Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times (International) assertion single work   drama   - Five acts
This international work is included in AustLit to identify a relationship with Australian literature.
Issue Details: First known date: 1867... 1867 Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The beautiful young Laura Courtland is looking forward to marriage with Captain Ray Trafford, but when he discovers that she was adopted when arrested as a child-pickpocket, he turns from her. In despair, she runs away from home and ends in court, where the villainous Byke claims to be her father. A decent one-armed ex-soldier Snorkey and a repentant Trafford intervene to prevent Byke abducting Laura to New Jersey. In the ensuing fight, Byke throws Laura in the river. She swims to safety and returns to her adoptive home, where she selflessly urges Trafford to marry her cousin Pearl. When Snorkey tries to foil Byke's plan to burgle the Courtlands' home, Byke ties him to a railroad track in the path of an advancing train. Laura breaks out of the shed where Byke has trapped her and frees Snorkey in the nick of time. She returns home and learns that she and Pearl were exchanged as babies, and that Laura is the legitimate Courtland heir. She is now able to marry Trafford' (Oxford Reference).

Adaptations

Under the Gaspipe Under the Gaslight W. Horace Bent , J. Billin , Dan Tracey , 1891 single work musical theatre burlesque

Although likely a burlesque on Augustin Daly's 1867 melodrama Under the Gaslight (the play that introduced the famous thrill scene in which a villain ties someone to the railroad tracks), the Sydney Morning Herald indicates in 1893 that part of the action revolves around two waiters who go through 'all sorts of antics with the knives, plates, bottles, fruit and lamp found on a table conveniently at hand.' Among the other specialty acts included in the production were a butterfly dance and some American trick dancing (26 June 1893, p.4).

Notes

  • American actor James Stark brought Under the Gaslight to Australia in 1868, premiering it in Melbourne around the same time that it was first staged in British. In an advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production (May), theatre manager William Hoskins stated that Stark had brought 'models of the scenery, steamboats, railroad cars, etc, etc, from New York' (The Empire, 16 May 1868, 1).
  • Under the Gaslight is included in AustLit because it was either produced in Australian theatres or adapted and/or burlesqued for local audiences during the colonial era.

Production Details

  • First produced at the New York Theater, New York, 12 August 1867.

  • First produced in the UK at the Tyne Theatre, Newcastle, UK, 20 April 1868.

  • Performed at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre (aka Haymarket Theatre), Melbourne, April-May 1868.

  • Performed at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney, May 1868.

  • Performed at the Prince of Wales Opera House, Sydney, September 1868.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1867
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

The Theatres, &c. Jaques (fl. 1866-1868) , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 20 June (New Series) vol. 4 no. 116 1868; (p. 786-787)
— Review of Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

A review of the performance of John Augustin Daly’s Under the Gaslight at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Melbourne, June 1868.

Jaques also reviews the various farewell performances of Walter Montgomery at the Theatre Royal.
The Theatres, &c. Jaques (fl. 1866-1868) , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 9 May vol. 4 no. 110 (New Series) 1868; (p. 594)
— Review of The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride Edward Bulwer Lytton , 1838 single work drama ; Macbeth William Shakespeare , 1606 single work drama ; Othello William Shakespeare , 1604 single work drama ; The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare , 1594-1597 single work drama ; Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

Jaques reviews productions of Lady of Lyons, Macbeth, Othello and The Merchant of Vencie at the Theatre Royal, and Under the Gaslight at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, focusing particularly on the quality of the acting.
The Theatres, &c. Jaques (fl. 1866-1868) , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 2 May vol. 4 no. 109 (New Series) 1868; (p. 562)
— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama ; Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare , 1598 single work drama ; Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

Jaques reviews productions of Hamlet and Much Ado about Nothing at the Theatre Royal, and Under the Gaslight at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, focusing particularly on the quality of the acting.
Notes by Buggins : No. 3 : General Buggins , 1868 single work prose
— Appears in: The Freeman's Journal , 30 May vol. 19 no. 1312 1868; (p. 9)

Buggins comments on the use of opera glasses before proceeding to review and discuss the Royal Victoria Theatre's production of John Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight.

