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was commendable that the A.D.C. had departed from farce and burlesque, its venture into something more serious was not altogether successful; but the fault may have been not in the type of drama but in the type of characters of the particular play. It was the opinion of the reviewer that "In selecting plays they should have no out-of-the-way characters. A success at home may not be suited to Amateurs, such as these in Hong Kong. Some dramas are written for special actors". He suggested that "perhaps the amateurs could give a selection, perhaps one or two scenes, or an act from a standard play, for example, the scene between Wolsey and Cromwell in Henry VIII." This had been done by the Hon. Mr. York at the inauguration of the City Hall's Theatre Royal in 1869 during the visit of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The suggestion was not taken up, and the Company attempted another serious piece, the popular play "The Caste". In this, the amateurs had to compete against the standard set by performances given a short time before by two different travelling professional companies in which actresses played the female parts. The comparison was not kind to the amateurs. As usual, the reviewer was reluctant to criticize, but he did venture to say that the performance might tend to lessen subscriptions for the next season. He thought too much had been spent on the costumes, when, in fact, in his view, "people go to see acting, not wardrobe".
The A.D.C. returned to something lighter, and in 1876 put on a very successful burlesque, "The Field of the Cloth of Gold," by William Brough. The opening scene in the London production had been the harbour of Calais; in Hong Kong, it was the Praya between City Hall and the Bath House of the Victoria Recreation Club. The field of the cloth of gold was East Point. Though it was agreed that there was not much scope for dramatic talent in the piece, it was pronounced "an undoubted success, and far surpasses, in splendour of the get-up, number of performers, and brilliancy of the scenes, anything hitherto placed on the boards of this colony". Unfortunately, its lavishness had to be paid for, and it took several seasons before the A.D.C. had a balance.
One of the perennial favourites was the burlesque "Aladdin the Wonderful Scamp". It was given in 1863, 1867, 1875
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was commendable that the A.D.C. had departed from farce and burlesque, its venture into something more serious was not altogether successful; but the fault may have been not in the type of drama but in the type of characters of the particular play. It was the opinion of the reviewer that "In selecting plays they should have no out-of-the-way characters. A success at home may not be suited to Amateurs, such as these in Hong Kong Some dramas are written for special actors". He suggested that "perhaps the amateurs could give a selection perhaps one or two scenes, or an act from a standard play, for example the scene between Woolsey and Cromwell in Henry VIII." This had been done by the Hon. Mr. York at the inauguration of the City Hall's Theatre Royal in 1869 during the visit of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The suggestion was not taken up, and the Company attempted another serious piece, the popular play "The Caste". In this the amateurs had to compete against the standard set by per formances given a short time before by two different travelling professional companies in which actresses played the female parts. The comparison was not kind to the amateurs. As usual, the reviewer was reluctant to criticize, but he did venture to say that the performance might tend to lessen subscriptions for the next season. He thought too much had been spent on the costumes, when in fact, in his view, "people go to see acting not wardrobe”.
The A.D.C. returned to something lighter, and in 1876 put on a very successful burlesque, "The Field of the Cloth of Gold,” by William Brough. The opening scene in the London production had been the harbour of Calais, in Hong Kong it was the Praya between City Hall and the Bath House of the Victoria Recreation Club. The field of the cloth of gold was East Point. Though it was agreed that there was not much scope for dramatic talent in the piece, it was pronounced "an undoubted success, and far surpasses, in splendour of the get up, number of performers, and brilliancy of the scenes, anything hitherto placed on the boards of this colony". Unfortunately, its lavishness had to be paid for and it took several seasons before the A.D.C. had a balance.
One of the perennial favourites was the burlesque "Alladin the Wonderful Scamp". It was given in 1863, 1867, 1875
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