Urgent Private Affairs

Urgent Private Affairs is a farce in one act by Joseph S. Coyne (1803-1868)[1].

Also known as Urgent Private Affairs, or The Loyal Volunteers

The original text

First performed at the Adelphi Theatre, London, 7 January 1856. Published as Volume 24 van Lacy's acting edition by T.H. Lacy, London, in 1856.

Performance history in South Africa

1858: Performed at the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, by the Cape Town Dramatic Club as Urgent Private Affairs, or The Loyal Volunteers on 2 July, with Plot and Passion, or The Female Gambler (Taylor and Lang).

1861: Performed by the Officers of the Regiment (North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot) as Urgent Private Affairs in the Garrison Theatre, Grahamstown on 5, 11 and 19 April, with Don't Judge by Appearances (Morton) andA Night at Notting Hill (Yates and Harrington). Regarding the plays, the North Lincoln Sphinx reports that: "In the bills, some of the performers appeared under fictitious names, which are alluded to by our correspondent in his letter. So, for the enlightenment of our readers, we give the assumed as well as the real name in our copy of the cast of characters." (In curly brackets) The cast of the Coyne play were: C. A. Armstrong Esq. (Mr Dentatus Dotts, dentist and loyal Hammersmith Volunteer), J. D. Power Esq. (Major Polkinghorne, of the same gallant corps), O. H. Strong Esq. (Bagshaw, a solicitor), Colour-Sergeant F. Edwards (Joe Jumballs, a confectioner's shopman), Miss Pauline Davies {Corporal J. Davies} (Mrs Dentatus Dotts), Miss Blanche De Moultrie (Mrs Polkinghorne), Miss Durney {Private J. Durney}, Miss Darney {Private J. Darney (Sally Vokins). (For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot)

1865: Performed in the Theatre Royal in Burg Street, Cape Town, on 30 January by the officers and men of the 1st Battalion of the 10th Regiment, with The Spectre Bridegroom (Moncrieff) and Slasher and Crasher (Morton), interspersed with comic songs.

Sources

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

Facsimile version of the Lacy edition of 1856, Hathi Trust Digital Library[2]

The Adephi Theatre Project, 1856[3]

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 144, 256

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