Buggins concludes his thoughts on the play thus:

'I believe a Mr. Daly claims to be the author of Under the Gaslight, it should be adapter – not author. In a Christmas work entitled 'Fireflash', (written by Mr. Garnet Walch) at page 34 I read the following: – "Neither poison, the knife, nor the pistol, was this murderous weapon. He had led his half stupefied [sic] victim to within twenty yards of the railway. There was no embankment hereabouts; it was all level ground. In five minutes the remorseless wretch had dragged him over the rough ballast and had placed him with his head across the nearest rail. The down express would pass over that spot in ten minutes, and there would be no such person as Alice Marshall in existence to come between him and his coveted prize." I think the Dramatist has borrowed a good idea from a young and promising colonial author and failed to acknowledge the obligation.'

It should be noted that Daly's play was first produced in New York on 12 August 1867; Walch's 'Fireflash' probably went to press in December 1867.
Notes by Buggins : No. 1 : At the Play Buggins , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Freeman's Journal , 23 May vol. 19 no. 1311 1868; (p. 2)
— Review of Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama
Victoria Theatre 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Empire , 18 May no. 5146 1868; (p. 2)
— Review of Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

A review of a performance of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney, on 17 May 1868.
Victoria Theatre 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Empire , 28 May no. 5155 1868; (p. 3)
— Review of Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama ; Our Gal Samuel D. Johnson , 1856 single work drama

A very brief review of the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight and Samuel D. Johnson's Our Gal on 27 May 1868.
Notes by Buggins : No. 1 : At the Play Buggins , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Freeman's Journal , 23 May vol. 19 no. 1311 1868; (p. 2)
— Review of Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama
The Theatres, &c. Jaques (fl. 1866-1868) , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 9 May vol. 4 no. 110 (New Series) 1868; (p. 594)
— Review of The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride Edward Bulwer Lytton , 1838 single work drama ; Macbeth William Shakespeare , 1606 single work drama ; Othello William Shakespeare , 1604 single work drama ; The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare , 1594-1597 single work drama ; Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

Jaques reviews productions of Lady of Lyons, Macbeth, Othello and The Merchant of Vencie at the Theatre Royal, and Under the Gaslight at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, focusing particularly on the quality of the acting.
The Theatres, &c. Jaques (fl. 1866-1868) , 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 2 May vol. 4 no. 109 (New Series) 1868; (p. 562)
— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama ; Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare , 1598 single work drama ; Under the Gaslight ; Or, Life and Love in These Times John Augustin Daly , 1867 single work drama

Jaques reviews productions of Hamlet and Much Ado about Nothing at the Theatre Royal, and Under the Gaslight at the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, focusing particularly on the quality of the acting.
Royal Victoria Theatre : Under the Gaslight, &c. 1868 single work advertisement
— Appears in: The Empire , 16 May no. 5145 1868; (p. 1)

An advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight and Tom Taylor's Nine Points of the Law on 16 May 1868.
Royal Victoria Theatre : Under the Gaslight, &c. 1868 single work advertisement
— Appears in: The Empire , 18 May no. 5146 1868; (p. 1) The Empire , 19 May no. 5147 1868; (p. 1)

An advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight and Tom Taylor's Nine Points of the Law on 18 May 1868.
Victoria Theatre 1868 single work column
— Appears in: The Empire , 19 May no. 5147 1868; (p. 2)

A brief report on the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight on 18 May 1868.
Royal Victoria Theatre : Under the Gaslight, &c. 1868 single work advertisement
— Appears in: The Empire , 20 May no. 5148 1868; (p. 1) The Empire , 21 May no. 5149 1868; (p. 1) The Empire , 22 May no. 5150 1868; (p. 1)

An advertisement for the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight and of Toodles on 20 May 1868.
Victoria Theatre 1868 single work column
— Appears in: The Empire , 20 May no. 5148 1868; (p. 4)

A brief report on the Royal Victoria Theatre production of Augustin Daly's Under the Gaslight on 19 May 1868.
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Last amended 4 Nov 2014 08:30:57
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