Rob Roy Macgregor; or, Auld Lang Syne! is a musical play by Isaac Pocock (1782–1835)[1], with music by John Davy (1763-1824)[2].

The original text

Adapted from the novel Rob Roy (1817) by Sir Walter Scott , the play was the most successful of many based on the Scott novel.

First performed on March 12, 1818 at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden , and published in London by John Miller in 1818; in New York by D. Longworth, 1818. It was first performed, to great success, in Edinburgh on 15 February 1819, and played successfully through into the following year. It was perhaps also the version of Rob Roy Macgregor performed for the King's visit in 1822.

Performance history in South Africa

A play called Rob Roy MacGregor Campbell, said to be based on Scott's novel, was performed a number of times in the African Theatre, Cape Town by the amateur company English Theatricals in the years 1823-24 (it is later simply referred to a Rob Roy in the sources). It is most likely that this was the widely known and published Pocock musical version, but it may have been the ostensible Henry Murray version, entitled Rob Roy MacGregor, which had been devised in association with Scott and was performed in Edinburgh in 1818.

For performances in South Africa, see Rob Roy