The Liar

The Liar is a farce in two acts by Samuel Foote (1720–1777)[1].

The original text

First performed 1762. While Foote indicated that the theme was taken from Lope de Vega, it was really founded on Richard Steele's adaptation of Le Menteur ("The Liar") by Pierre Corneille[2] (1606 – 1684), which in turn had been modeled on La Verdad Sospechosa ( Lit. "The suspect truth", published 1634) by the Spanish-American playwright Juan Ruíz de Alarcon[3] (1581? - 1639).

Performance history in South Africa

1825: Performed by C.E. Boniface's society, Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense in the African Theatre Cape Town on 15 October, with De Vrouw met Twee Mannen ("The Woman With Two Husbands") by De Pixérécourt/Van Ray. The cast for this play consisted of messrs D. Disant, H. Roselt, C.E. Boniface, M.C. Wolff, F. Waldek, C. Brink, H. Meurant and Mr Munnik, and Misses C. Roselt and L. Meurant. The plays were followed by a Grand Finale of Ballet with 48 dancers, mostly children.