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Chosen by:
Professor John Rickard,
School of Historical Studies, Faculty of Arts
Finn, Edmund, jr., ?-1922.
Christmas, 1884-85, Theatre Royal, T.F. Doyle's grand Christmas pantomime / localised by Edmund Finn and entitled Cinderella, her sisters, her sorrows and her little glass slipper, or, The fairy godmother who wouldn't let the bad step-farther, produced at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, Boxing Night, 1884-85, under the management of Messrs. Williamson, Garner and Musgrove. (Melbourne : Troedel & Co., [1884])
Edmund Finn senior is a well-known figure in the history of Melbourne. Under the pen-name, Garryowen, he was the author of the two volume work, Chronicles of early Melbourne (1888). His son, Edmund junior, wrote novels and Christmas pantomimes.
Although they were usually re-worked from fairy tales such as Cinderella, the pantomimes were not only for children, but were designed as family entertainment. While the children could enjoy the fairy tale magic, the spectacular scenery and lighting effects, their parents were regaled with a revue-style commentary on the local contemporary scene. And the Principal Boy, usually played by a shapely young actress in tights, was an added attraction for some.
Monash has a large collection of these, some from Melbourne and Sydney but mostly from London. They were collected by the Melbourne theatre critic, Dr. J. E. Neild and donated to the Library by Professor Harold Love, Neild’s biographer.
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