“HAMLET.”

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5641, 29 April 1879, Page 3

“HAMLET.”

Mr. Creswiok’a appearance as Hamlet was, as we predicted, a marvellous impersonation. His conception of the part was simply magnificent ; in fact, nothing at all approaching it has been seen in this colony. The scene in which he adjures the shade of his father in the words, “ Angels and ministers of grace defend us,” was so grandly impressive that it was difficult to believe it was not reality itself. The audience from first to last were completely spell-bound ; and later on, where ho hears for the first time of his uncle’s crime, in the passage, “ Ob, all you host of heaven !” he was simply sublime. The scene between Hamlet and Ophelia, in the third act, showed nnmistalceably how the audience appreciated the unaffected and powerful acting of Miss Ashton. Hamlet's advice to the players was given with the most marked effect ; and it is much to be regretted that it is not more often regarded and acted on by some of our colonial aspirants to the buskin. The grand soliloquy in the third act- was, to our mind, one of the most finished pieces of elocution and acting it has been our lot to hear. Dead silence pervaded the theatre, and the softest Intonations of the voice were distinctly heard, as if close at hand. How this great actor, with passionate fervor, swayed his voice from tho loftiest tones to those of the deepest pathos it is out of our power to describe—it seemed to us the very perfection of acting. In the play scene the grouping was different to what we have been accustomed, indeed we prefer it as represented in Maclise’s great picture. The part of Ophelia was rendered with most exquisite skill; indeed in the mad scene, where she concludes in the passage, “ I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died,” was rendered with such sorrowful pathos as to draw tears from most of the audience. Mr. Harry Power, as the gravedigger, was dry and humorous, as usual, and is deserving of great praise for the impersonation he gave to a somewhat minor part. Both Mr. Creswick and Miss Ashton were called before the curtain at the close of each act, receiving the most rapturous applause on each occasion. A word of praise must also be bestowed on the really excellent performance of Mr. Burford as the Ghost, which part he gave with most appropriate solemnity—indeed the performance from first to last was, we believe, far above anything ever heard before in Wellington. The dresses and scenery were strictly appropriate. -