With no fewer than twenty-three principal performers in the cast, fourteen of whom played comedy characters, this 1917 Christmas pantomime was another hugely successful enterprise for the Fullers, running for upwards of 130 performances in Sydney and Melbourne over a four-month period.
The story concerns Robinson Crusoe, played as a distinctly bohemian character, who has returned after a ten-year incarceration on a lonely island. The incidents of the pantomime then centre on the voyage of the Pirate King to Rainbow Island, where there is an immense treasure to be had. One scene, which takes place during the voyage, involves the wrecking of Crusoe's boat by the Demon Octopus, thus giving him a chance to see the wonders under the ocean. The ship itself contains a variety of people, ranging from wowsers to adventurers. One of the features of the pantomime was the 'Globe of Death' act performed by the Staigs, which involved a motor cycle being ridden in all directions round and round the interior of a lattice-work globe.
The synopsis of scenes published in the Argus is Port of Hull, England; Road to the Seashore; Deck of the Pirate Ship; The Wreck; Beneath the Waves; The Demon's Grotto; Crusoe's Rainbow Island; Gates of Rainbowland (18 March 1917, p.7).
The principal boy role (traditionally played by a young woman) was undertaken in this production by Victor Prince, with Nellie Kolle taking on the lead support role of Will Atkins.
1917: Grand Opera House, Sydney, 24 December 1917 - 9 March 1918
1918: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne ; 16 March - 12 April.