His Excellency the Governor

His Excellency the Governor is a farcical romance by Robert Marshall (1863-1910)[1]

Also found as His Excellency, the Governor

The original text

Written some time between 1894 and 1899 while the author was stationed in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, as aide-de-camp to Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson, then Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Natal and Zululand.

Produced in London by Charles Frohman at the Lyceum Theatre on 9 May 1899 with a cast that included Richard Bennett, Jessie Millward and Guy Standing. The new play also had several seasons in New York, e.g. at the Lyceum Theatre (May 9, 1899 - Closing date unknown); Garrick Theatre (Oct 20, 1902 - Nov 1902) and Empire Theatre (Apr 4, 1907 - May 1907).

The text published in London by William Heinemann in 1901.

His Excellency the Governor was Marshall's first financial success and led to his resigning from the military and becoming a full-time author.

Translations and adaptations

Filmed in 1917 as Her Excellency, the Governor, though the storyline was but loosely based Marshall's play. Screenplay written by Robert Shirley, directed by Albert Parker, produced and distributed by the Triangle Film Corporation. The lead was played by Elda Milar, who would later gain renown as the gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.

Performance history in South Africa

Apparently Marshall did no more than write the plays in South Africa, for there is no indication that any of them were actually tried out or produced in South Africa during his sojourn there. Even the two that he wrote while stationed in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg appear to have been sent to London producers directly for consideration.

However some of his plays were later performed in the country.