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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Billed in advertising as 'A colossal collection of funny folk, gorgeous scenes and grandeur... a multitude of novelties, beautiful dresses, whimsical ideas and charming music... the show of a thousand and one delights [that is] fun for all from five to eighty-five' (Brisbane Courier 27 December 1925, p.2), the pantomime is also said to have contained 'the usual allusions to events and men of the moment and ambiguities in the best Fuller style' (Sydney Morning Herald 28 December 1925, p.4).

The action, which unfolds over two acts (sixteen scenes), including such settings as 'Davy Jones' Locker', 'Cannibal Island', 'The Wedding Palace', 'Aboard the Good Ship Nancy Lee', and 'The Palace of Rainbow Land', begins in Hull, where we meet the principal characters, Robinson Crusoe, his mother (Mrs Crusoe), Will Atkins (Crusoe's rival for the affection of Polly Perkins), Angelina (a disappointed lover and the daughter of the villainous Baron Deadbroke), Alice (the village belle), and her lover, a mate on the good ship Nancy Lee. After Crusoe sails off to seek his fortune, his ship is sunk by Will Atkins, and he finds himself stranded on Rainbow Island. It is here that he meets Friday and gets into all sorts of impossible situations involving cannibals, fairies, sea-nymphs, and a giant octopus and its ally King Microbe. Other characters include village maidens, sailors, castaways, and a cannibal king, along with acrobats, tumblers, and ballet girls.

One of the songs known to have been incorporated into the 1926 Brisbane season was the concerted number 'Baby's Rainbow Trail' (sung by Mary Laurence). A 'realistic cannibal ballet' staged in the second half of the pantomime is said to have been a replica of an actual Zulu war dance.

Production Details

  • 1925: Fullers Theatre, Sydney, 26 December 1925 - 22 January 1926.

    • Director Nat Phillips and Vic Roberts; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Scenic Art Rege Robbins; Chorus Sylvia Garner.
    • Cast incl. Queenie Paul (Robinson Crusoe), Nat Phillips (Will Atkins, Captain of the Nancy Lee), Harry Huley (Crusoe's much-married mother), Ness Bent (Angelina), Mike Connors (Baron Deadbroke), Elsie Sylvaney (Alice), Jack Kellaway (her lover).

    1926: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 27 December 1926 - 14 January 1927.

    • Director Nat Phillips; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Scenic Art Rege Robbins; Chorus Sylvia Garner.
    • Cast incl. Jack Kellaway (Dame Crusoe), Dan Weldon (Baron Deadbroke), Mary Laurence (Polly Perkins), Dorothy Manning (Robinson Crusoe), Nat Phillips (Will Atkins), Harry Cash (Lazy Lazarus), Daisy Merritt (Angelina), Dan M. Dunbar (The Old Man of the Sea), Polly Power (second boy) ; Musicians Charleston Super Six Symphonists - incl. Frank Wilson (trombone/accordion), 'Tiny' Douglas (violin), Art Dewar (banjo), Frank Morton (banjo), and Les Clements (piano).
    • Presented during Nat Phillips' Whirligig season in Brisbane (ca. October 1926 - February 1927), this production was staged in opposition to Mike Connors and Queenie Paul's Robinson Crusoe pantomime (Cremorne Theatre).
    • Mary Laurence's surname is often spelled Lawrence, and her first name is sometimes given as May.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

'Robinson Crusoe' 1927 single work review
— Appears in: Truth , 2 January 1927; (p. 9)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
Christmas Pantomime : Display at the Empire 1926 single work review
— Appears in: Truth , 21 November 1926; (p. 9)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
Pantomime at the Empire 1926 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 27 December 1926; (p. 6)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
'Robinson Crusoe' 1926 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 28 December 1926; (p. 15)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
'Robinson Crusoe' : Pantomime at the Fullers 1925 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 December no. 27450 1925; (p. 4)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
'Robinson Crusoe' 1926 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 28 December 1926; (p. 15)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
Pantomime at the Empire 1926 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 27 December 1926; (p. 6)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
'Robinson Crusoe' 1927 single work review
— Appears in: Truth , 2 January 1927; (p. 9)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
Christmas Pantomime : Display at the Empire 1926 single work review
— Appears in: Truth , 21 November 1926; (p. 9)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 single work musical theatre
'Robinson Crusoe' : Pantomime at the Fullers 1925 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 December no. 27450 1925; (p. 4)

— Review of Robinson Crusoe Nat Phillips , 1925 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
Last amended 2 May 2014 07:19:18
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