Little Toddlekins

Little Toddlekins is a comic drama in one act by Charles James Mathews (1803-1878)[1]

Also found as Little Toddlekins, or The 48-Pounder

Original text

First performed at the Royal Lyceum Theatre on December 15th, 1852 and published in Volume 12 of Lacy's acting editions, 1852.

Acted in America at the Broadway Theatre (New York, N.Y. : 1847-1859), the Federal Street Theatre (Boston, Mass.) and by the Shakespeare Club of Cincinnati, and published there in 1857.

Performance history in South Africa

1855: Performed as Little Toddlekins by Sefton Parry in a Drawing Room Theatre which he constructed in the Commercial Rooms in Cape Town on Tuesday 12 June, with what appears to have been a display piece called Seeing Parry as afterpiece.

1864: Performed as Little Toddlekins in June as part of the closing production of the St George's Theatre, Pietermaritzburg, along with The Wandering Minstrel (Mayhew) and Who Stole the Pocket Book (Morton).

1864: Performed as Little Toddlekins in August by the officers and men of the 10th Regiment (2nd Batallion) as part of their first performance in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, along with My Husband's Ghost (Norton) and "Interludes of Singing and Instrumental Music".

1874: Performed as Little Toddlekins in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 4 February, with Used Up (Boucicault).

1874: Performed as Little Toddlekins in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 9 and 10 February, with Milky White (Boucicault).

1875: Performed as Little Toddlekins, or The 48-Pounder in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 7 April, with Dot, or The Cricket on the Hearth (Boucicault).

1876: Performed as Little Toddlekins in the Athenaeum Hall, Cape Town by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 31 May, with Lost in London (Phillips).

1876: Performed as Little Toddlekins in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 20 June, with Ours (Robertson). The evening a benefit for Miss Robertson and Mr Foulis.

1878: Performed as Little Toddlekins, or The 48-Pounder for a "Grand Gala Night" in the Good Hope Gardens, Cape Town, by Captain Disney Roebuck's company on 1 February, with The Area Belle (Brough and Halliday). The evening included a musical concert.

Translations and adaptations

Sources

Facsimile version of the 1852 edition by Lacy, Hathi Trust Digital Library [2]

http://www.worldcat.org/title/little-toddlekins-a-comic-drama-in-one-act/oclc/1355868

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_James_Mathews

Dennis Schauffer. 1978. The Establishment of a Theatrical Tradition in Pietermaritzburg, Prior to the Opening of the First Civilian Playhouse. Unpublished PhD., University of Natal.

Google Books[3]

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [4]: p. 256, 311, 323, 340, 365.

Go to ESAT Bibliography