RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p 242 CARL T. SMITH 1 Dec. 1852 - first performance of amateurs under new management. 12 Feb. 1853 — Victoria Amateurs. "Twice Killed" farce (John Oxenham, 1837) "Slasher and Crasher" farce (J. M. Morton, 1848) 19 Mar. 1853 meeting at Victoria Theatre for purpose of forming a Corps Dramatique to arrange for another performance at an early date. 20 Apr. 1853 "Animal Magnetism" farce (Mrs. E. Inchbald, 1758) "A Kiss in the Dark" farce 19 May 1853 last night of season of Victoria Amateurs. "Time Tries All" dramatic drama (J. Courtney, 1848) "Toothache, or The Prince and the Chimney Sweep" farce 1853/54 27 Oct. 1853 Meeting at Victoria Theatre of those interested in theatricals to make arrangements for the coming season. (I found no notice of any performance for this season). 1860/61 3 Jan. 1861 "Still Waters Run Deep" (T. Taylor, 1855) 1861/62 1862/1863 29 Jan. 1861 new theatre, Hong Kong Amateur Theatre, performance by officers and gentlemen who have organized this establishment: "A Bachelor of Arts" (P. Hardwicke, 1853) "A Nice Firm" (T. Taylor, 1853) 25 Feb. 1861 performance of Gentlemen Amateurs Mon. last. 28 Mar. 1861 theatrical season drawing to close. Appreciation to the Committee. Difficult to see how the Amateur Theatrical Company could have managed without aid from the garrison. Dec. 1861 - first performance of season: "Cool as a Cucumber" (M. W. B. Jerrold, 1851) "The State Secret" (A. Snodgrass, 1821, or T. E. Wilks, 1836) in same commodious erection as served so well for last year's performances, 23 Jan. 1862 second public performance of Hong Kong Amateur Theatre: "Not a Bad Judge" comic drama (J. R. Planche, 1848) "The Critics" facetious tragedy (Sheridan, 1779) 1862 season "Cramond Brig" (W. H. Murray, 1826) Dec. 1862 The theatre a reproduction of last year's design. "Uncle Zachary" comic drama (John Oxenford, 1860) "Fearful Tragedy in Seven Dials" (Charles Selby, 1857) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p 245 26 May 1875 "An Unwarranted Intrusion" farce (J. M. Morton, 1868) "Alladin" burlesque (J. S. Bryon, 1861) 1863, 1867, also given 1875/76 no production on record. 1876/77 11 Nov. 1876 "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" (Wm. Brought, 1868) 19 Feb. 1877 "Alladin, or the Wonderful Scamp" (J. S. Bryon, 1861) 8 May, 1877 "Not Such a Fool as She Looks" (H. J. Bryon, 1868) given in 1873. 1877/78 7, 12, 13 Jan. 1878 "The Boots at the Swan" farce (Charles Selby, 1842) 4 Feb. 1878 "Still Waters Run Deep" Tom Taylor comedy; given in 1862. 1878/79 apparantly no production this season. 29 Dec. 1879 "The School for Scandal" (Sheridan, 1777) first appearance of women in casts of the amateurs. Mar. 1880 "Porter's Knot" (J. Oxenford, 1858) "The Critic" (Sheridan, 1779) - second act. 27 Apr. 1880 "New Men and Old Acres" (T. Taylor and A. W. Dubourg, 1869) 1870/80 1880/81 11 Nov. 1880 repeat of "New Men and Old Acres" 1 Mar. 1881 "A Wonderful Woman" (C. Dance, 1849) "The Area Belle" (W. Brough and A. Halliday, 1864) given in 1867. 18 Mar. 1881 "The Cup of Tea" (author unknown, 1866) "A Happy Pair" (S. T. Smith, 1868) two characters only screen scene from "School for Scandal" (Sheridan, 1777) 1881/82 apparantly no production this season. 1882/83 23 Jan. 1883 "The School" (T. W. Robertson, 1869) 1883/84 25 Sept. 1883 "She Stoops to Conquer" (O. Goldsmith, 1773) 7 Dec. 1883 "The Wedding March" eccentricity (W. S. Gilbert, 1873) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 234 in 1846 and kept by the London Missionary Society. (NCH 25.11.1865; SCR 24.11.1865). 