David Garrick

David Garrick is a comic play by T.W. Robertson[1] (1829-1871).

The original play

The origins of this play appear to be quite complicated.

Sullivan, David Garrick: A Play In Three Acts (1873) Hardcover – September 10, 2010 by Tommaso Salvini (Author). Sullivan - (David Garrick.) a Play in Three Acts.

the English Translation Prepared Expressly for the American Tour of Signor Salvini and His Italian Company...

This play was performed in England as Sullivan at St James's theatre by a company of French actors, where it was seen by T.W. Robertson, who then wrote his own play based on it, and called it David Garrick

Robertson, T. W. 1829-1871. by M. Mélesville (1787-1865). Language(s): English Published:

A play about the famous 18th-century actor and theatre manager, David Garrick[2] (1717-1779).

Robertson's English play was written in 1864 and premiéred at the Prince of Wales Theater in Birmingham, where it was successful enough to be moved to the Haymarket Theatre in London, on 30 April 1864. Published in London by S.O. Beeton, 1865. It became a popular virtuoso role for Disney Roebuck, who performed it often, all over the world. In fact the value of the play have often been ascribed to Roebuck's interpretation of it, rather than the text's own merits.

A 1923 book, Public Speaking Today, recommends David Garrick for performance by high school students alongside The Importance of Being Earnest and The Rivals.

Translations and adaptations

David Garrick. A Love Story by T.W. Robertson, is a "novelette expanded from the play" (i.e. Robertson's own play of the same title), which had been adapted from A.H.J. Duveyrier's play Sullivan

The 1907 musical The Beauty of Bath (Hicks and Hamilton) was loosely based on this work.

Performances in South Africa

1873: It was the first play done by Disney Roebuck when he set out to tour the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces with his company in 1873, it opened his first season in the Mutual Hall (i.e. the concert hall of the Mutual Building) in Cape Town, on 26 November with Perfection (Bayly) as afterpiece.

1875: Performed in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town, by Disney Roebuck and company on 19 August with as Miss Eily O'Connor (Byron).

1929: It was one of the plays performed by a West End theatre company from London, led by actor-manager Gerald Lawrence, which toured South Africa and Rhodesia, putting on a portfolio of five plays. The tour played in venues owned by African Theatres Ltd. and started in Johannesburg on 1st April 1929 and finished in Cape Town on 3rd October.