Arthur Adams

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Arthur Adams

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Contributor	Arthur H Adams
Gender	Male
Nationality	New Zealander
Date of Birth	6 June 1872
Place Of Birth	New Zealand
Date of Death	4 March 1936
Place Of Death	Sydney
Functions	Author, Journalist, Librettist, Playwright, Writer
NLA	https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-628490
Events	Date Function Contributor Organisation
	The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, ABC Radio, Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 3 March 1951 Gallipoli Bill, The Palais Theatre (1925 - 1926), Manly, NSW, 26 April 1926 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Sydney Repertory Theatre (1913-1924), Sydney, NSW, 18 November 1914 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne, VIC, 26 September 1914 Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Doctor Death, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 6 July 1912 Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 27 August 1910 Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 The Tame Cat, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 16 October 1909 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 The Tame Cat, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 11 July 1908 Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 9 July 1904 Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Tapu, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 17 February 1903 Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Wellington Opera House (1888-1914), Wellington, New Zealand, 16 February 1903 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898
	Playwright The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, ABC Radio, Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 3 March 1951 Gallipoli Bill, The Palais Theatre (1925 - 1926), Manly, NSW, 26 April 1926 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Sydney Repertory Theatre (1913-1924), Sydney, NSW, 18 November 1914 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne, VIC, 26 September 1914 Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Doctor Death, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 6 July 1912 Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 27 August 1910 Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 The Tame Cat, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 16 October 1909 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 The Tame Cat, Criterion Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 11 July 1908 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Librettist Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 9 July 1904 Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Wellington Opera House (1888-1914), Wellington, New Zealand, 16 February 1903 Writer Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Tapu, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 17 February 1903
	Alfred Hill - Composer, Conductor, Musical Arranger Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 9 July 1904 Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Tapu, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 17 February 1903 Tapu or, A Tale of a Maori Pah, Wellington Opera House (1888-1914), Wellington, New Zealand, 16 February 1903 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Wilfrid Neill - Actor, Director, Producer Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 27 August 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Frank Wilkinson - Actor Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Dorothea Jacob - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Gregan McMahon - Director Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Sydney Repertory Theatre (1913-1924), Sydney, NSW, 18 November 1914 Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne, VIC, 26 September 1914 Ivy Stacey - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Douglas Walsh - Actor, Producer The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 George Whittle - Actor Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 James Anderson - Producer The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Percival Aylmer - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Edmund Barclay - Adaptor Mrs Pretty and the Premier, ABC Radio, Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 3 March 1951 Richard Bates - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 W B Beattie - Actor, Stage Manager Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Adrian Bernotti - Production Manager The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Rebe Bloom - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Pattie Browne - Actor Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 John Brunton - Scenic Artist Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Connie Buttell - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Campion - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Leon Caron - Musical Arranger Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Ernest Cocking - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 John Coleman - Actor Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Jennifer Compton - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Cooper - Actor Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Gerry Corper - Accompanist The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 W Downes Johnstone - Conductor Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Ericson - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Minnie Everett - Choreographer Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 John Galsworthy - Playwright The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Gardiner - Actor Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Philip W Goatcher - Scenic Artist Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 George Gordon - Scenic Artist Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 John Gordon - Scenic Artist Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Nina Gray - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Mabel Hardinge - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 William A Hassan - Properties Master Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Marjorie Hill - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Sadie Hiosan - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Rose Jarvis - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Hugh Jennings - Actor Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Frank Johnston - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Wilmot Karkeek - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Z Karkeek - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Oliver King - Actor Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Roy King - Actor Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Rudolph Koehler - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Daniel Lopata - Stage Manager The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Austin Loughnane - Actor Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Brad Meares - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Tom Melvold - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Metcalfe - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Robert Montgomery - Producer Mrs Pretty and the Premier, ABC Radio, Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 3 March 1951 Carrie Moore - Actor Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Emily Nathan - Costume Co-ordinator Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Gilbert Nathan - Director Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Nat