RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 165 unanimous voice of the Community in wishing that the Corps would again favour us with their highly agreeable representations”.30 ― A new venture in local companies was started in 1864 when, after the troubles of the Taiping rebellion, the Shanghai Volunteer Corps which had taken part in the defence of the Settlement apparently had enough superfluous energy to direct their efforts into more peaceful ventures. On March 30, 1864, Kenney's Raising the Wind, Jerrold's Cool as a Cucumber and Coyne's Duck Hunting were the three pieces given. Several more performances followed in 1864 (April 25, May 26) and 1865 (March 21, May 8, December 14). Not to be outdone by their colleagues, the Mounted Rangers, part of the S.V.C. and formed in 1862, decided to put on theatricals too. May 24, 1865 saw their first moves on the stage with Planché's The Knights of the Round Table and Mayhew's The Wandering Minstrel.3 31 Later performances were given on November 11 and 20, 1865, and January 12 and March 28, 1866. It was these two groups that in 1866 resolved on the foundation of the Amateur Dramatic Corps. Another local company saw the light in June 1864: The Amateur Burlesque Company Ltd. Whether they were not satisfied with the existing conditions of the theatre in Shanghai or whether the demand for Thespian evenings was so great cannot be ascertained; in any case it was announced that **although the theatrical season has closed, the approach of the hot weather warning us against crowded assemblies, a number of gentlemen have formed themselves into a burlesque company**. But the heat was no deterrent and on June 28, 1864 Lacy's The Silent Woman and H.J. Byron's Ill Treated Il Trovatore came off with considerable success, so much so that "many of the audience were disposed to believe that they were witnessing a display of professional talent". The society proved not to be a one-day affair, for it gave a number of other representations in 1864 and 1865. The actors in it probably consisted mainly of British and Americans; of another company that was also established in 1864 it may safely be assumed that only compatriots were members, viz. the Portuguese amateur dramatic club. Although the Portuguese population of Shanghai was small (the census of 1865 showed a total of 110, including 14 women and 15 children) this was apparently no hindrance to the staging of plays ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 232 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" ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 239 MORTON, John Maddison (1811-1891) "Attic Story" (19.5.1842). P: 6.5.1852 "Betsy Baker or too attentive by half" (13.11.1850). P: 23.3.1853 145 "Box and Cox: a Romance of Real Life" (1.11.1847). P: 15.5.1854; 18.2.1857 "A Capital Match" (4.11.1852). P: 23.4.1857; 3.12.1864 "Done on Both Sides" (24.2.1847). P: 10.2.1858 "Fitzsmythe of Fitzsmythe Hall" (26.5.1860). P: 26.3.1863 "Grimshaw, Bagshaw and Bradshaw" (1.7.1851). P: 2.6.1859 "Lend me Five Shillings" (18.2.1846). P: see p. 15 "A Most Unwarrantable Intrusion" (11.6.1849). P: 22.3.1854; 1.4.1864 "Our Wife or The Rose of Amiens" (18.11.1856). P: 13.12.1863; 17.2.1863 "Poor Pillicuddy" (12.7.1848). P: 15.3.1860; 26.5.1864 "Slasher and Crasher" (13.11.1848). P: 21.2.1856 "To Paris and back for £5" (5.2.1853). P: 10.5.1860; 21.3.1865 "The Two Bonny Castles" (25.11.1851). P: 22.3.1854; 8.5.1865 "Where there's a will there's a way" (6.9.1849). P: 26.3.1863 "Whitebait at Greenwich" (14.11.1853). P: 23.1.1856; 16.2.1859; 26.5.1864 "Woodcock's Little Game" (6.10.1864). P: 14.2.1865 MORTON, Thomas, Sr (1764-1838) "A Roland for an Oliver" (29.4.1819). P: 23.2.1852 MORTON, Thomas, Jr "Sink or Swim" (2.8.1852). P: 16.2.1859 MURRAY, William Henry Wood (1790-1852) 146 "Diamond cut Diamond" (19.6.1843). P: 12.12.1850 ? "No!" (14.11.1826). P: 23.2.1852 ? "Rob Roy" (10.6.1818). P: 28.3.