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not heard before and of which the best that can be said is that they are decidedly original. They seemed an imitation of the noise of braying of donkeys, but still they elicited great applause from the gallery [which was generally not regarded as very complimentary JH] perhaps from a certain feeling of sympathy. An amateur played Weber's "Aufforderung zum Tanz" with a "perfect feeling". To conclude the evening Mme SIMONSEN sung the "Valse de concert" (composer unmentioned) in which "she displayed her powers more than in any other piece she has sung" (SCR 22.5.1865).
24.5.1865 (Wedn)
H. MAYHEW: "The Wandering Minstrel“ (1834)
T: Farce (1 act)
J.P. PLANCHE: "The Knights of the Round Table” (1854)
T: Drama (5 acts)
C: Amateurs of the Shanghai Mounted Rangers
F: Music by the Band of the 67th Regiment; prologue read by Capt. Markham
Th: Lyceum Theatre (1)
―
R: In lieu of the old time favourites, Messrs Brushwood, Pickwick, Newcome and Mrs. Nesbit had come new faces. Most foreigners had not yet made Shanghai their permanent place of residence, so turnover in the theatre too was rather high. Tonight could be admired Mr. SMALLWEED who, in the Knights of the Round Table, as "the blameless king shewed a keen appreciation of his part and while he delivered the burlesque passages with much humour, proved by the taste with which he pronounced the prophetic eulogium on the Queen of England that he need not necessarily confine himself to broad burlesque in order to gain well-merited applause"; Mr. Edmund (also a member of the Amateur Burlesque Company) won golden opinions as Launcelot, whereas Mr. PEEKT as Merlin "displayed much cleverness in personating feeble old men". In The Wandering Minstrel "Mr. R.T. Larff, better known to the theatrical world as Mr. Wynnge (did this mean that he had two stage names? JH) sustained the reputation he has already gained as a low comedian and makes us the less deplore the absence of the well known and inimitable Brushwood” (last recorded performance 10.5.1860). Of course the female roles were taken by men, which led, as it always does, to some ridiculous scenes: "The company possesses great strength in the important particular of lady performers. The only drawback which, however, is immaterial in burlesque, lies in the great height and muscular development of the fair ones". Yet Miss Mary MIDDLESEX "bore away the palm for natural feminine get-up" and "nothing could excel the dash which Kate COVENTRY threw into the part of the vivandière", (NCH 27.5.1865). That not all patrons were equally pleased became evident from the Shanghai Commercial Record (5.6.1865) when it wrote: "an allusion which was considered too personal led to a corresponding in our columns" (i.e. the "Shanghai Recorder" which to the great regret of all historians treating the history of foreign Shanghai can no longer be found). At the end of the evening a number of toasts were proposed, among others to "Alabaster, to whose exertions much of the success of the company was due". This was a reference to Chaloner Alabaster (1831-1890), the British vice-consul who was also active in the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. In conclusion the Herald reported that "the arrangements were excellent and notwithstanding the warmth of the evening and the crowded state of the theatre, the air within the walls did not become oppressively hot. Punkahs were slung over the front seats and during the temporary pauses kept up a current of air",
27.5.1865 (Sat)
Performance by Mr. Benjamin Seare. Programme unknown (reading, etc)
Th: Lyceum Theatre (1)
R: Both the Herald and the Record agreed that Mr. SEARE "is possessed of great talent"