The Rebel Chief is a 1849 Australian stage play by Francis Belfield. It was produced at a time when Australian plays were extremely rare.[2]
The play was also revived a number of times.[3][4][5]
Bells Life said "it has all the requisites of a good drama – the plot is excellent and clearly developed; tho situations are of thrilling interest; the characters naturally drawn, and tbo language is powerful
without hyperbole or exaggeration."[6]
Leslie Rees later called it "a longer, multicoloured melodrama set in the reign of Charles the Second, with a comic Irishman and his biddy thrown in for good measure. The dialogue was highfalutin, to say the least. Mr Belfield gallantly attempted to breathe life into it by filling the title-role himself."[7]
^"Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). Vol. II, no. 239. Victoria, Australia. 13 December 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 8 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XXX, no. 4328. New South Wales, Australia. 31 March 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 8 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 2688. Victoria, Australia. 4 February 1856. p. 8. Retrieved 8 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Sydney Diary". The Sun. No. 12, 676. New South Wales, Australia. 13 September 1950. p. 25 (Late final extra). Retrieved 8 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.