14.12.1865 (Thur) J.M. MORTON: "Woodcock's Little Game” (1864) T: Farce (1 act) J.P. PLANCHE: "Faint Heart never won Fair Lady" (1839) T: Comedy (1 act) C. SELBY: "The Boots at the Swan" (1842) T: Comedy (1 act) C: Amateurs of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps F: Prologue spoken by Edward Lawrance and Mr. Groom Th: Lyceum Theatre (1) N: First performance of the season by the S.V.C. R: Again only stage names were used in the review. In Morton's piece, Woodcock's Little Game, Woodcock was played by Mr. DOLEFUL who had "evidently elaborated the part with great care." His only drawback was "a certain monotony in gesture". Another central character was Mrs. Colonel Carver, "inimitably performed by Mrs. St. CHAWLES. The majestic lady's make-up was characteristic and costly and many of her attitudes and tones reminded us of Miss Snowdon [Mary Jane Chippendale, 1837-1888; but she made her debut only in 1863 JH] whose imposing personation of similar female parts has assisted so many Haymarket triumphs". Exceptionally some slight attention was also paid to the staging when the critic wrote about the second scene that the "occasional glimpses of the whirling waltzers and partners-seeking promenaders were skilfully managed". In Faint Heart never won Fair Lady Mr. DOLEFUL again took a leading part, that of Ruy Gomez. However, the Herald was not inclined to accept this gentleman's reading of the character without some exception, as a greater prominence might have been given to the comic element. Lightness, vivacity and élan are indispensable in all characters written, as this one was, for Charles Mathews. However, as he had appeared in a humorous part before, Mr. DOLEFUL was perhaps anxious to show his versatility". Travesty abounded: "The most difficult part was essayed by Miss SOFTLY [as Charles, the King of Spain, a role cast for an actress JH]. For a man to play a lady's part is hard, for a lady to play a man's part is not easy, but for a man to play a man's part as a lady would play it is hardest of all. Charles II, the mischievous, frolicsome schoolboy at large, newly awaking to a sense of royal responsibility, has been a favourite part with some of our cleverest and prettiest actresses and Miss SOFTLY held her own when compared with these formidable competitors" About the Boots at the Swan the reporter confessed that "we are inclined to think this piece has been acted enough" (but hardly in Shanghai where it was on the boards for the first time). "The elaborate mimicry of the inimitable ROBSON made the deaf Boots as popular with the London public as Sam Weller had been before him, but a peculiar talent alone can render Jacob Earwig interesting to an audience ten thousand miles away from the little theatre in Wych Street* (i.e. the Olympic Theatre in London). (Henry Morley wrote about Robson in this part, 1857: "Mr. Robson, although deaf, is humorously wide awake. He is the Boots who is brisk and alive to all the humour of the street, who would be preternaturally knowing if he could but hear what people say. In word and look and action he is more the gamin than the simpleton. The extravagance of a most laughable farce is heightened by him to the utmost and there is not a long face to be seen while he is busy on the stage" *** 136) But, to continue with the Herald: "FUNNYDOG, the new low comedian, is a valuable accession to the company. His stable yard dress, wooden attitude and imperturbable face formed a perfect study for Leech and Cruikshank, and the finish with which he played the long, and we confess to us tiresome, drunken scene shows ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 240 RODWELL, James Thomas Gooderham (d. 1825) "A Race for Dinner" (15.4.1828). P: Announced in March 1854 but not performed. "The Young Widow or A Lesson for Lovers" (1.11.1824), P: 27.4.1865 SELBY, Charles (1802?