person or book cover

Photo courtesy of Mitchell Library from Australian Variety (23 May 1917)

Harry Clay Harry Clay i(A106387 works by)
Born: Established: 10 May 1865 Singleton area, Hunter Valley, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales, ; Died: Ceased: 17 Feb 1925 Sydney, New South Wales,
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 Demons of the Deep Nat Hanley , Harry Clay , 1922 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Described in the Maitland Daily Mercury as 'Harry Clay's under the sea novelty... introduing Bluey and Dopey' (21 July 1922, p.4).

2 Untitled i "The king of vaudeville", Harry Clay , 1920 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Theatre Magazine , January 1920; (p. 26)

— Appears in: Australian Variety Theatre Archive : Popular Culture Entertainment: 1850-1930 'What Oh Tonight' : The Methodology Factor and Pre-1930s Australian Variety Theatre - Appendices (Volumes 1 and 2) 2005; (p. 1053)
Essentially an advertising jingle written by Harry Clay to promote his Sydney and New South Wales variety theatre operations.
1 The Hero of Coogee Beach Bert Desmond , Harry Clay , Clay's Bridge Theatre Ltd , 1917 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour
1 The Double Bedroom The Double Bedded Room Bert Desmond , Harry Clay , Clay's Bridge Theatre Ltd , 1917 single work musical theatre revue/revusical humour

Harry Kitching's revue in Australian Variety reports that Bert Desmond's 'bedroom routine proved a winner, if laughs are to be taken into consideration' (26 September 1917, n. pag.)

1 y separately published work icon Harry Clay's Popular Songster Harry Clay , Sydney : Joe Slater Publishing , 1914 Z1419863 1914 single work lyric/song
1 Puss in Boots Harry Clay , 1913 single work musical theatre pantomime fantasy
1 10 Bo-Peep Bo-Peep : The Girl Who Lost Her Sheep; Little Bo-Peep Harry Taylor , Stephenson and Linley , Harry Clay , Stanley McKay's Pantomime Moving Theatre , Holland and St John , Birch and Carroll , Fullers' Theatres , Stanley McKay , 1910 single work musical theatre pantomime fantasy

Subtitled The Girl Who Lost Her Sheep and billed as a gorgeous adult pantomime in two acts, the story 'deals with the love episodes of Bo-Peep, who in this instance has not suffered the loss of sheep, but of a worthy wooer ... Jack Straw, the two fond hearts [having been] kept apart by the orders of the Shah'. He eventually relents, on the condition that Jack perform a heroic deed: the recovery of a watch stolen by the witch Fly-By-Night (Sydney Morning Herald 26 December 1910, p.3).

The settings were as follows: Scene 1. The Witch's Haunt; Scene 2. The Home of Widow Bumpkin; Scene 3. The Palace of the Shah; Scene 4. The Enchanted Castle; Scene 5. Under the Waves (transformation scene).

The music for the songs and dances was performed by the tour's own orchestra. One of the songs written for the pantomime, 'It's Cheap at Half the Price' (sung in 1910 by Drysdale and Francis), included topical hits at the new State Labor government: 'when we double their screw, what a lot they'll do' (Sydney Morning Herald 26 December 1910, p.3).

Songs incorporated into the 1914 productions included 'Oh! The Sea,' 'I'm Little Bo-Peep' (Webb), 'Down a Shady Lane' (Mack and Webb), 'On the Farm,' 'Pearl of Persia' (Terry) 'Throwing Myself Away,' 'I'm the Shah, Tarantara' (Cornock), 'My Bo-Peep' (Mack), 'Arcadia,' 'The Fowls in the Farmyard,' 'Lotus Land,' 'How Are You?' and 'Little Miss Turpentine.'

1 y separately published work icon Harry Clay's New Song Book Harry Clay , Sydney : Joe Slater Publishing , 1910-1919 Z1419868 1910-1919 single work lyric/song
1 Cinderella and the Crystal Slipper John F. Sheridan , Frederick Weierter (composer), Royal Pantomime Company , Harry Clay , Philip Lytton , 1902 single work musical theatre pantomime fantasy

'Mr Sheridan … and his collaborators have succeeded in introducing an old friend to the public in a new and very pleasing guise… Departing entirely from any traditional form of the story, there are introduced scenes which suggest Meyerbeer's Robert Le Diable, Planquette's Rip Van Winkle and from that downwards to A Trip to Chinatown. Every now and then the action of the plot - if there is a plot - is interrupted by the introduction of some little pleasantry' (Sydney Morning Herald 27 December 1902, p.6).

1 The Untamed Savage W. Horace Bent , Hiscocks' Federal Minstrels , F. E. Hiscocks , Harry Clay , F. M. Clark , 1888 single work drama sketch (theatrical) humour

Farce.

1 The Lawyer's Clerk W. Horace Bent , Hiscocks' Federal Minstrels , F. E. Hiscocks , Harry Clay , 1883 single work drama sketch (theatrical) humour

Farce.

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