The Snake in the Grass

The Snake in the Grass is a play by I.R. Taylor (fl mid 1800s).

The original text

Probably written in 1867 by the local Cape Town author, I.R. Taylor (fl. mid 1800s) and suggested to have been an original work, the play may have been inspired by (or based on) The Snake in the Grass , a serial novel by Pierce Egan the Younger (1814-1880)[1] , published in The London Journal , 8 May 1858 - 27 Nov. 1858, No. 720.

The play, dedicated to the Duke of Edinburgh, was first performed, under the patronage of Governor Wodehouse, by the Le Roy and Duret Company as part of their repertoire during their 1867-1868 season in Cape Town, and became known as the local success at the time.

Originally advertised with the subtitle Clouds in Holland and Sunshine in Africa, "a Dutch story of Van Riebeeck's time", it was eventually billed as The Snake in the Grass, "A Tale of Holland and the Cape". The play is described at some length in F.C.L. Bosman (180, pp235-6), where he quotes a substantial English summary of the play from the Cape Argus (26 September and 3 December), inter alia mentioning that: "The first and second act gives representations of Amsterdam Life two centuries ago; and the third comes to a denouement at the Cape in the days of Van Riebeeck".

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1867: First performed, under the patronage of Governor Wodehouse, by the Le Roy and Duret company in the Theatre Royal, Harrington Street, Cape Town, on 5 December. The cast of the play consisted of: Fanny Raynor, W.J.S. Bennee, D'Arcy Read, James Leffler, Elsie Sidney, T.H. Paul and R. Webster (i.e. I.R. Taylor). Also performed was The Lottery Ticket (Beazley) and a dance by Miss Clara.

1867: Performed by the Le Roy and Duret company in the Theatre Royal, Harrington Street, Cape Town, on 9 December, with The Loan of a Lover (Planché) and a "new" dance by Miss Clara.

Sources

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: p.295

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