Charles the Second, or The Merry Monarch

A comedy in 2 acts by John Howard Payne (1791–1852)[1]. Also referred to in some sources as Charles the Second or Charles II.

The original text

Based on (and largely an English translation of) Alexandre Duval's La Jeunesse de Henri V, itself taken from earlier works. Washington Irving assisted in the writing of the play, but is not credited, or at most is mentioned as "contributor" is some versions.

Produced in America in 1824, and published in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1824.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

This play was apparently very popular in Cape Town during the mid-19th century.

1825: Produced in Cape Town by the Garrison Players on 27 August, with as afterpiece the farce X.Y.Z. (Colman the Younger).

1829: Performed in Cape Town by the Cape Town Amateur Company on 20 June 1829, with The Liar (Foote) as afterpiece.

1830: Performed in Cape Town by All the World's a Stage on 19 June, 1830, as afterpiece to The Gambler's Fate, or A Lapse of Twenty Years (Thompson). Billed as a "Petite Comedy" on this occasion.

1831: Performed once more ("by special request") in Cape Town by All the World's a Stage on 11 June, 1831, as afterpiece to The School of Reform, or How to Rule a Husband (Th. Morton).

1833: Performed in Cape Town by members of All the World's a Stage, led by Mr Heath from the Theatre Royal at Liverpool, on 30 November 1833, as afterpiece to Venice Preserved (Otway).

1846: Performed in Cape Town (possibly by All the World's a Stage) in the newly renamed Hope Street Theatre, now called the Victoria Theatre, on Tuesday 21 July, 1846, with an interlude (Fortune's Frolic, or The Ploughman Turned Lord by Allingham) and as afterpiece A Day after the Fair (Somerset).

1852: Performed in Cape Town by members of the Garrison Players, including Captain Hall and Lieutenant Johnson, with the help of local English amateurs, on 24 March, 1852, as afterpiece to Othello (Shakespeare). The performance was part of three evenings done "for the benefit of the unfortunate soldiers who perished in H.M. Steamer Birkenhead". Unfortunately it appears that the three performances had apparently not served their intended purpose, as they eventually ran at a loss of £30.