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Source: Brisbane Courier 23 December 1878, p.1.
The House that Jack Built ; Or, Harlequin Jack Brisbane and Pretty Little Queensland single work   musical theatre   pantomime   fantasy  
Issue Details: First known date: 1878... 1878 The House that Jack Built ; Or, Harlequin Jack Brisbane and Pretty Little Queensland
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Possibly adapted from W. M. Akhurst's pantomime The House that Jack Built, or, Harlequin Progress and the Loves, Laughs, Laments and Labors of Jack Melbourne and Little Victoria (Melb, 1869), itself later adapted as The House that Jack Built, or, Harlequin Jack Sydney (1871). Australian theatre historian Richard Fotheringham suggests one clue when he refers to the fact that Edward McLean, the director of 'Dances, Marches and Evolutions' for this production, had also undertaken the choreography duties for the Sydney production (Australian Plays for the Colonial Stage, p.230).

Containing a variety of songs including operatic, popular, and original numbers, the production was 'localised and expressly re-arranged' for the Queensland Theatre (Brisbane Courier 27 December 1878, p.1). The local scenes included the Post Office, Brisbane Houses of Parliament, the Brewery, and well-known shops in the city. The Brisbane Courier's editor, in commenting on his reporter's critique of the Boxing Day premiere, indicates that the jokes and harlequinade in particular were of the usual Christmas quality. He called into question the focus of some of the pantomime's topicalities, however, writing that 'We think the most exalted position in the colony should secure a certain immunity from stage jokes, and were [sic] glad to find from the silence of the audience that they were not in accord with the doubtful taste that prompted these sallies' (27 December 1878, p.2).

Production Details

  • 1878: Queensland Theatre, Brisbane, 26 December 1878 - 22 January 1879

    • Lessee James Thynne; Scenic Art R. Burton; Chorus E. McLean; Stage Manager Alex Thomson.
    • Troupe Queensland Dramatic Company and McLean's Juvenile Troubadours.
    • Cast incl. Nina Tulloch (Columbine).
    • 23 performances.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Editorial 1878 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 27 December 1878; (p. 2)

— Review of The House that Jack Built ; Or, Harlequin Jack Brisbane and Pretty Little Queensland 1878 single work musical theatre
Editorial 1878 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 27 December 1878; (p. 2)

— Review of The House that Jack Built ; Or, Harlequin Jack Brisbane and Pretty Little Queensland 1878 single work musical theatre

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

Note:

This entry has been sourced from research undertaken by Dr Clay Djubal into Australian-written popular music theatre (ca. 1850-1930). See also the Australian Variety Theatre Archive

Details have also been derived in part from the Annotated Calendar of Plays Premiered in Australia: 1870-1890.

Last amended 21 Mar 2014 13:24:35
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