Captain Hall's Company

A name given to the theatrical endeavours of the 73rd Regiment, stationed in Cape Town, on account of the leading role played in the activites by Captain Hall. Performing under the patronage of the wife of the Governor and with the permission of the Garrison Commandant, it was part of what is generally referred to as the Garrison Players, and active in the period 1850-1855.

See also the Garrison Players, the Garrison Theatre and Captain Hall.

The company members

Besides Captain Hall himself, among the few names mentioned are J.L. Fitzpatrick, **. W.G. Groom is mentioned as a technician.

Plays produced by the company

Among the plays done by the company are:

In 1850

24 April: Richelieu, or The Conspiracy (Bulwer-Lytton) and The Original (Morton)

8 May: Richelieu, or The Conspiracy (Bulwer-Lytton) and My New Wife and My Old Umbrella (most likely My Young Wife and My Old Umbrella by Webster)

29 May: The Lancers (Payne), A Lover by Proxy! or My Daughter Sir! (Boucicault and/or Planché) and "a repeat of" My Young Wife and My Old Umbrella (now credited to Webster).

31 July: The Rose of Arragon (Knowles) and The Practical Man (Bernard)

9 August: The Rose of Arragon (Knowles) and Shocking Events (Buckstone).

11 September: A New Way to Pay Old Debts (Massinger) and The Sentinel (Morton)

17 September: A New Way to Pay Old Debts (Massinger) and Box and Cox (Morton)

26 September: Delicate Ground! (Planché), The Sentinel (Morton), A Lover by Proxy (Boucicault), and Box and Cox (Morton)

1851

No performances by a Garrison company are recorded for this year by Bosman [1]], apparently because regiment was tied up with the Border Wars of 1850-1853. However, he suggests that some members may have played for W.F.H. Parker's company in this period.

1852

In this year there is only mention of three benefit performances in aid of "the Widows and Orphans of the unfortunate soldiers who perished in H.M. Steamer Birkenhead", performed in the Garrison Theatre, and featuring Captain Hall as an actor, and Lieutenant Johnson as treasurer. Possibly these were done by Captain Hall's Company, in association with local amateurs. However, the benefit performances apparently made no profit, indeed they only managed to make a loss of £30!

The plays were:

24 March: Othello (Shakespeare) and Charles II (Payne).

13 April: Don Caesar de Bazan, or Love and Honour (wrongly ascribed to Benjamin Webster) and The Thumping Legacy (ascribed to an "M. Moreton", i.e. Morton)

21 April: "[I]n consequence of repeated applications", a second performance of both Don Caesar de Bazan, or Love and Honour (now correctly listed as by Webster and Boucicault) and The Thumping Legacy, is done.