Edward Collins

Captain Edward Collins (18**-18**) was a soldier and an amateur performer in Cape Town.

(Also referred to simply as Captain Collins)

Biography

A member of the 21st Light Dragoons.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

He was one of Captain Frazer's stalwarts in and a co-director of the Cape Town garrison theatre company called the Officers of the Garrison (later All the World's a Stage) which performed a range of plays in the African Theatre at the Cape in 1807-8.

Collins played old and young male parts and was apparently a talented poet, who along with Captain Frazer wrote and delivered a number of original prologues and epilogues for their productions.

He almost certainly performed in most of their productions, but is specifically mentioned for two roles, namely those of "Young Marlow" in She Stoops to Conquer and "Bob Acres" in The Rivals.

Among the prologues he wrote was one for The Brothers (Cumberland), along with an epilogue which he wrote for Mr Morgan (in the role of "Lady Dove"). His own epilogues include those for She Stoops to Conquer (spoken as "Young Marlow"), for The Rivals (as "Bob Acres"), and one for Abroad and at Home (Holman) (For extracts from the epilogues, see Bosman, 1928: p.71-5).