Barney Barnato - Revision history

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Contribution to South African theatre and performance

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Biography

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Satj at 04:24, 31 August 2021

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 He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example,  he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).
-Barnato has been the subject of a number of theatrical and other works, and has been commemorated in various fashions over the years.
+Barnato has been the subject of a number of theatrical and other works, and has been commemorated in various fashions over the years, for example:
 In 1953 [[Harold J. Laite]] wrote a play called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]'', based on . This was turned into a musical by [[Bob O'Keefe]], and [[Edgar Adeler]] in 1961 and also called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]''.

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 He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example,  he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).
-In 1953 [[Harold J. Laite]] wrote a play called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]'', based on . This was turned into a musical by [[Bob O'Keefe]], and [[Edgar Adeler]] in 19 and also called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]''
+Barnato has been the subject of a number of theatrical and other works, and has been commemorated in various fashions over the years.
 In 1976 [[Pieter Toerien]] and [[Shirley Firth]]  renamed the [[Little Theatre]] in Johannesburg as the [[Barnato Theatre]], in his honour.

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 He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example,  he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).
-A play called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]'' by [[Harold J. Laite]] (1953) was based on . It was later turned into a musical by [[Bob O'Keefe]], and [[Edgar Adeler]], and also called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]''
+In 1953 [[Harold J. Laite]] wrote a play called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]'', based on . This was turned into a musical by [[Bob O'Keefe]], and [[Edgar Adeler]] in 19 and also called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]''
-In Johannesburg the [[Little Theatre]] was renamed the [[Barnato Theatre]] in his honour.
 == Sources ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:32, 1 September 2021
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	He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example, he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).		He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example, he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).
		+
		+	A play called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]'' by [[Harold J. Laite]] (1953) was based on . It was later turned into a musical by [[Bob O'Keefe]], and [[Edgar Adeler]], and also called ''[[The King of Diamonds]]''

	In Johannesburg the [[Little Theatre]] was renamed the [[Barnato Theatre]] in his honour.		In Johannesburg the [[Little Theatre]] was renamed the [[Barnato Theatre]] in his honour.

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 In the period 1870-1875 he was one of the performers who performed in "Entertainments" at the [[Good Hope Gardens]], and when he first arrived on the diamond fields, he initially continued his interest in both boxing and theatre, often appearing on stage in the old [[Theatre Royal]] in Kimberley, having joined in his brother on stage (using the stage name "[[B.I Barnato]]".
-He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example,  he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' ().
+He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. He apparently continued performing in Kimberley on occasion, being especially great in character parts. For example,  he played "Iago" in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital (having offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part), appeared as "Matthias" in ''[[The Bells]]'' (Erckmann-Chatrian).
 In Johannesburg the [[Little Theatre]] was renamed the [[Barnato Theatre]] in his honour.

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 ==Contribution to South African theatre and performance==
-In the period 1870-1875 he was one of the performers who performed in "Entertainments" at the [[Good Hope Gardens]], and when he first arrived on the diamond fields, he initially continued his interest in both boxing and theatre, often appearing on stage in the old [[Theatre Royal]] in Kimberley, having joined in his brother on stage (using the stage name "[[B.I Barnato]]". He was popular with the miners for his fiery performances, despite his lack of education and uncouth pronunciation. Apparently great in character parts, he also played "Iago" once in a production of ''[[Othello]]'' in aid of the Kimberley hospital. (He had offered to double the takings, if allowed to play the part.)
+In the period 1870-1875 he was one of the performers who performed in "Entertainments" at the [[Good Hope Gardens]], and when he first arrived on the diamond fields, he initially continued his interest in both boxing and theatre, often appearing on stage in the old [[Theatre Royal]] in Kimberley, having joined in his brother on stage (using the stage name "[[B.I Barnato]]".
 In Johannesburg the [[Little Theatre]] was renamed the [[Barnato Theatre]] in his honour.

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 ==Biography==
-Born Barnett Isaacs ("Barney") in Aldgate, London on 21 February 1851, he was the son of Isaac and Leah Isaacs and grew up in Whitechapel, the very poor East End of London in an area that was predominantly a Jewish neighborhood. His father, Isaac Isaacs, was a small general dealer with a prosperous business and his mother was the former Leah Harris. He was educated at what was called the Jews’ Free School, in Spitalfields where the head master was Moses Angel.
+Born Barnett Isaacs (called "Barney") in Aldgate, London on 21 February 1851, he was the son of Isaac and Leah Isaacs and grew up in Whitechapel, the very poor East End of London in an area that was predominantly a Jewish neighborhood. His father, Isaac Isaacs, was a small general dealer with a prosperous business and his mother was the former Leah Harris. He was educated at what was called the Jews’ Free School, in Spitalfields where the head master was Moses Angel.
-When he and his brother Harry were teenagers, the began to performed turns in the various music halls in their vicinity. They were initially billed as "the Great Henry Isaacs and Barnett too", but at Barney's suggestion  they later utilised the phrase "Bar-na-to" to call themselves [[Harry Barnato]] and [[Barney Barnato]] or the "[[Barnato Brothers]]" when appearing on stage as well as registering a mining company.  Barney henceforth adopted the name [[Barney Barnato]]. In addition to his performances, he was also a talented boxer, and - in the days before the Marquess of Queensberry Rules were widely used - he made money by placing bets on himself with the bookies.
+When he and his brother Harry Isaacs were teenagers, they began to perform turns in the various music halls in their vicinity. They were initially billed as "the Great Henry Isaacs and Barnett too", but at Barney's suggestion  they later converted the phrase "Barnett too" to "Bar-na-to" and thenceforth adopted it as theur surname, calling call themselves [[Harry Barnato]] and [[Barney Barnato]] or the "[[Barnato Brothers]]" when appearing on stage as well as registering a mining company.
-In 1871 Harry went out to South Africa to join the diamond rush in Kimberley, and in 1873 Barney too travelled to Cape Town, aiming  to join his brother, who was not successful at the prospecting and was trying to eke out a living by from performances on stage (as a conjurer and entertainer under the professional name of “[[H.I. Barnato]]”) and doing odd jobs.
+In addition to his performances, Barney was also a talented boxer, and - in the days before the Marquess of Queensberry Rules were widely used - he made money by placing bets on himself with the bookies.
-With Barney's arrival, he initially joined in his brother on stage (using the stage name "[[B.I Barnato]]" and trained those who wished to take up boxing. Barney took trouble to learn the diamond business and things slowly changed, until Barney was offered the opportunity to buy four adjacent claims in Kimberley, an offer the brothers took op. This and other successful investments in Kimberley diamonds now turned the [[Barnato Brothers]] company into a viable venture, and [[Barney Barnato]] in particular into a major mining magnate and life Governor of De Beers Consolidated Mines (which he and Rhodes founded in 1888). Member of Cape Parliament for Kimberley (1889-1897) and founder of Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co. in 1889.
+In 1871 Harry went out to South Africa to join the diamond rush in Kimberley, and in 1873 Barney too travelled to Cape Town, aiming  to join his brother, who was not immediately successful at the prospecting and was trying to eke out a living by from performances on stage (as a conjurer and entertainer under the professional name of “[[H.I. Barnato]]”) and doing odd jobs.
 Barnato died under mysterious circumstances in 1897 when he allegedly fell overboard in mid-ocean when travelling from England.

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