Sinbad the Sailor single work   musical theatre   pantomime   fantasy  
Issue Details: First known date: 1897... 1897 Sinbad the Sailor
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

In reviewing the 1897 Brisbane season, the Brisbane Courier records that were it not 'for the enterprise of Miss Kate Howarde there would probably have been no pantomime this year... [and] the public appreciation was manifested by the presence of an audience which literally crowded the Gaiety Theatre to the doors. Many people were unable to obtain seats.'

In relation to the production itself, the critic writes:

'The ordinary book of the pantomime was enlivened by various local allusions, which, if in one or two instances of a rather personal character, were on the whole, pointed and effective. The allusion, for instance, to the delay in the wood paving at once struck home, and in one or two references to the Merkara case, excited the risible faculties of the audience. Taken altogether, [however], the book was not as smartly local as it might have been, but that could hardly have been expected with a company so new to town and so unfamiliar with its most salient questions' (28 December 1897, p.5).

The 1899 version comprised the following scenes:

Act 1:Scene 1. Under the Sea;

Scene 2. Port of Cadiz.

Act 2: Scene 1. Wreck of the Hesperis;

Scene 2. Diamond Valley.

Act 3: A Nautical Tableaux of Great Britain and America,

Transformation Scene; and

Harlequinade.

Songs known to have been presented within the 1897 production were 'Sinbad, Don't You Go to Sea' and 'Mary Ann Maginty' (performed by Kate Howarde) and 'Bedouin Love Song' (Arthur Hunter).

The 1899 production included 'The Carnival' and 'I Was Dreaming' (sung by Violet Bertram), 'Only Once More' (Dorothy L'Estrange), 'I Want You Ma Honey' (Myra James), 'Sons of the Sea' and 'Soldiers of the Queen' (Arthur Hunter), 'If I hadn't Been So Shy' (Sydney Carden) and 'The Dandy Fifth' (Minnie Shipp, Therese Leoni, and Myra James).

Production Details

  • 1897: Gaiety Theatre, Brisbane, 26 December 1897 - 7 January 1898.

    • Director/Producer/Lessee Kate Howarde ; Scenic Art Elliot Johnstone.
    • Troupe Kate Howarde Company.
    • Cast incl. Kate Howarde (Sinbad), Harry Craig (Tinbad), Dorothy L'Estrange (Princess), A. McDermott (The Duenna), Edwin Shipp, Minnie Shipp, Little Stella Tracey, Leonard Sisters.
    • A second edition of the pantomime was presented from 3 January 1898. It included new songs, dances, ballets, and topical jokes and allusions

    1899: Theatre Royal, Perth, 26 December 1899 - 5 January 1900.

    • Director/Producer/Manager Kate Howarde ; Music Director G. Wilson ; Business Manager Harry Craig ; Scenic Art Elliot Johnstone ;
    • Troupe Kate Howarde's Celebrated Comic Opera Company.
    • Cast incl. Kate Howarde (Sinbad), John Cosgrove (Demon), Arthur Hunter (Caliph of Bagdad), Sydney Carden (Duenna), Harry Craig (Tinbad), Violet Bertram (Princess), Katie Potter (Fairy Queen), Minnie Shipp, Therese Leoni, Dorothy L'Estrange, Hope Maynard, Myra James (Zobeide), J. Carmody (Monkey).

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Theatre Royal : 'Sinbad the Sailor' 1899 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 27 December 1899; (p. 6)

— Review of Sinbad the Sailor 1897 single work musical theatre
The Gaiety Theatre 1897 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 28 December 1897; (p. 5)

— Review of Sinbad the Sailor 1897 single work musical theatre
Theatre Royal : 'Sinbad the Sailor' 1899 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 27 December 1899; (p. 6)

— Review of Sinbad the Sailor 1897 single work musical theatre
The Gaiety Theatre 1897 single work review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 28 December 1897; (p. 5)

— Review of Sinbad the Sailor 1897 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 4 Apr 2014 11:34:14
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