The Gipsy Revellers
The Gipsy Revellers was a late 19th century concert group that, dressed in 18th century "Neapolitan gypsy" costumes and would perform "Gypsy" music and dances, accompanied by a violin, cello, mandolin and guitar.
Founded by Liebe Baylis and Newton Baylis in 1889, the company enjoyed some fashionable success in London for a while. The members of the company, which ranged from six to twenty at various times, included the a number of performers from the Baylis family.
The company visited South Africa in 1891, where they appeared in various venues, including the Vaudeville Theatre, Cape Town, under the auspices of the Wheeler Theatre Company. The latter production is remembered by the Cape Town critic D.C. Boonzaier as "gigantic failure" (cited in Bosman, 1980: p.391).
Sources
George Rowell. 1993. The Old Vic Theatre: A History. Cambridge University Press:
Elizabeth Schafer. 2006. Lilian Baylis: A Biography. University of Hertfordshire Press: pp. 21ff.
D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.391
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