The Wreck of the Dunbar

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The Wreck of the Dunbar is a 1887 Australian stage play based on the 1857 shipwreck of the Dunbar off Sydney. It was written and presented by Alfred Dampier. [1] [2] [3] The play was performed by Dampier and his family. [4]

Leslie Rees said " As the plot developed, it moved further and further from the terrible shipping disaster of 1857. The critics gave it a drubbing—“a shabby weary weeping little screed sadder than a midnight goat and filled with bile and ignominy”, wrote one. Not even driftwood was left of The Wreck of the Dunbar after its few performances." [5]

The Sydney Morning Herald said "The plot is broadly sketched, with a free admixture of pathetic and ridiculous situations." [6]

Other accounts were more favourable. [7]

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References

  1. "THE ROYAL STANDARD THEATRE." The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) 3 September 1887: 13. Web. 7 May 2024 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13658594>.
  2. 1917 'THE PLAYHOUSE', The Mirror (Sydney, NSW : 1917 - 1919), 29 September, p. 10., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116969139
  3. 1887 'AMUSEMENTS.', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), 3 September, p. 6., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236763002
  4. "90 Years of Australian Drama; The Hits and the Flops.", Everyones., Sydney: Everyones Ltd, 10 December 1930, nla.obj-564400612, retrieved 7 May 2024 via Trove
  5. Rees, Leslie (1953). Towards an Australian Drama. p. 25.
  6. 1887 'THE ROYAL STANDARD THEATRE.—" THE WRECK OF THE DUNBAR."', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 5 September, p. 5., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13648048
  7. 1887 'Amusements.', Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), 5 September, p. 8., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108008206