Australia On The Popular Stage 1829-1929: An Historical Entertainment In Six Acts
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Behind the footlights of colonial Australia lay a world of spectacle, scandal, and survival — and Australia on the Popular Stage 1829-1929 illuminates every corner of it. Margaret Williams chronicles a century of theatrical life across the Australian continent, tracing the remarkable journey of popular entertainment from the rough-hewn stages of convict settlements to the grand, ornate theatres of a confident, federated nation. Structured in six thematic acts, the work details the rise of melodrama, pantomime, music hall, vaudeville, and circus, presenting a vivid panorama of the performers, impresarios, and audiences who together forged a distinctly Australian theatrical identity. Williams writes with the authority of a scholar and the flair of a storyteller, weaving social history and cultural analysis into a seamless and richly illustrated narrative. The book argues that popular theatre was not merely a pastime for the colonial masses but a powerful mirror of Australian society — its anxieties, aspirations, and evolving sense of nationhood. Drawing on an impressive breadth of primary sources, it stands as a landmark work in Australian cultural history, leaving the reader to wonder just how much of that rowdy, exuberant spirit still echoes in the performances of today.
Author: Margaret Williams
Format: Hardback
Genre: Preforming Arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Behind the footlights of colonial Australia lay a world of spectacle, scandal, and survival — and Australia on the Popular Stage 1829-1929 illuminates every corner of it. Margaret Williams chronicles a century of theatrical life across the Australian continent, tracing the remarkable journey of popular entertainment from the rough-hewn stages of convict settlements to the grand, ornate theatres of a confident, federated nation. Structured in six thematic acts, the work details the rise of melodrama, pantomime, music hall, vaudeville, and circus, presenting a vivid panorama of the performers, impresarios, and audiences who together forged a distinctly Australian theatrical identity. Williams writes with the authority of a scholar and the flair of a storyteller, weaving social history and cultural analysis into a seamless and richly illustrated narrative. The book argues that popular theatre was not merely a pastime for the colonial masses but a powerful mirror of Australian society — its anxieties, aspirations, and evolving sense of nationhood. Drawing on an impressive breadth of primary sources, it stands as a landmark work in Australian cultural history, leaving the reader to wonder just how much of that rowdy, exuberant spirit still echoes in the performances of today.