Robbery Under Arms (play) explained

Robbery Under Arms
Premiere:1 March 1890
Place:Alexandra Theatre, Melbourne
Orig Lang:English
Genre:Melodrama

Robbery Under Arms is a 1890 play by Alfred Dampier and Garnet Walch based on the novel of the same name by Rolf Boldrewood.

History

In 1889 Dampier secured the exclusive rights to prepare a dramatization of the Boldrewood novel.[1]

This was not an easy task, as the novel is mostly first person descriptive, with very little dialogue, and great sections had to be omitted, notably the opening chapter, in which "Captain Starlight" takes 2000 head of stolen cattle overland from country New South Wales to Adelaide.

The play premiered on March 1, 1890, following Walch's dramatization of Victor Hugo's Count of Monte Cristo.

Opening night

The play was staged on 1 March 1890 at the Alexandra Theatre, Melbourne, which Dampier had on a long lease. T. A. Browne and family were guests of honour in a stage box.The following were principal players that evening:[2]

Six years later the play had evolved somewhat with a couple of new characters but very few cast changes:[3]

Background

In collaboration with journalist Garnet Walch, Dampier adapted the novel into a play in 1890. The play made some key changes to the story, such as:

The play drew heavily on the story of Ned Kelly and his family – in particular Constable Fitzpatrick's harassment of Kate Kelly, which inspired Goring's treatment of Martson – as well as the themes of the novel Les Misérables.[6]

It is considered likely Garnet Walch's main contribution to the play was providing a comic subplot.[7]

Impact

The play was highly successful and was much revived during the 1890s and 1900s, including performances in London in 1894. Dampier played the role of Captain Starlight on stage many times to great acclaim, and it was the role he was most identified with during his career.[8] [9]

Alfred Rolfe, who later directed the movie adaptation, was well versed with the play, having played Sir Ferdinand Morringer in its first production, George Storefield in a revival, and Dick Marston in later productions. In 1893 he married Dampier's daughter Lily, who played Aileen Marston in numerous productions of the play.[10]

The play was highly influential on bushranging drama as a genre, leading to a number of imitators such as Arnold Denham's The Kelly Gang (1899), which was likely the basis for the film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906).[11] [12]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: Theatrical and Musical . . 623 . New South Wales, Australia . 30 November 1889 . 14 August 2021 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  2. News: Alexandra Theatre — Robbery Under Arms . . 10927 . Victoria, Australia . 3 March 1890 . 14 August 2021 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
  3. News: Robbery Under Arms. . . 589 . Victoria, Australia . 9 October 1896 . 14 August 2021 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  4. Fotheringham, p15
  5. http://hass.unsw.adfa.edu.au/asec/pdf/RUA-Adaptations.pdf Adaptations of Robbery Under Arms
  6. Fotheringham p 64-65
  7. Fotheringham p 67-68
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20080720070057/http://www.liveperformance.com.au/halloffame/alfreddampier2.html Alfred Dampier
  9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14739853?searchTerm=%22captain%20starlight%22%20alfred%20rolfe&searchLimits= Review of 1905 production
  10. Fotheringham p 45
  11. Fortheringham p 52
  12. Book: Fotheringham, Richard. 558. Australian plays for the colonial stage : 1834-1899. 2006.