| McClure and the Parson | |
| Director: | George Byrant[1] |
| Place: | Theatre Royal, Sydney |
| Orig Lang: | English |
| Genre: | comedy |
McClure and the Parson, or Duncan McClure and the Poor Parson, is a 1916 Australian stage play adapted from the Steele Rudd story Duncan McClure and the Poor Parson (under which title the play originally debuted[2]). Rudd himself did the adaptation. The play was presented by Bert Bailey who had great success adapting Rudd's On Our Selection.[3]
The play debuted in 1916 and there were regular revivals thereafter.[4]
Reviewing a 1916 production Punch said "The characters are all typically Australian, and if thev arc slightly overdrawn the exaggeration may be pardoned for the amount of fun which the strong drawing causes."[5] The Sydney Morning Herald said it "has less plot in it than its companion picture of out-back life, On Our Selection, and it tolles even more evidently upon a succession of practical jokes; but it is a wonderful laugh maker."[6]
Reviewing a 1918 production the Age said the play "cannot be considered seriously, but audiences seem none the less pleased withit. Its humor is of the brond type, depending upou incongruity of character and incident more than wit. The plot is a flimsy thing— a simple story of love and a forgery, which scarcely serves to string the four acts together — but in such a play plot docs not matter. There could be no doubt about the enjoyment of the audience."[7]