The Miner's Trust
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Miner's Trust | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Jo Smith |
| Directed by | John Gunn[1] |
| Date premiered | 31 October 1908[2] |
| Place premiered | Palace Theatre, Sydney |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | melodrama |
| Setting | England Victorian goldfields |
The Miner's Trust is a 1908 Australian play by Jo Smith.[3] As Smith's first and successful play,[4] it was considered a rare Australian play at the time in that it was an original for the stage, not an adaptation of a novel or historical event.[5]
The play was produced and directed by John Gunn, a leading theatre manager of the time. He said, "I have read many and good Australian manuscripts, but this is far and away the best I have been privileged to glance through."[6]
Reviews were generally strong.[7] '
Evening Sun said, "Few imported dramas of the kind, it is said, have the absorbingly interesting plot that characterises A Miner's Trust which, moreover, is not written in the hysterical key common to most melodramas."[8]
The Sydney Morning Herald said it "possesses a higher standard of literary excellence and dramatic construction than much of the similar work of English playwrights."[9]
The Daily Telegraph said "The piece is straight-out melodrama, the central idea is as preposterous as usual, and conventionalities are well preserved. Mr. Smith, however, having got the idea, sticks to it with praiseworthy determination, and allows no side-stepping, but bustles the story along to the inevitable end with considerable ingenuity and well-contrived dramatic effects."[10]