Garrison Players

One of the names given to the amateur theatre group that had been formed in the Cape Town Garrison (also known as the Officers of the Garrison, Garrison Amateur Company, the English Theatricals (before 1819), the Gentlemen Amateurs or simply the Amateur Company (after 1819), and for a while Captain Hall's Company (1850-1855).

See also Garrison Theatre

From 1823 onwards they made a point of differentiating them from the local civilian amateurs, who now called themselves the English Theatricals. The two groups apparently competed heavily with one another for audiences, also for use of the African Theatre. The Garrison Players also used a theatre in the barracks, known as the Barracks Theatre or the Garrison Theatre.

They existed in one form or another from the very first occupation of the Cape by the British (1799) to 18** and no doubt exerted a strong influence on the form and nature of theatre and the performing arts in the Cape for more than a century, ultimately helping to shape the growth of an indigenous form of western performance in the country.

Performers

Numerous officers were members of the company, in its various manifestations, over the years. Some of the names prominently mentioned are:

Captain Frazer, Captain Collins, Lieutenant Charles Napier, Mr Hamilton, Mr Strawbenzee,

Performances over the years

Among their productions over the long period were:

In 1811: Lovers' Vows and Raising the Wind (27 July,); The Rivals and The Mock Doctor, or The Dumb Lady Cur'd (17 August); The Honey Moon and High Life Below Stairs (31 August); The Honey Moon and The Review, or The Wags of Windsor (21 September).

In 1812: The Review, or The Wags of Windsor and John Bull, or An Englishman's Fireside (18 January); Speed the Plough and The Irishman in London (6 July); and A Cure for the Heart Ache and The Jew and the Doctor (12 July).

In 1824: Life (Reynolds) and The Irish Tutor (Glengall), performed in the African Theatre (4 September).

In 1825: Exchange no Robbery or The Diamond Ring and The Midnight Hour (8 October); The Review (5 November);

In 1826: The Heir at Law and Love, Law and Physic (16 August );

In 1854: St Cupid (Jerrold), with A Bloomer's Costume (Stirling) and Perfection (2 May);

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman, 1928[1]

Fletcher, 1994

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