J.E.H. English
J.E.H. English was billed as a "celebrated comic vocalist" from the Theatre Royal, Sheffield.
He arrived in Cape Town early in 1858 with the Sefton Parry company, performing inter alia The Tragical History of Lord Lovel, .
After two months he broke away to set up a rival company called "The Gentlemen Amateurs", in The New Music Hall, Buitekant Street, which English had fitted for himself.
He performed mainly comic sketches and songs, some of them based on local events (e.g. A Portfolio of Oddities).
His success initially drove Sefton Parry to quit the Cape and go on tour, but by November 1858 English had disappeared from the scene.
Sources
F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1].
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 69,
Jill Fletcher. 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg.
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