The Life and Death of Captain Cook is an 1888 Australian play by John Perry presented by Alfred Dampier to celebrate Australia's centenary.1917 'THE PLAYHOUSE', The Mirror (Sydney, NSW : 1917 - 1919), 29 September, p. 10., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1169691391888 'AMUSEMENTS.', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), 28 January, p. 6., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239333912
The play won a prize for the best play depicting the life of Captain James Cook.1888 'AN AUSTRALIAN DRAMA.', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 19 January, p. 5. (EDITION), viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229743141
Critical reception According to Leslie Rees, "Sydney had waxed happily excited from its public festivities, but even the genial tolerance of the Cook play’s first-night audience could not disguise a failure."
The Sydney Morning Herald said "As a literary production its dialogue is tame and mediocre, as a dramatic work the plot is loose and disjointed, and as a historical sketch the story is inaccurate and misleading."1888 'GAIETY THEATRE.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 30 January, p. 10., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13677672
The Daily Telegraph called it "a feeble play of the conventional type, lacking in continuity, in interest and in dramatic effect. The dialogue is bald and slipshod, and the actors and actresses were to be pitied as they bravely struggled through their evidently uncongenial task."1888 'AMUSEMENTS.', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), 30 January, p. 4., viewed 07 May 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239330437
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