Case 17
- Drama and Comedy 1
King Henry the eighth. William Shakespeare. (Dunedin Shakespeare Club). Burns Hall, Dunedin, Aug. 25, 1910.
The
Dunedin Shakespeare Club was founded in 1877 and made its first appearance in a
reading of Hamlet. Early members and
performers included Alfred Burton, of the Burton Brothers photography firm, and
the eminent lawyer Alfred Hanlon. In its early years, all readings, including
female roles, were performed by men - Mr Burton was renowned as capable of assuming
a very delicate air. The Club held regular public readings for decades, and by
the early 1960s it was the oldest dramatic society in New Zealand, and the
oldest Shakespeare-reading society in the Commonwealth.
In his
‘Memory Lane’ column, Gordon Parry reminisced about readings he attended in the
late 1940s in the Concert Chamber, where “those taking part stood on stage, men
in dinner jackets, women in long dark frocks. It was all taken very seriously …
though there were no costumes and no sets.”
King Henry the eighth. William Shakespeare. (Dunedin Shakespeare Club). Burns Hall, Dunedin, Aug. 25, 1910.
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The Allan Wilkie Shakespearean productions. His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin, July 30, 1927.
Allan
Wilkie (1878-1970) was an English Shakespearean actor of Scottish descent noted
for his career in Australian theatre.
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte; dramatized by Helen Jerome. (Dunedin Repertory Society). His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin, Oct. 11-14, 1944.
Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte; dramatized by Helen Jerome. (Dunedin Repertory Society). His Majesty’s Theatre, Dunedin, Oct. 11-14, 1944.
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Tamburlaine. Christopher Marlowe; adapted by Basil Ashmore. (Otago University Dramatic Society). Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin, July 31-Aug. 8, [196-?]
Tamburlaine. Christopher Marlowe; adapted by Basil Ashmore. (Otago University Dramatic Society). Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin, July 31-Aug. 8, [196-?]
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