Cirrus@Austlit

Written expressly for the Federal Minstrels, with 'new locals, dresses, mechanical effects, music, comic scenes, [and] dances' (Sydney Morning Herald 26 December 1885, p.2), this burlesque minstrel pantomime is a loose adaptation, in blackface, of F. C. Burnand's 1866 burlesque of Douglas Jerrold's play Black-Eyed Susan (1829). Unusually, the transformation scene and harlequinade were staged at the start of the production rather than at the end. The extended harlequinade concerned 'the advent on Australia's shores of Captain James Cook.'

The action takes place aboard the H.M.S. Polypheme, and contains a chorus of mermen, mermaids, marines, and sailors. The various sections in the pantomime are:

Scene 1. The Harlequinade;

Scene 2. Grand Transformation;

Scene 3. Second Comic Scene;

Scene 4. Trip: Harlequin and Columbine;

Scene 5. The Soudan Donkey;

Scene 6. 1,000 Leagues under the Sea;

Scene 7. The Funniest Last Scene You Have Ever Seen.

Advertised as a 'refined musical extravaganza,' this localised version of the F. C. Burnand burlesque on Douglas Jerrold's original 1929 drama had an extensive musical component, containing (according to one source) some forty musical numbers. The story was set in seven scenes, with these being:

• Act 1; Scene 1. Susan' Cottage

• Scene 2. Rocky Pass

• Scene 3. The Jolly Mugs

• Scene 4. Dame Halley's Cottage

• Act 2; Scene 1. The Jolly Mugs

• Scene 2. The Gaol

• Scene 3. Deck of H.M.S. Calliope

The additional material supplied by Bert Royle no doubt required of him some intensive research into local identities and recent events when the production was taken on tour. For example, its staging in Brisbane (1890) saw part of the story is set in the Brisbane Gaol, which suggests that the text would have contained satirical hits aimed at the local audience. The Brisbane Courier writes in regard to this aspect of the 1890 production, 'Mr Sheridan, as Henry Irving Smith, a smuggler, and afterwards Captain Crossgrain, was irresistibly funny, and had been supplied with any number of local hits' (28 April 1890, p.4). When the company returned for a two night season a week later (having opened for two nights at Ipswich during the week), the paper's critic further noted that 'the dialogue was interspersed with many local allusions to persons and occurrences [which] were appreciated, and created a great deal of amusement' (3 May 1890, p.5).

The musical programme inserted into the production included 'a magnificent song, '"Traveller's All" [sung] by Mr Montague, [of which] it is said… had not been heard in Australia for over a quarter of a century,' 'The Villagers Chorus,' 'Merry Little Bridesmaids' (female trio), 'The Smugglers, Silence and Fun' (male trio), 'The Coquette' (solo), 'How He Carries On' (solo), 'On Board the Lugger' (company), 'Two Lovely Black-Eyes' and 'Villains of the Deepest Dye' (quintet), 'Heave Away' (solo/ chorus), 'It's English, You Know' (with dialect verses in English, Irish, Scotch, French, Yankee and Dutch sung by J. F. Sheridan), 'Farewell My Own,' and 'Pretty See-U-Pass' (company), 'Moonlight Killarney' (duo), 'The Kranky Boys' (quartette), 'Turn on Old Time' (trio), 'Tooral-I-Oo-Ral-I' (company), 'Beautiful Moon' (duet) and the solo/chorus 'The Blatherun' (Brisbane Courier 28 April, p4). The Sydney season (1891) was commended, too, for the quality of the several ballets, the highlights being 'The Snow Ballet,' which was described as 'a scenic and terpsichorian display [that ranked] as the most wonderful and picturesque ever presented to an Australian audience' and 'The Grand Sailor Ballet' (Sydney Morning Herald 25 Apr. 1891, 2). John F. Sheridan also performed two new numbers, 'You Can't Think of Everything' and 'Is He Guilty?' (a parody on 'Bright Little Glass').

The premiere production for Dan Tracey's end of the year 'Grand Burlesque season' (which continued well into 1892), this burlesque operetta was adapted, localised, and arranged by Percy St John, most likely in collaboration with other members of the troupe. As with many other locally produced burlesques from around this period, it likely re-used the main plot developments from the original source, with the addition of new material, such as songs and comic routines.

In Douglas William Jerrold's original 1829 melodrama, Blackeyed Susan;Or, All in the Downs,Susan is forced to endure the attentions of her rapacious uncle and an over-amorous sea captain while her sailor husband is away. He is eventually court-martialled and sentenced to death for defending her honour.

Bert Royle's text for the burlesque is said to follow the original storlyline closely, though much of the dialogue and all of the songs were 'obviously new.' It is likely, however, that some of the material may well have been based on an earlier burlesque of the Black-Eyed Susan story, staged in 1890 by John F. Sheridan, and for which Royle contributed lyrics to J. A. Robertson's music. One of the most ludicrous incidents in the burlesque, records the Sydney Morning Herald critic was the scene in which 'a boat full of tars who rowed gaily over the waves, and then, to the delight of the whole house, walked upon the stage with the shell of the boat round their waists.' Another particular highlight was Crosstree's escape over a human bridge formed by four acrobats (6).

Musical numbers incorporated into the narrative included the songs 'Too Long A-Lingering' (sung by Fred Dark), 'The Gipps Street Buccaneers' (trio), 'At Four O'clock in the Morning' (Forde); and a nautical dance performed by the 'tiny' child Kitty Lohr.

Adapted, updated, localised, and abridged by Percy St John from his earlier burlesque Black-Eyed Susan; Or, The Little Bill Up-too-Late (1892), also based on F. C. Burnand's 1866 burlesque (itself an adaptation of Douglas Jerrold's original 1829 drama Black-eyed Susan; Or, All in the Downs). In Jerrold's original melodrama, Susan is forced to endure the attentions of her rapacious uncle and an over-amorous sea captain while her sailor husband is away. He is eventually court martialled and sentenced to death for defending her honour.