View source for The Actress Of All Work, or My Country Cousin

''[[The Actress Of All Work, or My Country Cousin]]'' is a comic sketch, in one act by William Henry Oxberry (1784-1824)[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Oxberry,_William_Henry_(DNB00)]. 

The play is also known as ''[[The Actress Of All Work, or Six in One]]'' or ''[[The Actress Of All Work]]''

==The original play==

One of the first, and an interesting example of, the so called "transformation pieces", also known as "protean farces", popular in the 19th century. 

Originally opened 25 Oct 1819, at the Adelphi Theatre, London. On September 9 1821 a production was put on by Mr Tayleure, starring Mrs Tayleure. Published texts by J. Duncombe, 1819; W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1819. 

According to the ''Oxford Companion to the Theatre'' (2nd ed. 1957) the play  "was probably inspired by Colman's ''[[Actor of All Work]]'', written for Mathews in 1817".[http://www.umass.edu/AdelphiTheatreCalendar/m19d.htm]

==Translations and adaptations==

== Performance history in South Africa ==

1833: Performed as ''[[The Actress Of All Work]]'' (author not mentioned ) by the [[All the World's a Stage]] on 21 September, with ''[[The Day After the Wedding, or A Wife’s First Lesson]]'', the interlude ''[[A Race for Dinner]]'' (Rodwell), and the farce ''[[Rival Valets]]'' (Ebsworth).

1833: Performed, now as ''[[The Actress Of All Work, or Six in One]]'' (author not mentioned ), by the [[All the World's a Stage]] on 11 November, with ''[[The Iron Chest]]'' (Colman),  and ''[[St Patrick’s Day]]'' (Sheridan).

1866: Performed in Cape Town by the [[Le Roy and Duret Company]] on 9 and 11 April, with [[Madame Duret]]  portraying six characters, as well as three in the accompanying play, ''[[The French Spy, or The Wild Arab of the Desert]]'' (Aubert?).  

1866: Performed in Cape Town by the [[Le Roy and Duret Company]] on 17 May, with ''[[The Green Bushes, or Ireland a Hundred Years Ago]]'' (Buckstone).

1866: Performed in Cape Town by the [[Le Roy and Duret Company]] on 18 June, with ''[[Good for Evil, or A Wife's Trial]]'' (Augier),  ''[[Hunting a Turtle, or Trust a Woman's Wit]]'' (Selby) and a popular "dance-song", ''[[The Nervous Cures]]''.

1867: Performed by the [[Le Roy and Duret]] company in the [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town, on 3 September, with scenes from ''[[Hamlet]]'' (Shakespeare) and ''[[A Prince for an Hour]]'' (Morton). The Morton play is erroneously listed in this case as ''[[A Price for an Hour]]'' by [[F.C.L. Bosman]] (1980:p.227).

== Sources ==


The 1919 published text, ''[[Google Books]]''[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=9ERTAAAAcAAJ&q=The+Actress+Of+All+Work,+or+Six+in+One+a+comic+sketch&dq=The+Actress+Of+All+Work,+or+Six+in+One+a+comic+sketch&hl=en&sa=X&ei=36cwVfuQO4TD7gbK4oHYCg&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ]

Jane Goodall. 2002. ''Performance and Evolution in the Age of Darwin: Out of the Natural Order.'' Psychology Press, 2002: p. 125[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=phaj_TcjDbcC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=Protean+farce&source=bl&ots=UzL6e1Epkb&sig=T09vItYwrga6oU9c9557CT_gEvM&hl=af&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWoda-ypXOAhXsLMAKHetSDkMQ6AEILTAE#v=onepage&q=Protean%20farce&f=false] 

Facsimile of ''John Bull'', Volumes 1-2 , p. 305, ''[[Google Books]]''[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=3ZE-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA305&lpg=PA305&dq=The+Actress+Of+All+Work,+or+Six+in+One+a+comic+sketch&source=bl&ots=oEKvwmmaC3&sig=YhX6blxVTwo1SLpLpqmA3UeXFhs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nKYwVfPhL4Od7gaAtoGwCg&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20Actress%20Of%20All%20Work%2C%20or%20Six%20in%20One%20a%20comic%20sketch&f=true]

25 Oct 1819 playbill, ''[[The Adelphi Theatre Calendar]]''[http://www.umass.edu/AdelphiTheatreCalendar/m19d.htm]

[[F.C.L. Bosman]], 1928. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855''. Pretoria: [[J.H. de Bussy]]. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bosm012dram01_01/]: pp. 227

[[F.C.L. Bosman]], 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]: pp. 203-4,208-9, 211,218, 227, 229. 

Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

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