Volpone

Volpone ("the fox") is a play by Ben Jonson (1572-1637)[1]

The original text

A satire of greed and lust written 1606, the play was first performed at the Globe Theatre by the King's Men in 1606. First published in quarto in early 1607 printed by Thomas Thorpe and in an amended version in folio in 1616.

Performance history in South Africa

First performed in South Africa in 18/19*.

Performed by National Theatre Organisation in 1952 (an adaptation by Stefan Zweig), as part of the Van Riebeeck Festival and directed by Leonard Schach with Pieter Geldenhuys, Gerrit Wessels, Vivienne Drummond as Canina, Edna Jacobson, Frank Wise, Michael Perry, Alan Chadwick, Vivienne Drummond, Glyn Jones, Ted Darroll and Siegfried Mynhardt. Costumes designed by Frank Graves. The production visited Rhodesia in 1953 in tandem with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, produced by Leonard Schach with the same company.

1966/1967(?) Performed by the UCT Dramatic Society, directed by Roy Sargeant.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Afrikaans by ** as **??

Translated into Dutch by Hugo Claus, titled De Vossejacht. Published by Bezige Bij, 1972.

Phiri is a South African adaptation by Barney Simon of Jonson's Volpone, directed by Simon, and improvised and performed by the Phoenix Players.

Sly Fox by Larry Gelbart (1976) is an updated American version of Volpone, set in San Francisco.

Sources

Grütter, Wilhelm, CAPAB 25 Years, 1987. Unpublished research. p 59.

Lantern, 9:294-298. 1952.

Performing Arts. HSRC, 1972.

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