The Rickards Combination

The Rickards Combination was a circus-style vaudeville show presented by Harry Rickards (1843–1911)[1] and his company in the 1870s

Also see the entry on Harry Rickards

The original piece

The Rickards Combination was apparently a name given to both Rickards's company and to the circus-style vaudeville act they presented. The programme consisted of "The Flying Trapeze, Miraculous Dives, Daring Flights" and were presented by the "Great Rickards", Lottie D'Aste, Katrine Angellian and Frank Angellian.

The name, cast and content of the company/act varied over the years of course, for example in 1873 it was billed as "The Rickards London Star Comique Combination" in the Australian Sydney Herald[2].

Performance history in South Africa

Rickards visited South Africa in 1877 with his company and this act while en route between Australia and England, appearing under the auspices of Disney Roebuck at the Theatre Royal, in Cape Town from 27 October to 5 November for example.

1877: The show was presented from 27 October to 5 November in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, as an after performance to a series of plays, namely Waiting for the Verdict, or Falsely Accused (by Hazlewood, 27 October and 2 November) and The Shaughraun (by Boucicault, 29-31 October and 1 November), The Beggar's Petition, or A Father's Love and A Mother's Care (Pitt, 3 November) and Aurora Floyd (Webster, 5 November).

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Rickards

The Sydney Morning Herald (25 August, 1873)[3]

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

The Age, Melbourne, 8 September, 1900[4]

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.353, 362, 366, 394

Go to the ESAT Bibliography