Cirrus@Austlit

A pantomime with transformation scene and harlequinade, the production was also advertised as including 'a favourite song by Mr J. Howson' (Sydney Morning Herald 13 April 1846, p.2).

Loosely based on the legend surrounding the Christian Roman soldier George (ca. 275 - 303) who later became a martyr and patron saint of England (as well as Georgia and Moscow), the story tells of a dragon that, one spring, nests near a village's water supply and won't let the people past. The village's only solution is to offer a daily human sacrifice. When the local princess is chosen, her father's pleas gone unheeded. She is saved, however, when George, who is passing through the district, learns of her impending fate, and slays the dragon. Out of gratitude, the village people subsequently reject their pagan ways and convert to Christianity.