In the steadily
growing inland port town of Ipswich on the Bremer River, popular entertainments
were starting to be staged in the late 1850s. A purpose built Music Hall had
been constructed behind a hotel near the river. In 1857, a touring group performed
an American variety programme, popular at the time, which featured items from
minstrel shows. The local press gave extensive coverage to a performance by the
“New Orleans Serenaders”.
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| Advertisement for the Steam packet Hotel (The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser 5.8.1857) |
THE NEW ORLEANS'
SERENADERS. — During the past few days these talented musicians have given a
series of entertainments, which were but thinly attended, owing to the
inclemency of the weather; and, on Saturday evening last, they gave their farewell
vocal and instrumental concert to a highly respectable and numerous audience,
under the patronage of Colonel Gray, P.M., at the new Music Hall — a spacious
wood building ---lately erected, behind the Steam-Packet Hotel, East Street.
The programme
consisted of a first-rate selection of songs, refrains, burlesques, dances
&c, among which may be particularly
noticed "the Opening Chorus" a well merited and literary production, which
was sung with great taste;
'Lilly Bell' was
also rendered in a truly pathetic manner, and called forth universal applause;
"the Medley Chorus" was very creditably introduced, each performer
joining in merry chime in the harmonious strain , the favourite ballad "We
met by chance'' was very happily accomplished; the humorous song "Jordan's
a hard road to travel," introducing many popular local topics, was
received with much enthusiasm, and led to an encore: "the Blue-tail
fly" (with imitations), created much merriment, the humming having been so
successfully rendered as almost to deceive even the entomologist ;
the duet, "Sally
is the gal for me", which was performed on the banjo and a horses'
jaw-bones, produced much mirth; the Challenge dance, between Boley and Carson,
was admirably executed, the betting of the performers having concluded entirely
in favour of Dave Carson, which was conducted with great hilarity and
emulation, both speculators very faithfully depicting the delineations of the
coloured population of America.
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| Blackface Minstrels (University of Texas at Austin) |
The evening's
performances concluded with Miss Fanny Bloomer, in costume, by J. M. Foans,
which was most effectually portrayed with much grace and spirit, and loudly
elicited universal applause.
The whole evening's
amusements were well responded to, and the unanimous approbation received
stamps the company as a most clever and proficient troupe. The violin was
played by Brower: the banjo by Boley; the tamborine by Foans; and the bones by
Carson, the two latter gentlemen kept the audience in complete roars of
laughter with their jokes and gestures.
Should they ever revisit
our township, we trust that so interesting an entertainment will not be marred
by the absence of fine weather and good
roads.[1]
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| Magic Lantern (Wikimedia) |
Not all
entertainments at the Music Hall were variety shows. Also popular at the time
were magic lantern shows, featuring hand painted coloured slides, called
Chromatropes[2], of diverse subjects such as scenes from foreign cities, nature,
and “comic Figures”.
Magic lanterns
were an early form of projector, using a variety of non-electric light sources
such as limelight. By moving two superimposed coloured slides, action scenes
could be simulated.
The program was
invariably accompanied by a narration and piano music.
 |
| The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser 15.12.1857 |
Many shows were
presented by a self-styled professor, featuring new wonders of invention and
illusion. In 1859, Professor Bennet Clay
visited Ipswich and set up his show at the Music Hall.
 |
| Magic Lantern Show (Wikimedia) |
The program was
finished with a magic lantern presentation. Popular at the time were scenes from
the battlefront and in the 1850s, these were from the Crimean War.
 |
| The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser 5.4.1859 |
© K. C. Sbeghen, 2013.
[2] A
magic-lantern slide consisting of two superposed circular glasses, brilliantly
coloured, one of which is made to rotate in front of the other. OED
[3] The
North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser Tuesday 15 December 1857
[4] A
musical instrument named for the Greek muse of music, Euterpe.
