Montjoye

Montjoye is a French play in five acts by Octave Feuillet (1821-1890)[1].

The original text

The play was first performed in the Théâtre du Gymnase, Paris, in 1863 and published as a "comédie en cinq actes, en six tableaux" by Michel Lévy frères, , Paris, in 1864

Translations and adaptations

Translated into German by Marie Saphir, and published as a "Schauspiel in vier Acten und einem Nachspiel" (a "play in four acts and an epilogue").

The play was adapted into English for W.H. Vernon under the title of Mammon by Sydney Grundy (1848-1914)[2], and first performed at the Strand Theatre, London, on 7 April, 1877. It became a standard item in Vernon's repertoire over the years, including his tours to the colonies and the USA.

Grundy's English play is not to be confused with Mammon and Gammon by Francis Talfourd, or Mammon, Robot Born of Woman, a "comedic play" by Robert Llewellyn.

In 1894 it was extensively rewritten for Beerbohm-Tree as A Bunch of Violets and premiered at the Haymarket Theatre, going on to be one of Grundy's greatest successes. This version was was turned into a silent British film called A Bunch of Violets, directed by Frank Wilson and released in 1916.

Performance history in South Africa

1891-2: Performed as Mammon by the Geneviève Ward Company during a nine months' tour of South Africa, under the auspices of Luscombe Searelle, featuring Geneviève Ward and W.H. Vernon in the leading roles.

Sources

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

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Feuillet

"Online Books by Octave Feuillet", The Online Books Page[3]

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

"Grundy, Sidney" in Jean Chothia. 1996. English Drama of the Early Modern Period 1890-1940. Routledge: p. 305[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bunch_of_Violets_(play)

Allardyce Nicoll. 1975. A History of English Drama 1660-1900 (Volume 5, Late Nineteenth Century) Cambridge University Press:p.396 [5]

J.P. Wearing. 2013. The London Stage 1890-1899: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. (Second, revised edition, p. 206). Scarecrow Press, Google E-book[6]

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 1932. (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: pp.203-205

Go to ESAT Bibliography