The Bandit of the Rhine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bandit on the Rhine
The Independent 24 Sept 1834
Written byEvan Henry Thomas
Date premieredOctober 14, 1835 (1835-10-14)[1]
Place premieredLaunceston
Original languageEnglish

The Bandit on the Rhine is a 1835 Australian play by Evan Henry Thomas. It was once considered the first play written and published in Australia although it seems to have been preceded by The Bushrangers and The Tragedy of Donohoe.[2][3][4]

An October 1834 advertisement asked for subscriptions so the play could be published.[5][6]

It debuted in Launceston in 1835. One review said "We cannot do justice to ourselves, if we omit to notice the very little anxiety shewn on the part of the performers generally, to the success of the piece. It is not a production of Shakespeare, certainly, but, with so careless a performance, Shakespeare's best piece must have failed in effect."[7]

The play was performed again in Hobart in 1836.[8]

No copy of the play has been located.[9]

Thomas announced he would publish a romantic drama in five acts, entitled The Rose of the Wilderness, or Emily the Maniac but this does not seem to have happened.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "THEATRE". The Cornwall Chronicle. Vol. 1, no. XXXVII. Tasmania, Australia. 17 October 1835. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "HLRALD SATURDAY MAGAZINE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 707. New South Wales, Australia. 31 May 1952. p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "The Courier". The Hobart Town Courier. Vol. VII, no. 425. Tasmania, Australia. 19 September 1834. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "CORRESPONDENCE". The Examiner (Tasmania). Vol. XCI, no. 199. Tasmania, Australia. 5 November 1932. p. 11 (DAILY). Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Advertising". The Independent. Vol. IV, no. 204. Tasmania, Australia. 24 September 1834. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "TO THE EDITOR". Launceston Advertiser. Vol. 7, no. 376. Tasmania, Australia. 20 August 1835. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "THEATRE". The Cornwall Chronicle. Vol. 1, no. XXXVII. Tasmania, Australia. 17 October 1835. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Advertising". The Tasmanian. Vol. X, no. 510. Tasmania, Australia. 21 October 1836. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "PLAYERS GROUP BUILDS ON PAST EFFORTS". The Mercury. Vol. CLXXIII, no. 25, 650. Tasmania, Australia. 7 March 1953. p. 17. Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ E. Flinn, 'Thomas, Evan Henry (c. 1801–1837)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/thomas-evan-henry-2725/text3841, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 11 May 2024.

External links[edit]