Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a famous character from the 1719 book by Daniel Defoe (c. 1660–1731)[1].

The novel

The book was first published on 25 April 1719 with the (very) full title of The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates, but is generally known by the name of the hero.

For more on the book and the character, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe

Dramatized versions performed in South Africa

A number of plays and other adaptations - usually longer titles including the name of Robinson Crusoe and broadly based on the book - have been performed in South Africa.

For performance information of these productions, see:

• Robinson Crusoe, or Harlequin Friday (Sheridan)

• Robinson Crusoe, or Harlequin Friday and the King of the Caribee Islands! A burlesque. (Byron, 1860)

• Robinson Crusoe, or The Injun Bride and the Injured Wife A burlesque. (Gilbert, Byron, et al., 1867)

• Robinson Crusoe, or Friday and the Fairies A pantomime (Byron, 1868)

• Scenes from Robinson Crusoe (Disney Roebuck, 1876-8)

• Robinson Crusoe. A Pantomime (African Consolidated Theatres Ltd, 1939-40)

• Robinson Crusoe on Ice (1950)

• Man Friday (Adrian Mitchell, 1973)

• Robinson Crusoe. A Christmas Pantomime (John Moss, 1981)

A number of versions/productions have been named simply Robinson Crusoe. Performance information of these productions is given below:

• Robinson Crusoe (Stanley Rogers, 1899) - mentioned by F.C.L. Bosman (1980, p. 369) as the probable text for Roebuck's productions, though this is patently impossible given the dates.

• Robinson Crusoe (book by Roberth Rutherford, music by Frank Wilcox)

Performance history of Robinson Crusoe in South Africa

1893: The version by Augustus Wheatman and Fitzroy Morgan was presented in December/January 1894 by the Wheeler Company at the Standard Theatre, Johannesburg (directed by Frank Wheeler) and presented by the Lyric Opera Company at the Opera House and Good Hope Hall in Cape Town, (directed by Wheatman and Morgan).

1894: The version by Augustus Wheatman and Fitzroy Morgan was presented in February by Morgan and Wheatman's English Pantomime Company at the Theatre Royal, Durban.

1898/1899: A version written and directed by Harry Hall presented by Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company at Opera House, Cape Town in December/January.

1899:The version by Harry Hall presented again by Pollard's Lilliputian Opera Company at Standard Theatre, Johannesburg in February/March.

1908: A version by A.W. Allan presented at Theatre Royal, Durban in December, directed by J.E. Ferguson Brown.

1922: A version by Frank Dix and Philip D. Levard presented African Theatres at His Majesty's Theatre, Johannesburg (December to January 1923), directed by Levard.

1923: The Dix/Levard production presented again at Theatre Royal, Durban (February) and Tivoli Theatre, Cape Town (March).

1975: The Rutherford/Wilcox musical presented by St Stephen's Repertory Players at the St Stephen's Hall, directed by Nan Cunningham, musical direction by Eddie de Jager.

Sources

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

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

https://www.worldcat.org/title/robinson-crusoe/oclc/46697543

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

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