Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootje

Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootje is a satirical after-play in two acts, with music, by Charles Etienne Boniface (1787-1853 or 1788-1854).

While this is the most commonly accepted final title, the play is usually simply referred to as Clasius in the literature. The full title has also been given as Clasius stupidibus bavianus of Het proces om een komedielootje or Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedielootje by some authors.

The original text

A satire on people in Cape Town, including his arch rival Joseph Suasso de Lima, in which the latter is equated to a learned baboon, it was originally announced (on 24 may 1834) as De Gekwetste Reputatie, of Het Komedielootje ("The wounded reputation, or the comedy lottery ticket"). It finally became Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-lootje.

The text was not published till 19**, but was available in a number of manuscripts in Cape Town. The one used by F.C.L. Bosman for his study contains a caricature of De Lima on the inside cover, and the title page has: "Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootje. Kluchtig en Geschiedkundig Treurspel" ("Clasius, or The Process of the Comedy-lottery ticket. [A] farcical and historical tragedy"). It is dated Vlyt en Kunst, 1834.

Translations and adaptations

Revised by Boniface and renamed Nog Net Zoo, with minor adjustments and an additional scene ("Castor and Pollux"),

Performed under this title in 1834 and 1836.

Performance history in South Africa

1834: First performed in the African Theatre, Cape Town on 19th July 1834, by Boniface's company Vlyt en Kunst, with A.J. Lind, J. de Kock, P.A. Ley, J. Tyrholm, E.G. de Roubaix, P. Baard, J.M. Wolhuter.

1834: Performed in a revised version (as Nog Net Zoo) in the African Theatre by Vlyt en Kunst on 13 September.

1836: Performed in a revised version (as Nog Net Zoo) in the African Theatre by Vlyt en Kunst on 10 September.

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp. 323-333

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Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootje is a satirical after-play in two acts, with music, by C.E. Boniface.

While this is the most commonly accepted final title, the play is usually simply referred to as Clasius in the literature. The full title has also been given as Clasius stupidibus bavianus of Het proces om een komedielootjie or Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedielootjie by some authors. It later acquired another new title (again in two versions) Nog Net Zoo and Nognetzoo.

The original text

A satire on people in Cape Town, including his arch rival Joseph Suasso de Lima, in which the latter is equated to a learned baboon, it was originally announced (on 24 May 1834) as De Gekwetste Reputatie, of Het Komedielootje ("The wounded reputation, or the comedy lottery ticket"). It was first performed by Vlyt en Kunst in 1834 with the title Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootjie.

The text was not formally published till 19**, but was available in a number of printed texts in Cape Town. The one used by F.C.L. Bosman for his study contains a caricature of De Lima on the inside cover, and the title page has: "Clasius, of Het Proces om een Komedie-Lootjie. Kluchtig en Geschiedkundig Treurspel" ("Clasius, or The Process of the Comedy-lottery ticket. [A] farcical and historical tragedy"). The publisher is given as Vlyt en Kunst 1834. F.C.L. Bosman (1928: pp. 323-330) provides quite a comprehensive discussion and description of the work (in Afrikaans).