AustLit

Pre-publication publicity indicated that 'The new journal will keep pace with the Dramatic, Photoplay, and Social events as they occur, which is, of course, impossible in a magazine which appears only once a month... Every phase of the Refinement and Joy of Life will be attended to, and, in addition, there will be a number of pages devoted to the edification and education of the rising generation, the future Men and Women of Australia.' It published a mix of articles and columns of gossip and anecdote, interviews, listings and critiques of performances, a serial, short stories, fashion news, recipes, and household hints.

In July 1927, it carried an editorial, 'The Theatre Crisis', dealing with competition from music hall and cinema. This lament was followed two months later by the query 'Is Sydney a Philistine City?', after the failure of 'three very beautiful and charming plays' revealed the city's 'shocking lack of good taste and failure to appreciate the beautiful', a lack shared by other world capitals, which had all succumbed to the attractions of cinema and music hall. The following issue (October 1927) announced its demise, brought about because of the take-over of theatre and cinema by 'powerful trusts and combines, which have monopolised the theatres, and the picture palaces, and, having eliminated competition, are indifferent as to what theatres people attend'. It claimed a fatal loss of advertising revenue from cinema interests because of its encouragement of the production of Australian and Empire films.