The Illustrious Stranger, or Married and Buried

The Illustrious Stranger, or Married and Buried is a "comic operatic farce" in two acts by John Gideon Millingen[1] and James Kenney[2].

The original text

A response to the popularity of the dramtised version of Robinson Crusoe, the text was created with the aid of Joseph de Lefont and supplied music by Isaac Nathan. First performed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, printed by William Kenneth in 1827.

One source, the entry on Millingen in the 1894 Dictionary of National Biography (Vol 37: p. 439), Wikisource[3], refers to a one act farce in prose by Kenney and Millingen, called The Illustrious Stranger, or Married and Single, published in Home Plays, London, 1862 (this must surely read 1826?). If this is not simply an error (the article does not mention the later two act version at all), then this could have been the original work on which the 1827 operatic farce in two acts, but as this is the only reference to the particular title, it would appear somewhat unlikely.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1833: First performed in cape Town in the African Theatre by the All the World's a Stage on Monday 6 May, as afterpiece to The Pilot, or a Tale of the Sea (Fitzball, based on Cooper). The production was a benefit for Mr Whiley.

1834: Performed in the Garrison Theatre by the Garrison Amateurs on Wednesday 19 November, as afterpiece to The Midnight Hour (Inchbald). The production was a benefit for Mrs Black.

1853: Performed in the Garrison Theatre by the Officers of the Garrison on Wednesday 14 September, with as afterpieces Bombastes Furioso (Rhodes) and Did You Ever Send Your Wife to Camberwell? (Coyne). Actors included R.A. Pasley, Captain Hall and Captain Fisher. The play was apparently announced as "Kenney's Operatic Farce..".