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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
The magazine claimed to be 'the only purely theatrical paper in Australia, and can boast that every line in its columns contains matters of theatrical interest'. Those matters included profiles and pars on performers, critics, and performances; interviews; theatrical tit-bits; listings; short stories; and reviews of shows in Sydney theatres, Melbourne, and, later, New Zealand and London notes. It discussed censorship, copyright, and the etiquette of theatre-going (the matinee hat, talking during performances, leaving the theatre for too long during intervals). Its columnists recognised that 'the predominant public taste is not for the Drama, but for Musical Comedy or the music halls', and that 'the art of drama, the art which has been called the acme of all art, does not exist in Australia, and of local dramatists writing for the stage there is not one'. Nonetheless, it also recognised that 'Nowhere is amusement so cheap as in Australia, considering the high standard maintained in the productions'.
Notes
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Research into the history of this periodical was supported through the Nancy Keesing Fellowship at the State Library of New South Wales and undertaken by Dr Jill Julius Matthews during 2005-06.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
PeriodicalNewspaper Details
Subtitle:
Variations of: An Illustrated Journal published monthly in the Highest Interests of the Dramatic Art
Frequency:
Monthly
Range:
Vol. 1, no. 1 (Apr. 1903)-Vol. 3, no. 3 (June 1905)
Continued by:
Size:
16-22pp.
Price:
Three pence, yearly subscription three shillings and sixpence post free
Graphics:
Increasing numbers of photographs of actors and performances
Advertising:
Theatrical - productions, professional cards, throat lozenges, shoes, hotels.
Last amended 16 Sep 2015 08:32:41