
15.2.1860 (Wedn)
L.S. BUCKINGHAM: "Take that Girl Away" (1855)
T: Comedy (2 acts)
C. SELBY: "A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials" (1857)
T: Farce (1 act)
C: Amateurs
Th: N.N. (F)
N: First performance of the season
R: The new theatre was only a small one and therefore it was announced in the Herald of February 11 that "admission will only be given to ticket holders. Tickets will be distributed with the Bills to the various Hongs and any Gentleman who may be accidentally omitted will be supplied on written application to the Manager". From time to time politics continued to turn up in the playhouse. It was the time of the English and French wars in China; the United States was not taking part in them, only sharing in the spoils, yet the following remark closed the review: "We beg permission to observe that we should have been glad to have seen the 'Star Spangled Banner' floating over the proscenium along with the colours of France and England. All honour to the Anglo-French Alliance! But our American cousins form, in every respect, so important a section of this community that the absence of their flag on an occasion like Wednesday evening would seem to be a discourtesy of which we feel very sure that the worthy management never was intentionally guilty". Tonight, and on March 15, the faces of Messrs. PICKWICK, BRUSHWOOD, and TINTINNABULUM as well as that of Mrs. NESBIT were absent from the stage; others like Miss WALTERS and Mr. PETREL had remained. Making their debut were Mr. ADOLPHE, "gifted with both self-possession and a good voice"; Mr. WITHAM who, as Cuttle (in Take that Girl Away) "displayed a steadiness and a clearness of enunciation calculated to make him a valuable actor in 'utility' parts"; and Mr. NATIVE whom the reviewer thought "better fitted to shine as a sentimental than as a grotesque lover". Miss WALTERS was "dressed to perfection, played as well as ever (can we say more!) and was charmingly feminine". In A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials, there was the first night of Mr. C. AITCH as Slumpington for whom **a great future success in 'character parts' was predicted. These hopes were not realised, however, for I have not found his name again. For the umpteenth time, the Herald judged the pieces that were represented weak - to put it mildly. (NCH 18.2.1860).
15.3.1860 (Thur)
T. TAYLOR: "Still Waters Run Deep" (1856)
T: Comedy (3 acts)
J.M. MORTON: "Poor Pillicoddy" (1848)
T: Farce (1 act)
C: Amateurs
F: Music by the band of H.M.S. Imperieuse
Th: N.N. (F)
N: Second performance of the season
R: This second night took place in a house that was "crowded in every part" and proved "in every respect highly successful". The "Man on the Bund" had no longer a say in the theatrical reports, and the piece about which he had been so dissatisfied (see 23.4.1857), Still Waters Run Deep got a far better critique now: "in that scene in the second act in which the villain Hawksley is unmasked, the interest was raised to an exciting pitch and sterling dramatic ability displayed by the performers". No actors were mentioned, but in Poor Pillicoddy, a "young gentleman made his first appearance