The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret

There is no doubt that the chief thing to make a good actor, is genius. It must be remembered, that a performer is not merely an orator ; he must do something more than declaim ; he must represent a certain character, and that justly. Genius is the perfection of the human understanding, au union of the collected powers of the mind, imagination, sensibility, penetration, and judgment, directed to the same point of excellence, with a happy facility of attaining truth. The genius of acting consists in a fine and ready imagination, an acuteness of observation, and a correct judgment, working on the sure principle of an ardent love for the drama, joined to the love of fame. Happy natural talents are necessary to make an actor ; labour and study may do a great deal, but it will after all be a tedious journey to find dramatic excellence. The player who is not rich in talents may indeed labour to amass wealth of the understanding ; but he will be but a mere labourer after all, and will rarely ever find stock in trade enough for a master, in the art. The art of acting, requires such happy resemblances of nature, that the copies may not be known from the original. Thus the performer who has true genius assimilates himself without difficulty, to the character, he has to represent. The more nature assists him the better; and it is only when she refuses, that he must borrow from Art her best likeness, and yet how few possess the fascinating gaite de cœur, of genteel comedy, the grandeur of mind and manners necessary to tragedy, or the happy humour that constitutes farce. On Thursday evening The Wonder was played for the third time at the Sydney Theatre. Mrs. Cameron made her second appearance on the Sydney Boards as Donna Violante. This lady's style of acting in genteel comedy is peculiarly her own; ease and grace in every motion, combined with a certain embodying of herself with the character, which is the very essence of genuine performers. We say without hesitation that Mrs. C. has stamped herself as the leading actress of the Sydney stage. Mrs. Taylor is the only performer we have, who can feel offended at these remarks, but when she remembers that to Mrs. Cameron is she alone indebted for her theatrical success, that it was under the tuition of this lady, at Hobart Town, she made her first appearance on any stage, playing a second character, to Mrs. C.'s Mrs. Haller in the Stranger, it is not to be expected she could with but little instruction, reach to the theatrical celebrity of an acknowledged clever actress. She must therefore however unwilling see the justice of our remarks. Don Felix by Mr. Cameron, was very respectably performed; if that gentleman could divest himself of a certain solemnity of style, and play genteel comedy, in a smarter manner, it would be more pleasing; he must get rid, too, of a particular fashion he has of pointing his hands together: this is too stiff for comedy. Mr. Buckingham's Don Pedro was natural ; Mr. Lane's Don Lopez, was both lame and tame ; Mr. Peat got through Don Frederick, but he should have an eye to his unruly legs, which appear to have much pleasure in crossing each other, every stride he takes; Mr. Lees, Gibby, was very passable, considering he is totally unacquainted with the Highland tongue ; Lissardo, by Mr. Simes, was a good representation of a fop; of a serving man Miss Winstanly's, Isabella, was a fascinating and true impersonation, this young lady becomes a more general favourite in comedy every time she appears. Mrs. Jone's Flora was a lively character, to which she did full justice. By the by, we had nearly omitted to mention Mr. Gordon's Col. Britton. This gentleman is too unwieldly built for genteel comedy, he resembles a young elephant, in his motions, and at the fifth act, he broke down forgetting every syllable of the dialogue which materially inconvenienced the leading performers; Mr. Knowles ought to fine him at the least one week's salary, if he does not, it will be an injustice to the public, as the promptor could be heard all over the house. Master S. Jones recited between the pieces, the famous speech from Henry V.' Who wants more men from England, My cousin Westmoreland ! no my fair cousin." And got through it well, accompanied by appropriate action and gesture. Mr. Fitzgerald followed with an hornpipe, we thought of Mackay but comparisons are odious; the afterpiece was the laughable farce of the Two Gregories, to which full justice, was done by the performers.