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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Black-Eyed Susan; Or, All in the Downs is a comic melodrama in three acts. The story concerns a sailor, William, who returns to England from the Napoleonic Wars and finds that his wife Susan is being harassed by her crooked landlord uncle and later by his drunken, dastardly captain, who tries to seduce her. Although William is later court-martialled for attacking a senior officer, the play ends happily. Much of the humour in the piece centers on the sailor's nautical dialect. Aspects of the story were later parodied by Gilbert and Sullivan in their operetta H.M.S. Pinafore (1878). The play was also popular in Australia, both in its original form and in burlesque form.
Adaptations
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y
Black Ey'd Susan
Black-Eyed Susan
Sydney
:
Caxton Printing Office
,
1866
Z861480
1866
single work
musical theatre
burlesque
Staged as a benefit for the Sydney Female Refuge, Black Ey'd Susan was adapted and localised by Mr Bayly (an officer of HMS Curacoa) from Douglas Jerrold's famous play. The Argus described the production as 'a very sparkling little piece, interlarded with 'taking' music, and spiced with plenty of good puns. There is a due infusion of absurdity in the affair; it is boisterous and jolly as all burlesques ought to be' (11 August 1866, p.4). The cast and musicians were officers and crew from the ship.
- Black-Eyed Susan; Or, The Little Bill That Was Taken Up (International) assertion 1866 single work musical theatre burlesque humour
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Saucy Susie
H. T. Harrison
(composer),
1899
single work
musical theatre
humour
Produced for the first time only two weeks before the death of its composer, H. T. Harrision, Saucy Suzie was described in advertising as a 'nautical burlesque,' comprising over forty songs composed, arranged and selected by H. T. Harrison. Divided into 3 acts and five scenes, Peter Downes records in The Pollards that the work stuggled for acceptance due to its excessive length (p. 137).
Notes
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Up until 1866 all productions of Black-Eyed Susan in Australia, including localised adaptations, would very likely have been based on Jerrold's original play. The source of any works staged after 1866 is often difficult to ascertain, however. This is due to the widespread popularity of F. C. Burnand's burlesque version, which premiered at the New Royalty Theatre, London, on 29 November 1866. The text was also published, possibly that same year, by Thomas Hailes Lacy (London).
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Douglas William Jerrold's Black-Eyed Susan is included in AustLit because it was produced in Australian theatres during the colonial era.
Production Details
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First produced at the Surrey Theatre, Blackfriars Road, London, 8 June 1829. (Source: Nicoll, Allardyce. A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966.)
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Performed at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre (aka Haymarket Theatre), Melbourne, May 1868.
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Performed at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney, July 1868.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Theatres, &c.
1868
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 23 May vol. 4 no. 112 (New Series) 1868; (p. 658)
— Review of Not a Bad Judge 1848 single work drama ; The Rake's Progress 1833 single work drama ; Black-Eyed Susan 1829 single work dramaA review of a performance of Jame Robinson Plache's Not a Bad Judge at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, May 1868, and of William Leman Rede's The Rake's Progress and Douglas William Jerrold's Black-Eyed Susan at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre (aka Haymarket Theatre), May 1868.
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Notes by Buggins : No. 12
1868
single work
prose
— Appears in: The Freeman's Journal , 1 August vol. 19 no. 1321 1868; (p. 2)Buggins first discusses a case in which the acting police surgeon failed to attend, in a timely manner, an ill man (who later died) in the police cells.
Buggins then reflects on Mr Burford's benefit night at the Royal Victoria Theatre on 28 July 1868. The selected plays were Tom Taylor and Charles Reade's The King's Rival and Douglas Jerrold's Black Eyed Susan. Buggins suggests that Burford 'ruined his chances of a good attendance' by choosing the former, and proceeds to outline the play's history, plot and characters.
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Royal Victoria Theatre : The King's Rival, &c.
1868
single work
advertisement
— Appears in: The Empire , 28 July no. 5206 1868; (p. 1) The Empire , 29 July no. 5207 1868; (p. 1)An advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Tom Taylor and Charles Reade's The King's Rival and Douglas Jerrold's Black Eyed Susan on 28 and 29 July 1868.
The 28 July performance was a benefit for Mr C. H. Burford.
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The Theatres, &c.
1868
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 23 May vol. 4 no. 112 (New Series) 1868; (p. 658)
— Review of Not a Bad Judge 1848 single work drama ; The Rake's Progress 1833 single work drama ; Black-Eyed Susan 1829 single work dramaA review of a performance of Jame Robinson Plache's Not a Bad Judge at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, May 1868, and of William Leman Rede's The Rake's Progress and Douglas William Jerrold's Black-Eyed Susan at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre (aka Haymarket Theatre), May 1868.
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Royal Victoria Theatre : The King's Rival, &c.
1868
single work
advertisement
— Appears in: The Empire , 28 July no. 5206 1868; (p. 1) The Empire , 29 July no. 5207 1868; (p. 1)An advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Tom Taylor and Charles Reade's The King's Rival and Douglas Jerrold's Black Eyed Susan on 28 and 29 July 1868.
The 28 July performance was a benefit for Mr C. H. Burford.
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Notes by Buggins : No. 12
1868
single work
prose
— Appears in: The Freeman's Journal , 1 August vol. 19 no. 1321 1868; (p. 2)Buggins first discusses a case in which the acting police surgeon failed to attend, in a timely manner, an ill man (who later died) in the police cells.
Buggins then reflects on Mr Burford's benefit night at the Royal Victoria Theatre on 28 July 1868. The selected plays were Tom Taylor and Charles Reade's The King's Rival and Douglas Jerrold's Black Eyed Susan. Buggins suggests that Burford 'ruined his chances of a good attendance' by choosing the former, and proceeds to outline the play's history, plot and characters.
