THEATRE ROYAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 292, 17 December 1879, Page 2

THEATRE ROYAL.

There was a large audience last night on the occasion of " East Lynne " . being represented for the flrat time io (Nelson by the Darrell Company. The leading character, "Lady Isabel," and afterwards "Madame De Vine" was acted with consummate skill by Mrs Darrell. The limited space at oar command is altogether insufficient to allow of our giving' so .detailed a description as we coald wish, of; her clever impersonation of.this character, which Why no means an easy .one faithfully to represent, but the silence, , almost solemn in' its intensity, that prevailed in the bouse, and the moistened eyes that were to be seen on all sides daring two deathbed scenes— that of little. ;Wilhej| and again of the jealous, erring, repentant wife—

l '■ n^\ . — --— - &d>tbatrem«fldoa^. bursts of appfctasejg. t. 'hicti*he audi(Bncejssve rent to theW"p4fa»' p p feelings as the coetain fell, bore fajhigii& Iftstimony to ;the -powers of this JSjeotCd yictress than any words that we co'^ftl p^ rThere may be a diversity of oplnionfirto t& nrcrits of tha piece, but with regalia iW manner iv which Mrs Darrell performed her part there dan be none. The crafty, heartless villain, Sir brands Lcvison, whom nothing could perturb, not even the sentence of imprisonment for life, which is eventually passed On jiirtl, found an rtble representative in fltr Darrelf, >* 'at J . timeti ttte umdietice really appeared to S'p almost in doubt >ivhether to denounce the scounare!!. sm °f the baronet or to applaud the ability of iiio actor. MrD; Clinton as Archibald Carlyle was not so successful. His acting throughout Was tame, as of one, wbotras unaWeto appreciate the character he had undertaken to represent: 4 The rigid j setere y nnsym[iattaetic old maid, Miss Cornelia/ who/ ho werer, at her frail ssister-in Jaw's deathbed shoirea that she wa3 uot so heartless as she seemed, was adriiirably represented by Miss Bessie Vivian. Xtiss Kate Yernon was a charming Barbara Etsire, and Mi9s Maud Vincent made us wish that the requirements of the piece necessitated .the more frequent appearance of " Wilson "on the stage. Miss Jennie Nye, who is well and favorably known on the colonial stage, did not show to advantage. She requires a character better suited to her capabilities thau that of "Joyce." But whatever, little defects there may have been in the performance, we may safely say that as a whole we never saw better acting on a Nelson stage than that to which we were treated last night. "Hamlet " is the piece selected ior to-night, and we have no doubt that the people of Nelson will show their appreciation of the talent so unquestionably possessed by - the Darrell Company by attending in large . numbers to witness their representation of Shakespeare's masterpiece. -