Epicœne, or The Silent Woman
Epicœne, or The Silent Woman is a comedy by Ben Jonson (1572-1637)[1]
Also known simply as The Epicene.
Contents
The original play
It was originally performed by the Blackfriars Children or Children of the Queen's Revels, a group of boy players, in 1609. It was, by Jonson's admission, a failure on its first presentation; however, John Dryden and others championed it, and after the Restoration it was frequently revived—indeed, a reference by Samuel Pepys to a performance on 6 July 1660 places it among the first plays legally performed after Charles II's ascension.
Translations and adaptations
Performance history in South Africa
1969: Performed by the Rhodes University Drama Department in association with CAPAB in Grahamstown, Stellenbosch and Cape Town in September . Directed by Roy Sargeant with a cast that included Frantz Dobrowsky as "Ned Clerimont"; Stephen Gurney as "Sir Dauphine Eugenie"; Dugald Thomson as "Truewit"; John Burch as "Morose"; Christopher Weare as "Cutbeard" and Anthony Peake as "Epicoene". A new prologue to the play was composed for this production by Guy Butler and spoken by Noël Roos before performances.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic%C5%93ne,_or_The_silent_woman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson
CAPAB List of Plays Presented, 1971.
Photograph of 1969 cast held by NELM: [Collection: Rhodes University. Drama Department]: 2006. 6. 5. 9.
Poster (Prologue) held by NELM Location: [Collection: BUTLER, Guy]: 2004. 37. 8.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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