Epicœne, or The Silent Woman

Epicœne, or The Silent Woman is a comedy by Ben Jonson (1572-1637)[1]

Also known simply as The Epicene.

The original play

It was originally performed by the Blackfriars Children or Children of the Queen's Revels, a group of boy players, in 1609. It was, by Jonson's admission, a failure on its first presentation; however, John Dryden and others championed it, and after the Restoration it was frequently revived—indeed, a reference by Samuel Pepys to a performance on 6 July 1660 places it among the first plays legally performed after Charles II's ascension.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1969: Performed by the Rhodes University Drama Department in association with CAPAB in Grahamstown, Stellenbosch and Cape Town in September . Directed by Roy Sargeant with a cast that included Frantz Dobrowsky as "Ned Clerimont"; Stephen Gurney as "Sir Dauphine Eugenie"; Dugald Thomson as "Truewit"; John Burch as "Morose"; Christopher Weare as "Cutbeard" and Anthony Peake as "Epicoene". A new prologue to the play was composed for this production by Guy Butler and spoken by Noël Roos before performances.