Villikins and his Dinah can refer to a popular stage song by an anonymous author, or to a burlesque play, using the song, by either J. Stirling Coyne or Francis C. Burnand.

It is not always certain what form the performance took or which text was being used in a particular 19th century production. If it was not simply sung, Burnand's popular text often seems the most likely.

The stage song (1853)

The song

The song Villikins and his Dinah apparently emerged in England in 1853 as a burlesque version of a traditional ballad called "William and Dinah". Immensely popular, the well-known tune was later adopted for many other songs, including "Sweet Betsy from Pike". Two farces were written shortly after to exploit the popularity of the stage song. Villikins and his Dinah (1855) by Francis C. Burnand and Willikind and hys Dinah (1854) by J. Stirling Coyne.

(To listen to Kenneth McKellar's version of "Villikins and his Dinah" click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHjeDyv6Tzo )

Performance history in South Africa

1861: The original stage song was apparently performed to acclaim by Private W. Dansie of the Ethiopian Serenaders, in the Garrison Theatre of either Grahamstown or Keiskama Hoek, as part of an evening of entertainment by the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot. , on May 27, 1861, and was repeated on the June 3. (See the entry on the North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot for contemporaneous commentary on the performance.)

1869: Sung as a duet by Coock and Tanner (though it may possibly been a Performed version of Burnand's play), along with To Paris and Back for £5 (Morton) by the Lanarkshire Dramatic Club (amateur players from the 99th Regiment) in the Garrison Theatre, Cape Town, on 17 June, part of the final performance and farewell by the Club.

Sources

The North Lincoln Sphinx Vol 1, is a 300 page, bound volume, containing a collection of newsletters, mainly recording the social activities, of the 10th North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot and was printed while the Regiment was stationed on the Eastern Frontier of the Cape Colony (now the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa) between 1860 and 1862.

North Lincoln Sphinx Vol 1, No 7. June 13, 1861.

North Lincoln Sphinx Vol 1, No 8. September 30, 1861.

The stage play by Coyne (1854)

Willikind and hys Dinah is described as "[a]n original pathetic and heart-rending tragedy. In three sad scenes" by J. Stirling Coyne (1803-1868)[1].

The original text

First performed in Theatre Royal Haymarket on 16 March, 1854, and published in London by Thomas Hailes Lacy in 1854 as Volume 14 of Lacy's Acting Edition of Plays.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villikins_and_his_Dinah

http://victorian.nuigalway.ie/modx/index.php?id=80

The stage play by Burnand (1855)

Villikins and his Dinah is a tragico-comico burlesque in one act by Francis C. Burnand (1836-1917)[2]

The original text

According to Wikipedia[3], Burnand's play was one of at least two farces written to exploit the popularity of the stage song Villikins and his Dinah (see above), which had emerged in England in 1853 as a burlesque version of a traditional ballad called "William and Dinah". Immensely popular, the tune was later adopted for many other songs, including "Sweet Betsy from Pike". The other farce based on the song is Willikind and hys Dinah (1854) by J. Stirling Coyne.

Burnand's play was expressly written for Amateur performance, and first performed on November 8, 1855, at the A.D.C. Rooms, Cambridge. The text was published by T.H. Lacy in 1855(?).

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1865: Performed by the Ray and Cooper Company in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 30 October, with Miriam's Crime (Craven).

1867: Performed by the 9th Regiment in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 25 May, with a "Gymnastic Display" and Mrs White (Raymond).

1867: Performed by the 9th Regiment in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on I June, with a "Gymnastic Display" and Jack's Delight (Williams).

1869: Performed (though possibly the song version sung as a duet by Coock and Tanner), along with To Paris and Back for £5 (Morton) by the Lanarkshire Dramatic Club (amateur players from the 99th Regiment) in the Garrison Theatre, Cape Town, on 17 June, part of the final performance and farewell by the Club.