-5.4.1865 OXENFORD, John (1813-1877) "I couldn't help it" (19.4.1862). P: 13.4.1865 "Retained for the Defence" (23.5.1859). P: 25.4.1864 PAYNE, John Howard (1790-1852) "Charles the Second or the Merry Monarch" (27.6.1824). P: 16.3.1858 "'Twas I" (3.12.1825). P: 27.4.1865 PEAKE, Richard Brinsley (1797-1880) "The Haunted Inn" (31.1.1828). P: 6.5.1852 PLANCHE, James Robinson (1796-1880) "Faint Heart never won Fair Lady" (28.2.1839). P: 8.10.-14.10.1864; 14.2.1865 "The Invisible Prince or the Island of Tranquil Delights" (26.12.1846). P: 23.3.1865 "The Knights of the Round Table" (20.5.1854). P: 24.5.1865 REYNOLDS, Francis (1764-1841) ? "No!" (16.5.1828). P: 23.3.1852 RHODES, William Barnes (1772-1826) "Bombastes Furioso" (7.8.1810). P: 28.1.1851; 5.5.1858 ROBERTS, George ? "Lady Audley's Secret" (28.2.1863). P: 28.12.1864 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 242 High Life below Stairs: J. Townley; 21.4.1851. The Honey Moon: W. Linley? J. Tobin? 19.4.1865. A Household Fairy: F. Talfourd; 216.11.1864. I couldn't help it: J. Oxenford; 13.4.1865. III Treated Il Trovatore: H.J. Byron; 22.6.1864, 29.6.1864. The Infanticidal Farce: J.S. Coyne; 21.2.1856. The Invisible Prince: J.R. Planché; 23.3.1865. The Irish Tutor: R. Butler; 5.5.1853. Isabella: J.B. Buckstone; 28.3.-5.4.1865. I've Eaten My Friend: J.V. Bridgeman; 22.3.1854. Kenilworth: N.N.; 28.3.-5.4.1865. King John: W. Shakespeare; 12.11.-18.11.1864. A Kiss in the Dark: J.B. Buckstone; 26.3.1857. The Knights of the Round Table: J.R. Planché; 24.5.1865. A Lady and a Gentleman in a Peculiarly Perplexing Predicement: C. Selby; 13.12.1864. Lady Audley's Secret: C.H. Hazlewood? G. Roberts? W.E. Suter?; 28.12.1864. The Lady of Lyons: E. Bulwer Lytton; 10.2.1864. The Lady of Lyons: H.J. Byron?; 22.10.-28.10.1864, 29.4.1865. Lend me Five Shillings: J.M. Morton; see p. 15. A Lesson for the Ladies: J.B. Buckstone; 8.4.1865. As Like as Two Peas: H. Lillo; 16.3.1858. Little Toddlekins: C.J. Mathews; 26.5.1864. Love Laughs at Locksmiths: G. Colman the Younger; 9.5.1864, Love, Law and Physics: J. Kenney; 28.1.1851. A Lucky Escape: C.S. Cheltnam; 25.4.1864. The Maid and the Magpie: H.J. Byron; 8.10.-14.10.1864, 15.10.-21.10.1864, 15.4.1865. Make your Wills: E. Mayhew; 23.1.1856. Married Life: J.B. Buckstone; 12.11.-18.11.1864. Medea: R.B. Brough; 28.12.1864. A Most Unwarrantable Intrusion: J.M. Morton; 22.3.1854, 1.4.1864, Nature and Philosophy: N.N.; 9.5.1864. The Nigger Doctor and his Patient Patient: N.N.; 14.8.1856. No!: W.H. Murray? F. Reynolds?; 23.2.1852. No 1 round the corner: W. Brough; 23.1.1856. Nursery Chickweed: T.J. Williams; 28.3.-5.4.1865. The Octoroon: D. Boucicault; 7.1.-13.1.1865, 14.1.1865, On and Off: T.J. Williams; 25.4.1864. Our Wife: J.M. Morton; 13.2.1863, 17.2.1863. Perdita: W. Brough; 8.4.1865. Poor Pillicoddy: J.M. Morton; 15.3.1860, 26.5.1864. A Practical Man: W.B. Bernard; 8.3.1854. Princess Springtime: H.J. Byron; 10.11.1865, 20.11.1865. A Race for Dinner: J.T.G. Rodwell; announced but not performed. Raising the wind: J. Kenney; 9.2.1858, 30.3.1864, 4.4.1864. The Rendez-vous: R. Ayton; 24.3.1852. Retained for the Defence: J. Oxenford; 25.4.1864. The Review; G. Colman the Younger; 24.3.1852. ================================================================================