Sinbad (or also known as Sinbad the Sailor) is the name of a very popular fictional character who appears as the hero of an ancient story-cycle[1]

The original story

According to Wikipedia[2], the stories are a late addition to the One Thousand and One Nights cycle, only appearing as an independent cycle in 18th- and 19th-century collections. Sinbad is said to hail from Baghdad and was active during the early Abbasid Caliphate (8th and 9th centuries A.D.). In the course of seven voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia, he has fantastic adventures in magical realms, encountering monsters and witnessing supernatural phenomena.

Translations and adaptations

The status of the Sinbad tales and personality in Western culture has led to numerous translations, adaptations to various media and a wide range of commercial and artistic uses. Many films, television series, animated cartoons, novels, and video games have been made, most of them featuring Sinbad not as a merchant who stumbles into adventure, but as a dashing dare-devil adventure-seeker.

For more details on the various versions of the tale, see for example the Wikipedia entry at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_the_Sailor

Many of these versions were specifically written and/or adapted for the stage, TV or film, and have been performed in South Africa, some by South African authors.

Stage versions performed in South Africa

Sinbad the Sailor a pantomime by B. Bromilow-Downing (1953)

Adventures of Sinbad, a pantomime on ice by Marjorie Chase (1960s)

Sinbad the Sailor a children's version by American playwright Jack A. Melanos (pub. Children's Theatre Publications, 1964; perf. PACT Playwork, 1979). In 1985 Melanos also published what appears to be a new version in three acts called Sinbad and the Evil Genii. Publisher Anchorage Press.

Sinbad the Sailor, a version by David Bryant.

Sinbad's African Adventures a stage musical by Janice Honeyman (1992)

Sinbad the Sailor (perf. Kickstart Productions, directed by Steven Stead, 2022)

Film & TV versions

A TV version with South African connections is:

The Adventures of Sinbad is a Canadian television series (1996-1998), partly filmed in Cape Town, with many South African performers in the cast and crew. (See entry)

Performance history in South Africa

1881: Sinbad the Sailor presented in January by Disney Roebuck's United Service Dramatic Company at the Theatre Royal, Cape Town.

1913: Sinbad the Sailor written and directed by Charles Rodney presented by Rodney's Revels at Thornton's, His Majesty's Theatre, Durban.

1953: Bromilow-Downing's version performed by the East London Guild Theatre, directed by B. Bromilow-Downing with music by Arthur Markson.

1969: The Melanos text was used for PACT Children's Theatre's production, directed by Jannie Gildenhuys

1974: The Bryant version presented by The Lodge Players at the Little Theatre, Pretoria, directed by James Willet Clarke, musical director Ina Rudolph.

1986: Sinbad the Sailor presented by Simon's Town Anchor Players at the Simonsberg Theatre, directed by Estelle Knott-Craig.

1992: Sinbad's African Adventures presented by PACT Drama at the Johanneburg Civic Theatre in 1992 directed by Honeyman starring Gina Shmukler (Sinbad), Michael Richard (Mrs Sinbad) and a large cast including Bill Flynn and P.J. Powers. Assitant director Maralin Vanrenen, musical director Peter McLea, choreographer Christopher Kindo. Set designer Andrew Botha, costume designer Lindy Grindlay, lighting designer Jane Gosnell.

2022: Sinbad the Sailor performed by Kickstart Productions, directed by Steven Stead, with Samantha Peo, Schoeman Smit, Murray Todd, Kiruna-Lind Devar, Yamikani Mahaka-Phiri and Sandi Dlangalala, among others. Set design by Greg King.

Sources

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

Sinbad's African Adventures theatre programme, 1992.

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

Diane Rough Berg. 1971. Visual design of Jack A. Melanos' Sinbad the sailor. An unpublished thesis submitted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG ) [3]

https://www.amazon.com/Sinbad-Evil-Genii-Jack-Melanos/dp/0876022514?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Guild Theatre website at http://www.guildtheatre.co.za/

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

Sinbad's African Adventures theatre programme, 1992.

Go to ESAT Bibliography