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George Frederick Price Darrell (1851–1921) was an Australian playwright best known for '' The Sunny South'' (1883), which was made into a film ''
Darrell began his professional career with Simonsen's Opera Company in
George Darrell
at AusLit
George Darrell
at State Library of New South Wales 1851 births 1921 deaths 19th-century Australian writers People from the Colony of Victoria Australian male dramatists and playwrights Australian male stage actors 19th-century Australian male actors 19th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Suicides by drowning in Australia {{Australia-writer-stub
The Sunny South or The Whirlwind of Fate
''The Sunny South, or the Whirlwind of Fate'' is a 1915 Australian silent film directed by Alfred Rolfe based on the popular play '' The Sunny South'' by George Darrell. It is considered a lost film.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film ...
''.
Darrell began his professional career with Simonsen's Opera Company in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
; but, on migrating to Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, took to the regular dramatic profession, earning some distinction as a juvenile supporter of the once idolised Walter Montgomery. He married Mrs. Robert Heir (''née'' Fanny Cathcart
Mary Fanny Cathcart (3 August 1833 – 3 January 1880), was an Australian stage actress, active between 1853 and 1878. Between 1855 and 1865, she was regarded as the most famed female theatre star in Australia.
Cathcart was born in England on 3 ...
), the admirable tragédienne, and subsequently visited professionally America and England, where, at the Grand Theatre, Islington, he produced his play ''The Sunny South''.
His last play, ''The Land of Gold'' was staged by Charles Holloway at the Criterion Theatre, Sydney
The Criterion Theatre was a theatre in Sydney, Australia which was built in 1886 by architect George R Johnson on the south east corner of Pitt and Park streets. It closed in 1935 and the building was demolished.
History
The Criterion Thea ...
in 1907.
In 1878 he formed the "Australian Dramatic Company", which name was subsequently used by Alfred Dampier
Alfred Dampier (28 February 1843? 1847? – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager
and playwright, active in Australia.John Rickard,Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, Melbourne University Pres ...
, but the connection between the two, if any, has not been found.
Darrell's body was washed ashore at Dee Why
Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Be ...
on 29 January 1921. He had died by drowning, found to be suicide as evidenced by the note he left for his landlady, Mrs Barnet.
As a playwright his name has been confused with that of Charles Darrell
Charles Darrell (29 June 1859 – 25 March 1932) was an English playwright who specialized in melodrama.
Early life
Darrell was born in London, England.
Selected works
His plays include:
*''When London Sleeps'': Charles Holloway's production ...
, author of ''When London Sleeps'', ''The Power and the Glory'' and ''Defender of the Faith''.
Select writings
*''Man and Wife'' (1871) *''Matrimonial Manoeuvres'' (1872) *''Dark Deeds'' (1873) *''Friends of the Flag ; Or, The Struggle for Freedom'' (1874) *''Her Face, Her Fortune'' (1874) *''The Trump Card'' (1874) *''The Four Fetes'' (1875) *''Transported for Life'' (1876) *''Back from the Grave'' (1878) *''The Forlorn Hope ; or, A Tale of Tomorrow'' (1879) *''Solange'' (1882) *''The Naked Truth'' (1883) *'' The Sunny South'' (1883) *''The Squatter'' (1885) *''The Soggarth'' (1886) *''The New Rush'' (1886) *''Hue and Cry'' (1888) *''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' aka ''Midnight Melbourne'' (1888) – stage version of theFergus Hume
Ferguson Wright Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932), known as Fergus Hume, was a prolific English novelist, known for his detective fiction, thrillers and mysteries.
Early life
Hume was born in Powick, Worcestershire, England, the second ...
novel ''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
''The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' is a mystery fiction novel by the Australian writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered ...
''
*''The Queen of Bohemia'' (1888)
*''The Pakeha'' (1890)
*''Mr Potter of Texas'' (1890)
*''The Lucky Lot'' (1890)
*''The Double Event'' (1893)
*''The Crimson Thread'' (1894)
*''Convict Once'' (1896)
*''The Land of Dawning'' (1896)
*''The Queen of Coolgardie'' (1897)
*''The Sorrows of Satan'' (1897)
*''The Light That Failed'' (1899)
*''The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont'' (1899)
*''The Punter'' (1902)
*''Sappho'' (1902)
*''Justice or Murder'' (1902)
*''Paris and Pleasure'' (1904)
*''The Battle and the Breeze'' (1905)
*''The Belle of the Bush'' (1916) – novel
References
External links
George Darrell
at AusLit
George Darrell
at State Library of New South Wales 1851 births 1921 deaths 19th-century Australian writers People from the Colony of Victoria Australian male dramatists and playwrights Australian male stage actors 19th-century Australian male actors 19th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Suicides by drowning in Australia {{Australia-writer-stub