The Mayor of Garratt

The Mayor of Garratt is a farce in two acts by Samuel Foote (1720–1777)[1].

The original text

Based on the so-called "Garrat Elections", a carnival of mock elections in Surrey, England in the 18th century. (For more information, see the for example the entry in Wikipedia[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrat_Elections).

First performed in 1763 at the Haymarket, with the author in the lead role, Published in 1764 by Paul Vaillant.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1807: Performed on 15 August by the Officers of the Garrison in the African Theatre with Douglas (Home). Performers included Captain Collins, Mr Morgan, Captain Frazer and Mrs Kinniburgh.

1813: Performed in Cape Town by the Garrison Players on 28 August, with The Heir at Law (Colman Jr).

1817: Performed in Cape Town by the Garrison Players on 11 October, with Laugh When You Can (Reynolds), and The Turnpike Gate (Knight), with the proceeds of the evening going to the Free School.

1823: Performed in Cape Town by the Garrison Players on 10 May, with She Stoops to Conquer (Goldsmith).

1828: Performed by the English Theatrical Amateur Company on 8 November in the African Theatre, along with Sharp and Flat (Lawler) and Past ten o'Clock, or A Rainy Night (Dibdin).

1829: Was to have been performed jointly by the English Theatrical Amateur Company and the Cape Town Amateur Company, on 11 July in the African Theatre, along with The Sleepwalker, or Which is the Lady? (Oulton) and Sharp and Flat (Lawler). However, the withdrawal of the one company meant that it was finally performed by the English Theatrical Amateur Company alone on 22 July.