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music, a dazzling transformation scene, and a rollicking harlequinade." It enlisted a great many people for the leads, chorus and orchestra.
Not everyone in Hong Kong was happy about pantomimes. In 1891 in the "Beauty and the Beast" "the indiscreet censure lately passed by the Bishop upon the Pantomime was noticed in a verse or so--and a comical but somewhat misplaced representative of his Lordship appeared in the Harlequinade".
The A.D.C. tried its hand at light opera in 1894 with the performance of Gilbert and Clay's "Princess Toto". It was described, however, as "vapid and unattractive". The Choral Society had for some years been presenting light operas and had already given "Iolanthe" and "The Gondoliers". In subsequent years the A.D.C. did "Trial by Jury", "Yeomen of the Guard", "His Excellency", and "The Gondoliers".
During this same period, along with the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, other currently popular musical plays were staged.
THE GENIUS OF MR. SINCLAIR
With more frequent visits of professional companies, the A.D.C. increasingly found it difficult to sustain interest and attendance. This resulted in financial losses and threatened the future of the Amateurs. A new era arrived when Mr. Walter Sinclair assumed direction of A.D.C. productions in 1912.
Sinclair was imaginative and venturesome and mounted productions that were different from those presented by the travelling companies. The A.D.C. took on new life.
Among Sinclair's innovations was his introduction to Hong Kong of the playwright Lord Dunsany. In 1921 he presented an evening's programme of four Dunsany plays. One of these was "The Compromise of the King of the Golden Isle". It was the play's world premiere. The setting was Chinese. During the interval preceding it, to set the mood, a group of Chinese amateur musicians played Chinese music. It was particularly noted that the music "was not unpleasing, for people who have heard only the cymbals and tom-toms may find music in the sweetness of some of the native banjos and fiddles".