View source for The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in Spite of Himself

''[[The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in Spite of Himself]]'' is a  farce in two acts by William Thomas (W.T.) Moncrieff (1794-1857)[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moncrieff,_William_Thomas_(DNB00)]. 

The play is sometimes listed as '''''[[The Spectre Bridegroom]]''''' only.   

== The original text ==


Founded on a story of the same name in ''The Sketch Book'' by Washington Irving (published under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. in serial form 1819 and 1820). 

First performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Monday, July 2, 1821 by Elliston.

Published in London and New York in 1821.  Printed by J. Tabby, 1821.

==Translations and adaptations==

== Performance history in South Africa ==

1831: Performed by [[All the World's a Stage]] under the management of Mr Booth in the [[African Theatre]] on 17 December, 1831 as afterpiece to ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' (Weber) and ''[[The Lawyer in the Sack]]'' (Booth).

1833: Performed, with ''[[Wild Oats, or The Strolling Gentleman]]''(O'Keefe),  as part of a "Farewell Benefit" for [[Mr Booth]] by [[All the World's a Stage]] in the [[African Theatre]] on 5 March, 1833. 

1834:  Performed, under the patronage of the Governor, by the "[[Private Amateur Company]]" (a  civil society),   in the [[Amateur Theatre]] ([[Liefhebbery Toneel]]) on 30 September, as afterpiece to ''[[Julius Caesar]]'' (Shakespeare). 

1838: Performed by the [[English Amateur Company]] in the [[African Theatre|Cape Town Theatre]] on 13 October, 1838, as afterpiece to ''[[Ambrose Guinett, or a Sea-Side Story]]'' (Jerrold). The name of the author is wrongly spelled "Moncrieffe" in the source for this production. (According to [[F.C.L. Bosman]], 1928, this was to be the last production mounted in the [[African Theatre]] before it was sold and turned into a church, and it was also the last production by English amateurs in Cape Town till 1843, for the Methodist movement to close the theatres had temporarily won the battle.)

1838: It may also have been performed in Grahamstown as ''[[The Castle Spectre]]'' in this year by the [[Grahamstown Amateur Company]], performing under the motto [[Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense]] (Though there is some difference of opinion between [[F.C.L. Bosman]] and [[P.W. Laidler]] on whether it was not perhaps the performance in Cape Town - see  [[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]], 1928: pp. 388-9).

1858: Performed as ''[[The Spectre Bridegroom]]'' by the [[Charles Fraser]], his wife [[Mrs Fraser]] and [[Mr Leslie]], with a company of amateurs partly drawn from the garrison, in the [[Cape Town Theatre]] on 27 December, with ''[[A Blighted Being]]'' (Lefranc/Taylor) and ''[[The Irish Tutor]]'' (Butler). Fraser played "Nicodemus". 

1860: Performed for on 29 October in the [[Cabinet Theatre]], Cape Town, by the [[Cape Town Dramatic Club]]  with ''[[The Rivals]]'' (Sheridan).

1861: Performed as ''[[The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in spite of Himself ]]'' in the Garrison Theatre, Grahamstown, by the regimentals drama company known as the [[Amateurs of the Band]] ([[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]]) on June 5, with a cast consisting of . The evening also included two more plays, ''[[Slasher and Crasher]]'' (Morton) and ''[[Poses-De-Vaux]]'' (Anon.). ''(For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the [[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]])''

1861: Performed as a comedy in two acts in Grahamstown on 4 November by a Garrison company called the [[Amateurs of the Band]] ([[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]]) with the same cast. Also performed was  ''[[The Rose of Ettrick Vale or The Bridal of the Borders]]'' (Lynch). ''(For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the [[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]])''

1862: Performed as ''[[The Spectre Bridegroom, or A Ghost in Spite of Himself]]'' by the [[Amateurs of the Band]] ([[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]]) in the [[Garrison Theatre]], Keiskama Hoek as  on June 5,  featuring [[F. Girton]] (Mr. Nicodemus), [[J. M'Kechnie]] (Squire Aldwinkle), [[J. F. Gay]] (Dickery, his man), [[J. Mann]] (Captain Vanntington), [[W. Dansie]] (Paul), [[T. Paterson]] (Thomas, a servant), [[J. Davies]] (Georgiana Aldwinkle) and [[J. Durney]] (Lavinia, her cousin). The evening also included two more plays, ''[[Poses-De-Vaux]]'' (Anon.) and ''[[Slasher and Crasher]]'' (Morton). ''(For more on contemporary responses to the performances, see the entry on the [[North Lincolnshire Regiment of Foot]])''

1865: Performed as ''[[The Spectre Bridegroom]]'' in the [[Theatre Royal]] in Burg Street, Cape Town, on 30 January by the officers and men of the [[1st Battalion]] of the [[10th Regiment]], with ''[[Urgent Private Affairs]]'' (Coyne) and ''[[Slasher and Crasher]]'' (Morton), interspersed with comic songs.  

1876: Performed in the [[Theatre Royal]] in Burg Street, Cape Town, on 8 August by [[Disney Roebuck]]'s company (at the time managed by [[C. Wilstone]]), with ''[[Luke the Labourer]]'' (Buckstone).

1877: Performed in the [[Theatre Royal]] on 26 January by [[Disney Roebuck]] and his company. It was presented with ''[[The Flying Scud, or A Four-legged Fortune]]'' (Boucicault), featuring  a "real horse", and a ballad by [[Miss Wynne]] (i.e. [[Gertrude Wynne]]).

== Sources ==

Copy of the text in the Internet Archive[https://archive.org/details/spectrebridegroo00monc]

Copy of Samuel French text[http://victorian.worc.ac.uk/modx/assets/docs/pdf/Vol35viiSpectre.pdf]

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moncrieff,_William_Thomas_(DNB00)

Worldcat website[http://www.worldcat.org/title/spectre-bridegroom-or-a-ghost-in-spite-of-himself-a-farce-in-two-acts-by-w-t-moncrieff/oclc/458041523]

http://www.worldcat.org/title/spectre-bridegroom/oclc/56886389?referer=di&ht=edition

[[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 [[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]] 1980: pp. 374-439.)

[[F.C.L. Bosman]], 1928. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855''. Pretoria: [[J.H. de Bussy]]. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bosm012dram01_01/]: pp. 205-6, 208, 218, 225, 389.

[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]: pp.124, 154, 256, 341, 364

''[[North Lincoln Sphinx]]'', Vol 1, No 1. January 1, 1860.

''[[North Lincoln Sphinx]]'', Vol 1, Supplementary Number, Keiskama Hoek, August 12, 1862, page 240.



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