Under Two Flags

Under Two Flags is a best-selling novel by Ouida (1839-1908)[1], and also the name of the dramatized version by play by Paul M. Potter (1853-1921)[2].

The original text

The novel Under Two Flags was published in 1867 and became Ouida's most famous book. The novel tells the story of an English aristocrat, apparently in disgrace, who disappears and joins a French battalion in Algeria, loosely based on the Foreign Legion.

Translations and adaptations

The novel was adapted for the stage as Under Two Flags by Paul M. Potter and performed on Broadway in 1901. Directed by David Belasco and produced by Charles Frohman, the play ran for 135 performances at the Garden Theatre, starring Blanche Bates and Maclyn Arbuckle,

Performance history in South Africa

1903: What is probably Potter's stage version of Under Two Flags was performed in South Africa by Leonard Rayne and his company, opening at the Gaiety Theatre, Johannesburg, on 20 June, 1903. The cast and crew included the actor and stage manager Arthur Sinbad Pitt.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Two_Flags_(novel)

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

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: pp.203-205

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