Russia As It Is

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Russia As It Is is a 1882 Australian play by F. R. C. Hopkins based on the Jules Verne novel Michael Strogoff . It was produced by Alfred Dampier. [1] [2]

Hopkins wrote the adaptation in 1877. Among his changes were adding Australian journalist characters. [3]

Leslie Rees wrote "Was such a play merely verbal carpentry so far as Hopkins’s contribution went, mere rearrangement of someone else’s materials? Not altogether, if we may trust some of the contemporary critics." [4]

The Riverine Herald said "it is not a play with an attractive story, nor is it a good acting drama." [5]

The Weekly Times called it a "tissue of rubbish". [6]

The Age said the story "has been covered up by superficial layers of nonsensical rubbish that the original is hardly recognisable. The adapter of tho original should le prosecuted for literary murder as well as piracy... The play has had a witless, pointless, aimless farce of tho most vapid order grafted on it, like a patch on the cheek of beauty, and the result is far from legitimate." [7] This review prompted a spirited reply from Dampier. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ John Rickard, 'Hopkins, Francis Rawdon Chesney (1849–1916)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hopkins-francis-rawdon-chesney-505/text6001, published first in hardcopy 1972, accessed online 3 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "LATE MR. F. R. C. HOPKINS". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 24, 506. New South Wales, Australia. 22 July 1916. p. 9. Retrieved 3 May 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 "RUSSIA AS IT IS". The Age . No. 8495. Victoria, Australia. 9 May 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 3 May 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. Angus & Robertson. p. 33. ISBN   978-0-207-15354-9.
  5. ↑ ""RUSSIA AS IT IS."". The Riverine Herald . Vol. XIX, no. 2, 693. Victoria, Australia. 9 May 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 3 May 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "RUSSIA AS IT IS". The Age . No. 8495. Victoria, Australia. 9 May 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 3 May 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "RUSSIA AS IT IS". The Age . No. 8494. Victoria, Australia. 8 May 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 3 May 2024– via National Library of Australia.
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