-1863) "The Boots at the Swan" (5.4.1843). P: 14.12.1865 **A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials". P: 15.2.1860 **A Lady and a Gentleman in a Peculiarly Perplexing Predicament" (9.8.1841), P: 13.2.1864 **The Unfinished Gentleman'' (1.12.1834). P: 17.6.1865 SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) "King John" (1594–1596). P: 12.11.-18.11.1864 (Prison scene, Act IV.1 only) **Richard III" (1592-1593). P: 26.4.1865 (Act V only) SHERIDAN, Richard Brinsley (1751 1816) **The Rivals" (17.1.1775). P: 28.9.1858; 23.11.1864 SUTER, William E. (1812-1882) ? "Lady Audley's Secret" (22.2.1863). P: 28.12.1864 TALFOURD, Francis (1827-1862) "A Household Fairy" (24.12.1859), P: 26.11.1864 TAYLOR, Tom (1817-1880) ? "Cinderella" (12.5.1845). P: 12.11.-18.11.1864; 28.4.1865 "Still Waters Run Deep" (3.3.1856). P: 23.4.1857; 15.3.1860 TOBIN, John (1770-1804) ? "The Honeymoon" (31.1.1805). P: 19.4.1865 TOWNLEY, Rev. James (1714-1778) "High Life below Stairs" (31.10.1759), P: 21.4.1851 WEBSTER, Benjamin Nottingham (1797-1882) ? "Aurora Floyd' (11.3.1863). P: 26.11.1864; 17.4.1865 ? "The Golden Farmer or the Last Crime" (26.12.1832). P: 8.10.1857 WILLIAMS, Thomas John (1824-1874) "Nursery Chickweed" (12.11.1859), P: 28.3-5.4.1865 "On and Off" (6.6.1861). P: 25.4.1864 APPENDIX II An alphabetical list of plays staged in Shanghai 1850-1865 The Adventures of Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Rising of 1745: N.N.; 13.6.1864. Aladdin or the Wonderful Scamp: H.J. Byron; 2.9.1864, 19.11.1864, 29.4.1865, Anything for a Change: C.W. Brooks; 15.5.1854. Apartments: W. Brough; 23.3.1853. The Area Belle: W. Brough & A. Halliday; 30.9.1865. Attic Story: J.M. Morton; 6.5.1852. Aurora Floyd: C.S. Cheltnam? C.H. Hazlewood? J.B. Johnstone? B. Webster? 26.11.1864, 17.4.1865. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 241 Aurora Floyd Burlesqued: W.B. Gill; 19.4.1865. The Babes in the Wood: J.H. Byron; 17.4.1865. A Bachelor of Arts: P. Hardwicke; 10.2.1858, 8.5.1865. Betsey Baker; J.M. Morton; 23.3.1853. Binks the Bagman: J.S. Coyne; 8.10.1857. The Birthday: T.J. Dibdin; 9.2.1858. Black-eyed Susan: D.W. Jerrold; 28.3-5.4.1865. Bombastes Furioso: W.B. Rhodes; 28.1.1851, 5.5.1858. The Boots at the Swan: C. Selby; 14.12.1865. Box and Cox: J.M. Morton; 15.5.1854, 18.2.1857. The Bride of Abydos: H.J. Byron; 22.10.-28.10.1864. Bullrick at Kroll: N.N.; 28.3.1864. Camille: A. Dumas Jr; 27.3.1865. A Capital Match: J.M. Morton; 23.4.1857, 3.12.1864. Charles the Second: J.H. Payne; 16.3.1858. Cinderella: H.J. Byron? T. Taylor?; 12.11.-18.11.1864, 28.4.1865. The Colleen Bawn: D. Boucicault; 25.4.1865. A Conjugal Lesson: H. Danvers; 26.3.1857. Conrad and Medora: W. Brough; 12.E.-18.E.1864. Cool as a Cucumber: M.W.B. Jerrold; 26.3.1857, 30.3.1864, 4.4.1864. Crinoline: R.B. Brough; March 1863; 16.3.1863, 1.4.1864. The Daughter of the Regiment: E. Fitzball? 15.4.1865. A Dead Shot: J.B. Buckstone; 11.4.1865. The Debut: N.N.; 1.4.1864. Delicate Ground: C. Dance; 13.2.1864. Diamond cut Diamond: W.H. Murray; 12.12.1850. Done on both sides: J.M. Morton; 10.2.1858. The Dragon of Wantley: H. Carey & J.F. Lampe; 26.1.1852. Duck Hunting: J.S. Coyne; 30.3.1864, 4.4.1864, The Dustman's Belle: C. Dance; 9.2.1858. Faint Heart never won Fair Lady: J.R. Planché; 8.10.-14.10.1864, 14.12.1865. A Fast Train! High Pressure!! Express!!!: J.M. Maddox; 8.3.1854. A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials: C. Selby; 15.2.1860. Fitzsmythe of Fitzsmythe Hall: J.M. Morton; 26.3.1863. The Flowers of the Forest: J.B. Buckstone; 28.3.