Monsieur Delémery
Monsieur Delémery (17**-18**) was a (possibly professional) French actor who visited Cape Town.
His impact on South African theatre
On his way to Mauritius or the East, he apparently stopped at Cape Town to perform on two occasions. He appears to have been greatly admired in Cape Town, and productions in which he featured could command far higher admission-prices than normal. Judging from the variety of parts he played (including five different roles in one night!), he must have been an actor of the highest versatility.
He is first mentioned as performing from 29 October 1803 onwards till the end of 1806.
His roles
He appeared in a number of productions for the French Company run by Charles Mathurin Villet in 1803-4, usually playing a leading role. He then disappears from the scene for about 20 months, till June 1805-06, when he did a whole season with the Amateur Company and the Les Amateurs de l'Isle de France.
Among his roles were:
In 1803: Pigmalion (Rousseau) and Le Directeur de Comédie (Anon.)
1804: Les Battus Paient l'Amende (Dorvigny) and Les Soldiers Mordorés, ou La Cordonnière Allemande (Ferrières) on 17 June and Arlequin Protégé par Belphégor (as the clown) on 12 August.
[JH]
Sources
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp. 88, 90, 92, 99, 106, 110-11.
Jill Fletcher, 1994.
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