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Largely adapted from Ethel Turner's Seven Little Australians, with some incidents from Miss Bobbie also incorporated into the narrative.
The critical reception to the play was almost unanimously positive, with most critics agreeing that writer/director/producer Beaumont Smith had captured the spirit of the original stories and had succeeded in staging it for the benefit of the children present. Well before the 1914 Palace Theatre premiere Smith indicated his intention, saying that Seven Little Australians had been on his mind as a theatrical production for several years and that he 'always felt that children should have plays written for them for daytime performances.' He went on to further note that he believed that they should also be written in a childish spirit, with the point of view always being from that of a child' (Adelaide Mail 2 May 1914, p. 13).
Production Details
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1914: Palace Theatre, Sydney; 26 Dec. 1914 -
- Producer/Director Beaumont Smith.
- Cast incl. Edward Landor (Doctor Wallace), Harry Sweeney (Captain Lennox), Cyril French (The Reporter), Reginald Kennell (Sir Fred Graham), Thomas E. Tilton (Constable Mullaney), Sinna St Clair (Berttha), Lily Molloy (Pip), Cecil Haines (Suds), Fred Carlton (Dumps), Jack Radford (Bunty), Olga Agnew (Nell), Esma Cannon (Baby), Vera Spaull (Mis Bobbie).
- Presented as matinee performances over the 1914/1915 school holidays.
NB: The play was staged regularly by Smith and Hoskins during 1915.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
'Seven Little Australians' : Child Play Scores - Happy Entertainment at Palace
1914
single work
review
— Appears in: Sunday Times , 27 December 1914; (p. 6)
— Review of Seven Little Australians 1914 single work drama -
'Seven Little Australians' : A Play for Children
1914
single work
review
— Appears in: Evening News , 28 December 1914; (p. 8)
— Review of Seven Little Australians 1914 single work drama
-
'Seven Little Australians' : A Play for Children
1914
single work
review
— Appears in: Evening News , 28 December 1914; (p. 8)
— Review of Seven Little Australians 1914 single work drama -
'Seven Little Australians' : Child Play Scores - Happy Entertainment at Palace
1914
single work
review
— Appears in: Sunday Times , 27 December 1914; (p. 6)
— Review of Seven Little Australians 1914 single work drama