Helena's Hope, Ltd

Helena's Hope, Ltd is a 1910 play by Stephen Black (1880-1931) [1].

The original text

A hugely popular farce about the goldfields, which satirizes the individual capitalists, while employing a classical melodramatic plot. Set in 1908-1910.

Published in a collection Stephen Black: Three Plays, edited by Stephen Gray (Ad Donker Publishers, 1984).

Adaptations and translations

Performance history in South Africa

1910: First performed by the De Jong-Black company in 1910, often repeated till the 1930s. Stephen Black also made his first appearance as an actor for the company, taking the role of "Jeremiah Luke M'bene", under the nom de theatre Edward Radlowe.

1917: Performed in the Standard Theatre, Johannesburg, in February, (by the Leonard Rayne Company??), featuring Martha van Hulsteyn.

1981: An adaptation by Stephen Gray was staged by the University of the Witwatersrand School of Dramatic Art at Theatre in Focus hosted by the University of Natal in Durban. The production opened on 29 June in the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban, directed by Fred Hagemann (credited as Frederic Hagemann) with a cast of students from the University of the Witwatersrand School of Dramatic Art.