The Miller and his Men

The Miller and his Men is a title found for two 19th century theatrical works

The Miller and his Men by Pocock and Bishop

The original text

The Miller and his Men is a popular English romantic melodrama , in two acts by Isaac Pocock (1782–1835)[1], with music by Henry R. Bishop (1786–1855)[2]

(The author's name also printed "J. Pocock" on some editions and an listed thus by Bosman, 1928).

Translations and adaptations

Parodied by Talfourd and Byron as a "burlesque mealy-drama in one act" in 1860, using the same title.

Performance history in South Africa

1818: Performed in the African Theatre by the Gentlemen Amateurs and Mr Cooke and his company, on 5 September, as afterpiece to The Birth Day (O'Keeffe), and again on 26 September (as afterpiece to Pixérécourt's The Wandering Boys, with an interlude of two songs sung by Mr Pitt and "The Bird Duet" ( from Dibdin's comic opera The Cabinet, with music by J. Braham), sung by Mr Cooke and Mrs Cooke).

1828: Performed on the January in the African Theatre by the Gentlemen Amateurs, as afterpiece to The Irish Tutor (Glengall).

1836: Performed on 3 August in the African Theatre by the Gentlemen Amateurs, as afterpiece to She Stoops to Conquer (Goldsmith), and repeated on 23 September 1836 as afterpiece to The Poor Gentleman.

1843: According to William Groom (1899: p 518) a performance of the play was offered by an unnamed English company in the Roeland Street Theatre some time in 1843. It was followed by a farce.

1862: Performed on 2 December in the Garrison Theatre by the Garrison Players ("the non-commissioned officers and men of the 11th Regiment") in aid of the "Distressed Lancashire Operatives" , with as afterpiece to A Kiss in the Dark, with a group of eight African Minstrels performing as an interlude. The person in charge of arrangements is Colour Sergeant Heaven.

1862: Performed as "I. Pocock's famous melo-drama" The Miller and His Men in the Garrison Theatre, Keiskama Hoek, on 26 November by the Amateurs of the Band (North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot) with a cast consisting of J. Johnson Cape Mounted Rifles (Count Frederic Friberg), J. Davies (Lothair, a young peasant), W. Carr (Kelmar, an old cottager), J. F. Gay (Karl, servant of Count Frederic), W. Allan (Grindoff, the miller), H. Moore (Riber, a robber), T. Mills (Golotz]] (a robber). G. Dawe (Claudine, Kelmar's daughter), J. Newnham (Ravina), ***** (Laurette). Also performed was The Illustrious Stranger (Kenney). (For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot).

1862: The Amateurs of the Band (North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot) repeated the two plays at the Garrison Theatre, Keiskama Hoek, on November 29, with the same casts, except that "Aboulifar" in The Illustrious Stranger was played by J. Johnson of the Cape Mounted Rifles instead of J. Diamond.

The Miller and his Men by Talfourd and Byron

The original text

The Miller and his Men is a "burlesque mealy-drama in one act" by Francis Talfourd (1828–1862)[3] and Henry James Byron (1835–1884)[4].

A parody of the well-known Pocock and Bishop play, it was first performed at the Royal Strand Theatre, London on 9 April 1860.

Published by T.H. Lacy.

Performance history in South Africa

1867: According to Bosman (1980: p. 221), this burlesque was probably the work performed by Le Roy's Original Company in the Theatre Royal on 11 March, with Catching an Heiress (Selby).

1867: Performed by Le Roy's Original Company in the Theatre Royal on 14 March, with Ireland As It Is (Amherst).

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [5]: pp. 155, 192, 196, 417.

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 167, 221

William Groom 1899. "Drama in Cape Town". Cape Illustrated Magazine, 10(4): p. 518.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Pocock

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Bishop_(composer)

http://garrisontheatricals.com/category/history/

Facsimile version of the 1860 text, The Digital Archive[6]

Simon Dentith.2002.Parody in the series The New Critical Idiom, Routledge: p. 148[7].

North Lincoln Sphinx Vol 1, No 10. Christmas Supplement, 1861.

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