Brother Officers

Brother Officers is a comedy in three acts by Leo Trevor (fl. 1895-1920).

Not to be confused with the 1915 film of the same name, based on the play[1]

The original text

Referred to as a "military melodrama of manners" by John LeVay (1989: p.49), it was first performed at the Garrick Theatre, London, from 20 October to 21 December, 1898.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1904: The play was a part of the repertoire of the visiting Frawley Company (led by Daniel Frawley), and was performed during their sojourn in the country. However, the only specifically dated reference for a performance of it by the company is a reference by Boonzaier (1923) to a benefit performance for the "sufferers in a disaster (a flood) at Bloemfontein", organized by Grant Fallowes in the Opera House, Cape Town, on 28 February, when an act from the play was performed by the Frawley Company, as part of the event. The rest of the programme consisted of the second act of In the Soup (Lumley) and various vaudeville style turns (acrobatics, songs, dances, etc) by members of the Tivoli Theatre company and Frank Fillis' Circus. The performers included Peggy Pryde, N.C. Fields, Miss Charini, Mrs Griffith Vincent, Kate Drew, Percy Ould, the Hayday Troupe and the Pichell Troupe.

Sources

J.P. Wearing. 2013. The London Stage 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press:p.234.[2]

John LeVay. 1989. Margaret Anglin: A Stage Life. Dundurn: p.49[3] By

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. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: p.418

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