-5.4.1865. Fra Diavolo: H.J. Byron; 15.10.-21.10.1864. The Frantic Husband: N.N.; 26.4.1865. The Golden Farmer: J.C. Cross? B. Webster? 8.10.1857, A Good Night's Rest: C.G.F. Gore; 21.2.1856. The Goose with the Golden Eggs: A. Mayhew & H. Sutherland; 13.2.1863, 17.2.1863, 26.4.1865 The Governess (Die Gouvernante): T. Körner; 28.3.1864. Grimshaw, Bagshaw and Bradshaw: J.M. Morton: 2.6.1859. The 'Green' Bushes: H.J Byron: 30.9.1865. A Hard Struggle: J.W. Marston; 12.11.-18.11.1864. The Harvest Home: A.F.F. von Kotzebue; 28.3.1864. The Haunted Inn: R.B. Peake; 6.5.1852. The Heir at Law: G. Colman the Younger; 21.4.1851. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 Appendix A Talks 28 March, 1998, 19th Century Government-led Education in Hong Kong by Drs Verner and Gillian Bickley. 29 March, Annual lectures in conjunction with South China Research Circle and the Antiquities and Monuments Office. 3 April, Prisons and Paparazzi-how three generations of one family survived Hong Kong 1930-97, by Kirsty Norman. 8 May, Identifying and Recording Hong Kong's Historical Gardens, by Bill Greaves and Bob Horsnell. 29 May, The East River Column with Special Reference to the Hong Kong and Kowloon Group, by S.J. Chan. 26 June, The History of the Hong Kong Film Archives, by Cynthia Liu. 7 August, Imperial Connection: Chinese Snuff Bottles by Humphrey Hui. 28 August, The Hungry Ghost Festival, presented by Elizabeth Sinn. 18 September, Conservation for Hong Kong Museums, by Paul Harrison. 30 October, An 18th Century Armenian Macau Merchant Prince, the Man and his Money, by the Reverend Carl Smith. 23 November, Archery Seminar led by Dr Charles Grayson and organised by Stephen Selby in conjunction with the Asian Traditional Archery Research Network. 11 December, Military Experiences in Hong Kong and Korea in the early 1950s, by Dr James Hayes, followed by dinner at the FCC. XX ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 53 * Giles, Glossary, op.cit., p.57. 44 Downing, C. Toogood (1838). The Stranger in China, or The Fanqui's Visit to The Celestial Empire in 1836-7. Philadelphia, Lea & Blanchard, 2 vols., Vol. I, pp.9-10. A diary kept on a French ship in 1779 tells of an "outside" pilot boat from Macau, whose five occupants spoke a kind of corrupt Portuguese. Charles de Constant (1939). Recit de Trois Voyages A la Chine 1779-1793. Passages chosen and annotated by Philippe de Vargas. Published by L'Ami, Revue Mensuelle, Yenching, Peking.. 45 46 Davis, The Chinese, op.cit., (1836 edition, London, Charles Knight), Vol.II, p. 447.. Downing, The Stranger in China, op.cit., Vol.I, p.10. * Ibid., Vol. I, p.27. 48 Morse, International Relations, Period of Conflict, op.cit., p.74 Davis, The Chinese, op. cit., (1836 edition, London, Charles Knight), Vol.II, p. 449. 50 Ibid., Vol. II, pp.448-9. 51 Morse, International Relations, Period of Conflict, op.cit., p.74. 32 China and the English (1835). New York, p.73. Written for Abbott's Fireside Series. 53 Ball, Rambles in Eastern Asia, op. cit., p.99. 54 Abbott's Fireside Series, op.cit., p.73, 55 A striking instance is given in Wei Peh T'I (1981). Juan Yuan's Management of Sino-British Relations in Canton 1817-1826, The Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, (hereafter JHKBRAS), Vol. 21, pp.153-5. Pidgin English has been described succinctly as being 'a singular admixture of corrupted Portuguese, English, Hindustani, and other foreign words spoken largely in a Chinese syntax': Chang, Commissioner Lin, op.cit., pp.235-6, n47. For a recent detailed statement on Pidgin, see Selby, Anne and Stephen (1995) ================================================================================