Mrs Dot

Mrs Dot is a farce in three acts by W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)[1].

The original text

The play was written in 1904 and was originally titled Worthley's Entire after the source of Mrs Dot's wealth. (For some unknown reason, the Wikipedia entry on Maugham's plays has the original title as Worthey's Estate.) The comedy presents a satirical portrait of Edwardian society and its through the story of the relationship between the vivacious, rich and enterprising widow Frances Annandale Worthley ("Mrs Dot") and Gerald Halstane.

This play, was first produced at the Comedy Theatre, Haymarket, London, on April 26, 1908, by Charles Frohman, with Marie Tempest as the original "Mrs Dot". The text was first published by William Heinemann, 1912. The play became a standard part of Tempest's repertoire.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1908-9: Produced by Leonard Rayne and his company as part of a repertoire of six plays, opening at the Standard Theatre, Johannesburg, and then touring the various cities, including a performances at the Opera House, Cape Town, during February of 1909.

1918: Performed by the Marie Tempest touring company, with a cast that also included Hélène Vaubré

Sources

Transcribed version of the original published text, 1912, Project Gutenberg [2]

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_W._Somerset_Maugham#Plays

Samuel J. Rogal. 1997. A William Somerset Maugham Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. By [3]

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.429

Go to ESAT Bibliography