De Trekpleister

De Trekpleister ("The main attraction") is a one act comedy, translated by Louis de Haes (fl 1880-1900) from a French original by Armand des Roseaux (fl. 1880s)

(The title not to be confused with Dorpscafé "De Trekpleister"[1], a Dutch farce in two acts by C.J. Slijkoord.)

The original text

The play is a Dutch translation by De Haes from a French play by Armand des Roseaux (fl 1880s), most likely the one act comedy Le Rigollot ("The funny"), which was first performed in April, 1881 in Paris and published in 1882 in the eighth series of Thêatre de Campagne (edited by Des Roseaux and published in Paris by Paul Ollendorff), along with Des Roseaux's other play, Le Souris ("The mouse").

The Dutch text published in Amsterdam in the collection De Muis. Kamerstukjes en monologen: De Muis, De Trekpleister, Surrogaat, Mijn Atelier, Uit Verveling (The 1900 edition ascribed to Carl Otto Valdemar Benzon, Armand des Roseaux, Louis de Haes).

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1894: Performed as De Trekpleister by the Rederijkerskamer Onze Taal in the President Theatre, Pretoria, probably directed by Dirk Balfoort. Also played were Als Men Zijn Beurs Verloren Heeft (Marc-Michel and Laurencin) and a performance of the song Santa Lucia by Gaetano Braga (wrongly billed as "Santa Luccia").