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The Bunyip was originally a sketch for five people, written in 1908 by Ella Airlie, a young Ballarat-born actress/composer who also worked on the variety stage as a pianist and singer. Following a season at Perth's Melrose Theatre around March 1916, Airlie invited the Fullers to consider the work as a musical comedy, but they deemed it unsuitable, since it lacked a strong romantic angle. Benjamin Fuller was nevertheless attracted to its strong Australian flavour and later that year he gave the go ahead for it to be re-worked by Airlie and director Nat Phillips as the company's first-ever pantomime extravaganza.
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This entry has been sourced from research undertaken by Dr Clay Djubal into Australian-written popular music theatre (ca. 1850-1930). See also the Australian Variety Theatre Archive
Last amended 22 Apr 2014 06:41:35
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