Speed the Plough
A comedy, in five acts by Thomas Morton (1764-1838).
Not to be confused with Speed-the-Plow, a 1988 play by David Mamet
Contents
The original text
First performed at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden on 8 Feb. 1798, it was acted forty-one times, and often revived.
The play introduced the fictional (off-stage) English character of "Mrs Grundy", who typifies the censorship enacted in everyday life by conventional opinion. The term soon passed into everyday English speech as a criterion of rigid respectability, especially in contexts in which free expression is impeded by excessive purity.
Performance history in South Africa
6 July 1812: Performed in Cape Town by the Garrison Players in the African Theatre, with The Irishman in London (Macready).
23 September 1815: Performed in Cape Town by the English Theatricals company (former Garrison Players) in the African Theatre, with The Prize, or 2,5,3,8, (Hoare).
7 February 1818: Performed in Cape Town by the English Theatricals company (former Garrison Players) in the African Theatre , with The Spoiled Child (Bickerstaffe).
2 November 1822: Performed in Cape Town by the Amateur Company company (Garrison Players) in the African Theatre, with The Soldier's Daughter (Cherry) and the farce Fortune's Frolic (Allingham).
2 September 1826: Performed in Cape Town by the (Garrison Players) in the African Theatre, with Sharp and Flat (Lawler), as a benefit for Mrs Johnson.
May 1827: Performed in Cape Town by the (Garrison Amateur Company) in the African Theatre, with the musical farce Love Laughs at Locksmiths (Colman Jr).
Translations and adaptations
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Morton_(playwright)
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559155/Speed-the-Plough
Bosman, 1928: pp.147, 153, 191
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Speed-the-Plough by David Mamet (1988)
A play by David Mamet offering a satirical dissection of the American movie business.
Premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre in a production by the Lincoln Center Theater, opening on May 3, 1988 and closing on Dec 31, 1988 after 279 performances.
Performance history in South Africa
1990's Upstairs at the Market Theatre. Directed by ** with Dawid Minnaar, **
Translations and adaptations
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed-the-Plow
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