The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen

The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen is a melodrama by Dion Boucicault.

Most often simply referred to as The Colleen Bawn

The original text

The play was dramatization of The Collegians (1828), a novel by Gerald Griffin, telling the true story of Ellen Scanlan (née Hanley), a fifteen-year-old girl who was murdered on 14 July 1819 at the instruction of her husband.

The first dramatization of the novel was actually Eily O'Connor, or The Foster Brother by Thomas Egerton Wilkes (performed in London in 1831), but it was Boucicault's 1860 version which caught the the world's attention - including that of Queen Victoria. He styled his play a "domestic drama".

It was first performed at Miss Laura Keene's Theatre, New York, on 27 March 1860

Translations and adaptations

Numerous other versions of the story were also written in the same years (1860-1), no doubt inspired by Boucicault's success. Among those done in South Africa were:

Miss Eily O'Connor, called "A New and Original Burlesque founded on the Great Sensation Drama of The Colleen Bawn", and written by Henry J. Byron ()[]. It was first produced in the Drury Lane Theatre, London in 1861. (In South Africa it was billed as The Colleen Bawn on its first performance in 1861.)

For a full list of adaptations and representations based on the original story and Boucicault's play, see "Appendix I: Chronoly of works drawn on the murder" in the study The Poor Man's Daughter. A return to The Colleen Bawn by Murphy & Chamberlain (Lulu.com):p.27ff[1]

Performance history in South Africa

1861: Byron's burlesque version (Miss Eily O'Connor) performed under the title The Colleen Bawn

Sources

Ludwig Wilhelm Berthold Binge. 1969. Ontwikkeling van die Afrikaanse toneel (1832-1950). Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.

D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [2]: pp.

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.

Conradie, Elizabeth. 1934. Hollandse skrywers uit Suid-Afrika. Deel 1 (1652-1875) 'n Kultuur-historische studie. Pretoria, J.H. de Bussy and Cape Town H.A.U.M..[3]

Conradie, Elizabeth, 1949. Hollandse skrywers uit Suid-Afrika. Deel 2 (1875-1905) 'n Kultuur-historische studie. Pretoria, J.H. de Bussy and Cape Town H.A.U.M..[4]

P.J. du Toit. 1988. Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: Academica

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

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.

William Groom. 1899-1900. Drama in Cape Town. Cape Illustrated Magazine, 10(4): 478-481, 517-520, 547-552, 580-584, 640-643, 670-672, 706-708.

Temple Hauptfleisch. 1997. Theatre and Society in South Africa: Reflections in a Fractured Mirror. Pretoria: Van Schaik[5]: pp.

Peter Joyce. 1999. A Concise Dictionary of South African Biography. Cape Town: Francolin Publishers.

J.C. Kannemeyer. 1984. ‘’Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse Literatuur’’1. Tafelberg Uitgewers[6]: pp.

J.C. Kannemeyer. 1984. ‘’Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse Literatuur’’2[7]: pp.

Loren Kruger 1999. The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910 London: Routledge

P.W. Laidler. 1926. The Annals of the Cape Stage. Edinburgh: William Bryce: p.

Brian Astbury. 1979. The Space/Die Ruimte/Indawo. Cape Town: Moira and Azriel Fine.

Percy Tucker. 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.

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