Nixon - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 E North Ash - Actor Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 D O'Connor - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Tal Ordell - Actor, Producer Gallipoli Bill, The Palais Theatre (1925 - 1926), Manly, NSW, 26 April 1926 George F Pack - Musical Arranger Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Percy - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Alice Pollard - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Normyn Potter - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Jill Pratten - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Ralston - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 F B Reeve - Actor Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne, VIC, 26 September 1914 Howard Reid - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Allie Robson - Actor Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Athenaeum Hall, Melbourne, VIC, 26 September 1914 William Salisbury - Mechanist Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Silvia Silk - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Smith - Actor Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 A Smith - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 Michael Sommerville - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Gerald Kay Souper - Director Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Ruby Souter - Actor The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Charles Thorne - Actor The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Bryceson Treharne - Director The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 James Turner - Mechanist Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 J B Watson - Choreographer, Director Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Frank Watts - Lighting Designer Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Peter Williams - Designer, Director The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 James Cassius Williamson - Producer Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898 Nellie Wilson - Actor Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Carmen Wright - Actor Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 Constance Wyatt - Actor The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910
	Adelaide Literary Theatre Doctor Death, Walkerville Hall, Walkerville, SA, 1912 The Pierrot in Australia; Doctor Death; Press Cuttings, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 10 December 1910 The Wasters, Unley Town Hall (1907 -), Unley, SA, 27 August 1910 The Wasters, University of Adelaide, Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide, SA, 1909 Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company Tapu, Princess Theatre, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 7 March 1903 Tapu, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 17 February 1903 Sydney Stage Society Doctor Death, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 22 October 1912 Pierrot in Australia, Standard Theatre, Sydney, NSW, 19 August 1910 Australian Broadcasting Commission, Sydney Mrs Pretty and the Premier, ABC Radio, Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 3 March 1951 The Australian Theatre The Wasters, The Australian Theatre, Newtown, NSW, 22 August 1973 Williamson and Musgrove Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; a Tale of Persian Company-Promoting, Her Majesty's Theatre (1887-1933), Sydney, NSW, 24 December 1898
Resources	Anthology: Arthur Adams, Adelaide Literary Theatre, Three Plays for the Australian Stage, William Brooks, Sydney, National Library of Australia, 1914 Richard Fotheringham, Arthur H. Adams, Companion To Theatre In Australia, 1995, 24 Dramatist. Born 6 June 1872 at Lawrence (New Zealand). Graduated from University of Otago (Dunedin) 1894. Journalist on Wellington Evening Post. Covered Boxer rebellion for Sydney Morning Herald 1900. Wrote libretti for Alfred Hill, novels and poetry. Edited Red Page of Sydney Bulletin 1906-09. Edited Lone Hand 1909-11. Impoverished by 1930. Granted Commonwealth Literary Fund assistance 1933. Died 4 March 1936 in Sydney. Arthur H. Adams was the most vigorous supporter of Australian playwrights early in the 20th century and a successful one himself. About 1897 he wrote the libretto of Tapu, an operetta on a Maori subject, for the Wellington composer Alfred Hill. This gained Adams work for two years in Sydney in 1898-1900 as J.C. Williamson's literary secretary, though he was not pleased when Williamson rewrote and staged the operetta during his absence in England. In the Lone Hand and Theatre magazine he described this and other attempts to have his plays performed, attacked the indifference to local writers of the great actor-managers who controlled Australian theatre, and gave aspiring playwrights good advice on learning their craft: 'Get your play produced. Failing the Managers, get it done by amateurs'. Adams took his own advice, with success. Pierrot in Australia in Sydney in 1910 and in London in 1912, The Tame Cat, The Wasters, Mrs Pretty and the Premier and other plays received amateur production. A professional management in England took up Mrs Pretty and the Premier. Adams noted in an introduction to his Three Plays for the Australian Stage - The Wasters, Mrs Pretty and Galahad Jones - in 1914: 'One of the many drawbacks to their production is that there is no Australian stage'. He described the unperformed Galahad Jones, adapted from his own novel, as 'a comedy with a tragic tang', since the leading female character dies at the end. Insisting that it was a play for production in the professional theatre as well as for amateurs, Adams added a postscript: 'Should the theatrical manager demand his pound of flesh, the author has written, much against his will, an alternative "happy ending” in which Sybil recovers' . Adams's last play, Gallipoli Bill, is his most original. Set during the last days of the First World War, it concerns two ANZAC soldiers. While recovering from wounds, Bill and Jim spend a few weeks in romantic dalliance at an English country mansion. The English lord and lady, their officer son and a silly chappie from the War Office are conventional, but the two soldiers, a lecherous old dowager aunt, the lord's daughter, who works in a munitions factory, and her Australian girlfriend, who is equal to Bill's love-them-and leave-them flirtations, are vigorous and cleverly written. Bill has a long, hilarious drunk scene which obviously appealed to the actor-manager Tal Ordell, who cast himself in the role for a season in suburban Sydney in 1926. There are reports of other performances in 1928. In February 1929 Adams sold the stage and film rights to Bert Bailey, who revised the script, but the Great Depression prevented further performance. Article: Richard Fotheringham, Arthur H. Adams, Companion To Theatre In Australia, 1995, 24 Book: Arthur Adams, The Wasters, Three Plays for the Australian Stage, 1914 Book: John Mansfield Thomson, A Distant music : the life and times of Alfred Hill 1870-1960, Oxford University Press, Auckland; Oxford, 1980, 239pp Playscript: Arthur Adams, Doctor Death, The Lone Hand, 5, 27, 1909 Playscript: Arthur Adams, Edmund Barclay, Mrs Pretty and the Premier, The University of Queensland, Fryer Library Playscript: Arthur Adams, Galahad Jones, Three Plays for the Australian Stage, 1914 Playscript: Arthur Adams, Mrs Pretty and the Premier, Three Plays for the Australian Stage, 1914
Works	Doctor Death Galahad Jones Gallipoli Bill Mrs Pretty and the Premier Pierrot in Australia Tapu or, A Tale of a Māori The Tame Cat The Wasters
Data Set	AusStage
Contributor Identifier	227575

Researching Australian live performance