Many plays are written by authors who, for various reasons, prefer to hide their identity. A number of techniques are employed in such cases, e.g. the use of a pseudonym or nom de plume, the omission of a name altogether, or the use of a phrase to indicate something like local authorship.

Similarly of course, performers and other theatre and film practitioners have for centuries employed stage names to hide their identities or to make them sound more acceptable, mysterious, artistic, etc.

Pseudonyms

Descriptive phrases as indications of local authorship

Besides omitting to mention an author altogether or using a pseudonym, a number general phrases have been used over time to identify as a local personality.

In Cape Town for example, one finds examples such as "A Gentleman of the Cape" (1858), "A Young Lady of Cape Town" (1870),