FREE SCRIPT REVIEW "Maharani of Arakand" (1914) by George Calderon

George Calderon was English, but many Australians will instantly identify with his Rugby college up-bringing and comic style. He was killed in action at Gallipoli in 1915, Lest we forget. Set in the Rhakind states "The Maharani of Arakand" is about an Asian Princess, who is raised by a Burmese fisherman. She was hidden in exile when her father was killed by a rival. Princess Amina is courted and falls in love with a man she believes to be a burmese peasant. It eventuates that the peasant is none other than the new sovereign raja, the son of the man who killed Amina's father. They marry and she is restored to royalty. Beneath this superficial layer is a multicultural peach. This is a story of a princess, presumably Bangladeshi, who is raised by a Burmese fisherman and falls in love with a mogul prince. The story is adapted from a legend told by Rabindranath Tagore (died 1941) and translated with the help of Indian friends at his English college. It is hard to think of a more diverse ethnic mix, but it gets better. This is also a story of George's adamant tolerance. It is a play about a muslim couple in the tutelage of a buddhist guardian, a story told by a hindu saint and translated by an Anglican war hero. This reflects George's clarity about the Ottoman he was about to fight. I was deeply moved as I turned the last page - Calderon composed three melodies to accompany the characters verse about their story. All this, and music too. Accompanied by superb stage photography from the English stage debut. PDF online http://archive.org/details/maharaniofarakan00caldiala Fans of "Hedda" by Henrik Ibsen may enjoy a goony pantomime style spoof of the play called "Cinderella" by Calderon (1922) published posthumously http://archive.org/details/threeplaysandpan00caldrich Calderon is best known for his one act comedy title (1913) "The little stone house" http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36984/36984-h/36984-h.htm