AustLit

Singer/ comedian Edwin Kelly and female impersonator Francis Leon went into partnership in Chicago in 1863, forming a minstrel troupe that toured the US until contracted by Hiscocks and Hayman for a tour of Australia in 1878. Prior to ending their partnership in 1880, Kelly and Leon were heavily involved in the local variety industry. This included building and opening the Opera House in Sydney, and producing Australia’s first-ever Gilbert and Sullivan production (H.M.S. Pinafore). They also engaged many local performers and producing locally-written works like Marcus Clarke’s political satire The Happy Land and W. Horace Bent's burlesque H.M.S. Pin-A-4 (both 1880).

[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]