He Who'd Be A Governor

He Who'd Be A Governor is a scenario for a comic opera written by S.E. Hudson. Bosman(1928: p. 108) cites a certain (unidentified) Miss Fairbridge, who apparently had the title as He Wou'd Be A Governor.

The text, inscribed in his journal as "The New Comic Opera", lampoons and heavily criticizes the officials and prominent citizens (including Lady Anne Barnard) at the Cape who were at odds with sir George Yonge. The work was never performed, but the text is contained in The Diary of Samuel Esuibuis Hudson Chief Clerk in the Customs, Cape Town 1798-1800, which is held by the South African Library in Cape Town. Gosher gives a date of 1861 for the text.

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy.[1]: p. 108.

Jill Fletcher, 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg: p. 23

Sydney Paul Gosher 1988. A historical and critical survey of the South African one-act play written in English. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Go to the ESAT Bibliography