Marine theatre

"Marine theatre]]" ("Marinetoneel" in Afrikaans) is a general term used by F.C.L. Bosman 1980) to refer to various kinds of amateur theatre and other performances specifically undertaken by officers and by sailors (both on board ship and on land), especially in the 19th century.

Generally cited as the very first performance of a European play on record was a shipboard performance of Hamlet on the , off the coast**

Other presentations noted include:

1865: Charity performances of The Dream at Sea and Cool as a Cucumber were performed in aid of victims of the great storm of May, by the amateurs of H.M.S. Valorous in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 1 and 2 June - playing to sellout houses.

1869-1872: The amateurs of the H.M.S. Rattlesnake apparently performed a number of times, playing inter alia in the Oddfellows Hall, Cape Town, on 7 October 1869 in aid of the "Sailor's Home" and in the Dockyard Theatre, Simonstown, in July 1872.

See also Garrison Theatre