59th Regiment

The 59th Regiment of the British forces was stationed in Cape Town, and the brass band of this company performed as part of the programme in some theatrical performances in the new Theatre Royal (opened in 1860) and the (resurrected?) Barracks Theatre in 1861-2.

The company

A Captain Staunton appears to have been involved, and a company of eight African Minstrels (perhaps another name for the S.A. Minstrels of 1860), led by "Colour Sergeant" Heaven, also performed interludes. (See Minstrels)

The performances

The company was apparently particularly active in 1862, and among the productions mentioned by F.C.L. Bosman (1980: pp. 166-7) are: The Robber's Wife, or The Coiner's Cave (Pocock) and Bombastes Furioso (Rhodes) on Monday 4 February, 1861; Susan Hopley, or The Trials of a Servant Girl (Susan Hopley, or The Vicissitudes of a Servant Girl by **) and Two Heads are better than One () on 25 July 1862; and The Miller and His Men, Kiss in the Dark and a performance by the African Minstrels as interlude on Tuesday 2 December 1862.

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman, 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 166-7,

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