Rob Roy Macgregor, or Auld Lang Syne
Rob Roy Macgregor, or Auld Lang Syne is a musical drama in three acts by Isaac Pocock (1782 – 1835)[1], with music by John Davy.
Often referred to simply as Rob Roy.
The original text
The work is based on the novel Rob Roy (1817)[2] by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)[3], and incorporating songs and verses from Robert Burns (1759-1796)[4] and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)[5], and music by John Davy (1763–1824)[6], drawing heavily on traditional Scottish folk songs.
It was first played at Covent Garden on 12 March 1818, with William Charles Macready in the title role.
The play was published in 1818.
Performance history in South Africa
1823: Performed (and announced as Rob Roy MacGregor Campbell) on 15 November by the English Theatricals company in the African Theatre Cape Town , with The Mock Doctor (Fielding) as afterpiece.
1823: Performed again on 20 December by the English Theatricals company in the African Theatre Cape Town , with All the World's a Stage (Jackman) as afterpiece.
1824: Performed on 11 August by the English Theatricals company in the African Theatre Cape Town , with The Weather-Cock (Forrest) as afterpiece.
1861: Performed as Rob Roy Macgregor, or Auld Lang Syne by Sefton Parry and his company in the Theatre Royal, Harrington Street, Cape Town, on 4 July, with Thomas Brazier as "Rob Roy". Ici on Parle Français (Williams) performed as an afterpiece.
1861: Performed by Sefton Parry and his company in the Theatre Royal, Harrington Street, Cape Town, on 8 July, with The Loan of a Lover (Planché) as an afterpiece.
1862: Performed by Sefton Parry and his company in the Theatre Royal, Harrington Street, Cape Town, on 28 March, with The Dancing Barber (Selby) as an afterpiece. The evening a benefit for T. Brazier.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Pocock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Roy_(novel)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge
Gordon Goodwin. "Davy, John (1763-1824)", Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 14. [7]
D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928[8]: 197, 199
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.98, 106, 111, 180, 212, 214-5, 219, 324, 342, 346, 349, 386
Go to the ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays
Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays
Return to PLAYS III: Collections
Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances
Return to South African Festivals and Competitions
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page