Luke the Labourer, or the Lost Son

Luke the Labourer, or the Lost Son is a domestic melodrama in two acts by John Baldwin Buckstone (1802-1879)[1].

(Also referred to simply as Luke the Labourer.)

The original text

The play is set in a village in Yorkshire and was first written in 1826 and performed at the Adelphi Theatre, London on 17 October. The text was published in 1827.

Performance history in South Africa

1849: Presented in Cape Town in January 1849 by W.F.H. Parker, in the Drury Lane Theatre with the New English Theatrical Company (also referred to as Parker's Company in some sources).

The production received much praise from the Cape Town Mail, but Sam Sly responded with a harsh critique of the theatre and the company, suggesting that the Cape Town Mail review displayed "exaggerated and false colouring" , for he had not only found that the space was noisy, but also that "the ventilation was abominable and ...the acting was no good..". (quoted in Bosman, 1928: p. 419). Apparently this even caused the company to close down temporarily.

1853: It was done by the English Amateur Company with Grimshaw, Bagshaw and Bradshaw (Morton) as afterpiece, on 19 October 1853, repeated on 24 October.

1862: Performed as Luke the Labourer in the Garrison Theatre, Keiskama Hoek, on 12 November by the Amateurs of the Band (North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot) with a cast consisting of J. Davies (Squire Chase, Lord of the manor), F. Girton (Wakefield, a decayed farmer), W. Carr (Charles Maydew, a young farmer), W. Allan (Luke the Labourer), J. M'Kechnie (Philip, a sailor), J. F. Gay (Bobby Trot, a country lad), H. Moore (Michael, an old gipsy), A. Vogado (Dick, a postilion), G. Strachan (Thomas, landlord of the King's Head), T. Smith (Dame Wakefield), G. Dawe (Clara, her daughter), J. Newnham (Jenny, a country girl). Also performed was J. M. Maddox's one-act farce, A.S.S.. (For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot)

1866: Performed in the Garrison Theatre, Cape Town, by the Garrison Players on 18 September, with The Area Belle ( (Brough and Halliday) and the popular "dance song" The Nervous Cures.