The Boy With A Cart

From ESAT
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Boy With A Cart (or Cuthman, Saint of Sussex) is a 1938 play by English poet and playwright Christopher Fry (1907-2005) [1].

The original text

As a young writer Christopher Fry was commisioned by the vicar of Steyning, West Sussex, to write a play celebrating the local saint, Cuthman of Steyning [2] and this text became The Boy With A Cart. In 1950 it was performed professionally for the first time, directed by John Gielgud, and it was the first starring role on stage for the young Richard Burton in the role of Cuthman.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1945: Produced in the Little Theatre by Rosalie van der Gucht with the Speech Training Dept, UCT, with Mary Templeton, Elaine English, Clair MacGillivray, Ilse Helsenroth. Sets by Mr Pilcher.

1950: Produced by the University Players and presented at the University after winning the FATSSA Play Festival at Cape Town, starring Redvers Kyle. Double bill with Androcles and the Lion (Shaw).

1951: Staged by the University of Stellenbosch Speech Training Department in the Hollandse Saal (old Chemistry building) in Andringa Street, directed by Robert Mohr (assisted by Esther du Toit), with Mohr in the lead role of Cuthman and Laura de Kock (Bess), Anneke Keyter (Mildred), Philip van der Merwe (Matt), Alta Enslin (Cuthman's Mother), Limpie Basson (Alfred), Phil Loots (Tawn) and others.

Sources

South African Opinion, 2(8):22, 1945.

Trek, 10(5):23, 1945.

Trek, 14(9):41, 1950.

University of Stellenbosch theatre programme, 1951.

Go to 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