French Theatre in South Africa

French Theatre in South Africa can mean two things:

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Productions of theatrical works in the French language

Productions of plays and other performance work in French has been a somewhat sporadic affair. Such productions did flourish briefly in Cape Town at the beginning of the 18th century, under the Batavian rule, when Cape Town had a number of French visitors as well as a French Garrison, but for the most part such events have been reliant on visiting companies and performers, the work of French teachers and University French Departments, authors of French or Belgian extraction (e.g. C.E. Boniface), amateur enthusiasts, and formal French organizations such as the Alliance Française[1] and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS)[2].

Some French theatre companies

Fransch Blyspel Gezelschap

Een Fransch Gezelschap van Liefhebbers van het Theater

Het Fransche Liefhebbery Geselschap, Cape Town

Franse Geselskap

Franse Amateurs

French Amateur Company, Cape Town

French-Dutch Amateurs, Cape Town

French Dramatic Artistes, Cape Town

The French Theatre, Cape Town

French Theatre Company, Cape Town

French Theatrical Company, Cape Town

Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense

Performances of French theatrical works in translation

Productions of French plays in translation on the other hand have been enormously popular, works having been translated into a number of the South African languages[3], and many of the performances becoming iconic events in the history of the theatre in the country.

Among the playwrights whose works have been translated and performed in South Africa are Molière, Georges Feydeau, Jean-Jacques Bernard, André Obey, Claude Magnier, Louis Verneuil, Marc Camoletti, Eugène Ionesco,

To find the names of individual plays translated or performed, use the search function (top, right) and type the name of the author

For productions and translations of the individual plays, see:

South African Stage Plays

South African Radio Plays and Serials

South African Television Plays and Series

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [4]

http://www.ambafrance-rsa.org/Culture,865

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The French Theatre Company 1848

A French Theatre Company is reported by "Sam Sly" to have opened the Drury Lane Theatre on Constitution Hill in Cape Town on June 19th, 1848, with "tragic Scenes, Vaudevilles, and Interludes of music and dancing". He may be referring to Dalle Case and the company from Mauritius which was billed as "French Dramatic Artistes".

The French Theatre, venue in Cape Town 1807-1808

Known as Den Franschen Schouwburg in Dutch and The French Theatre in English, this venue was a subscription theatre erected in the store of Mr J.H. Brand in Berg Street, Cape Town in 1807 by the French Theatre Company, to present French plays, and it was active till 1808.

The first performances were given in French on 28 November of that year, most probably under the guiding hand of C.E.Boniface. The venue appears to have closed by the end of 1808, since a sale and possible auction of all its goods (sets, costumes, etc) was advertised on 26 November 1808.

In 1809 the company appears to have amalgamated with the bilingual Dutch/French company Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense, and henceforth performed in the African Theatre.

See also Den Franschen Schouwburg

Sources

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

F.C.L. Bosman, 1928[5]: p. 93, 94, 125, 277

Jill Fletcher, 1994

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In 1808-1809 a group of amateur and professional players, apparently referred to as the "French Theatrical Company", produced a number of French works, including Les Plaideurs (Racine), Le Petit Matelot, ou Le Mariage Impromptu (Pigault Lebrun),

A French Theatre company reported by “Sam Sly” to have opened the Drury Lane Theatre on Constitution Hill in Cape Town on June 19th, 1848, with “tragic Scenes, Vaudevilles, and Interludes of music and dancing”. May have been Dalle Case and the company from Mauritius which was billed as "French Dramatic Artistes".

Sources

Bosman 1928, pp.

Fletcher, 1994

For more information

See also French Dramatic Artistes and French theatre in South Africa