A Pair of Pigeons

A Pair of Pigeons is a domestic sketch in one act by Edward Stirling (1807-1894)[1].

Also referred to as a farce in one act, and has been billed as Two Pigeons.

The original text

The play had its first performance at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 5 November 1857.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1860: Performed as Two Pigeons in the Cabinet Theatre, Cape Town, on 27 February by a company brought together by Charles Fraser and starring Annie Rowlands and Mr Raymond. Also played were John Jones (Buckstone) and Caught by the Ears (Selby).

1860: Performed as A Pair of Pigeons in the Cabinet Theatre, Cape Town, on 5 March by Charles Fraser and his company, along with The Child of the Regiment (Morton) and The Initials (Anon./Tautphoeus?).

1863: In a bleak theatrical year, a single performance of A Pair of Pigeons was presented in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 2 November by a company consisting of the young tragedian Samuel Wolfe, Mr Bowmer and Madame Bowmer (the latter two often referred to collectively as "The Bowmers"). Also performed was An Unwarrantable Intrusion (Morton).

1865: Performed as A Pair of Pigeons by the Ray and Cooper company in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 26 December, with a locally written "Grand comic Pantomime" called Little Jack Horner, or Harlequin A.B.C. (Mollan).

Sources

http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/adaptations/stirling.html

"Plays Licensed in 1857 - Royal Holloway University", [2]

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: p.127

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