Un Mariage sous Louis XV

Un Mariage sous Louis XV ("A marriage under Louis XV") is a French prose comedy in five acts by Alexandre Dumas père (1802-1870)[1].

The original text

A young couple, married for convenience, discover each other's charms.

The play was first performed at the Théâtre Français on the 1st of June, 1841.

Translations and adaptations

Adapted into English as A Marriage of Convenience. Period : Louis XV (also known simply as A Marriage of Convenience) a comedy in five acts by Sydney Grundy (1848-1914)[2], and performed in London at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in 1897, revived in 1918.

Translated into Afrikaans as Gerieflike Huwelik in 1927.

Performance history in South Africa

1898: Performed on in South Africa in English as A Marriage of Convenience by a company under the management of the Wheeler Brothers, as part of a repertoire that also included The Tree of Knowledge, Secret Service and My Friend, The Prince. The company included George Hippisley, Wilton Heriot, Jessie Bateman, Mabel Lane and Sallie Booth.

1927: Performed in Afrikaans as Gerieflike Huwelik by Paul de Groot as part of his touring repertoire, also featuring Maxie Botha and André Huguenet.

Sources

Ludwig Wilhelm Berthold Binge. 1969. Ontwikkeling van die Afrikaanse toneel (1832-1950). Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik.

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 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.406

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