Monsieur Delémery
Monsieur Delémery (17**-18**) was a (possibly professional) French actor who visited Cape Town.
His impact on South African theatre
On his way to Mauritius or the East, he apparently stopped at Cape Town to perform on two occasions. He appears to have been greatly admired in Cape Town, and productions in which he featured could command far higher admission-prices than normal. Judging from the variety of parts he played (including five different roles in one night!), he must have been an actor of the highest versatility.
He is first mentioned as performing from 29 October 1803 onwards till the end of 1804.
His roles
He appeared in a number of shows for the French Company run by Charles Mathurin Villet. Among them were:
1803: He played the leads in
1804: On 17 June he performed in Les Battus Paient l'Amende (Dorvigny) and Les Soldiers Mordorés, ou La Cordonnière Allemande (Ferrières); on 12 August he did the clown in Arlequin Protégé par Belphégor;
The next mention is in 1805-06, when he did a whole season.
[JH]
Sources
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp. 88, 90, 92, 99, 106, 110-11.
Jill Fletcher, 1994.
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