Difference between revisions of "Ray and Cooper Company"

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In 1865 Alfred Ray returned to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth with the [[OIO Christy's Minstrels]], what [[F.C.L. Bosman]] (1980: p. 191) refers to as  a self-organized group of five  [[negro]]  singers (perhaps he means [[blackface]]?) from Port Elizabeth. This troupe performed at the [[Theatre Royal]] in Cape Town in September 1865 under this name, in collaboration with [[Alfred Ray]]. Apparently they were not really well received in Cape Town, their work being seen as a little too vulgar, but now Ray went on to take the theatre for a more conventional season of three months with "the leading members of the late Port Elizabeth company" ([[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]], 1980: p. 191). The rest of the company included Cooper, Mrs Cooper, Mrs Ray and probably J.C. Wilks, Firme, Leffler and Spencer.   
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In 1865 Alfred Ray returned to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth with the [[OIO Christy's Minstrels]], what [[F.C.L. Bosman]] (1980: p. 191) refers to as  a self-organized group of five  [[negro]]  singers (perhaps he means [[blackface]]?) from Port Elizabeth. This troupe performed at the [[Theatre Royal]] in Cape Town in September 1865 under this name, in collaboration with [[Alfred Ray]]. Apparently they were not really well received in Cape Town, their work being seen as a little too vulgar, but now Ray went on to take the theatre for a more conventional season of three months with "the leading members of the late Port Elizabeth company" ([[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]], 1980: p. 191). The rest of the company included Cooper, Mrs Cooper, Mrs Ray and probably [[J.C. Wilks]], Firme, Leffler and Spencer.   
  
 
Hereafter, the company was billed as the [[Ray and Cooper Company]]. Initially their programmes continued to contain some [[minstrels]] style vaudeville acts, but after a "[[Grand Combination Performance: Christy's Farewell and the Dramatic Co." on 25 November 1865, they tended towards  more conventional fare.
 
Hereafter, the company was billed as the [[Ray and Cooper Company]]. Initially their programmes continued to contain some [[minstrels]] style vaudeville acts, but after a "[[Grand Combination Performance: Christy's Farewell and the Dramatic Co." on 25 November 1865, they tended towards  more conventional fare.

Revision as of 06:10, 15 January 2019

Ray and Cooper Company is a theatrical company active in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town in the 1860s.

The company

In 1865 Alfred Ray returned to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth with the OIO Christy's Minstrels, what F.C.L. Bosman (1980: p. 191) refers to as a self-organized group of five negro singers (perhaps he means blackface?) from Port Elizabeth. This troupe performed at the Theatre Royal in Cape Town in September 1865 under this name, in collaboration with Alfred Ray. Apparently they were not really well received in Cape Town, their work being seen as a little too vulgar, but now Ray went on to take the theatre for a more conventional season of three months with "the leading members of the late Port Elizabeth company" (Bosman, 1980: p. 191). The rest of the company included Cooper, Mrs Cooper, Mrs Ray and probably J.C. Wilks, Firme, Leffler and Spencer.

Hereafter, the company was billed as the Ray and Cooper Company. Initially their programmes continued to contain some minstrels style vaudeville acts, but after a "[[Grand Combination Performance: Christy's Farewell and the Dramatic Co." on 25 November 1865, they tended towards more conventional fare.