“Eene schoone engelsche troupe”: William Durham and His Company of Travelling Performers in Ghent (1713) and Germany (1724–1728)

Abstract

Abstract Relying on information contained in Prosper Claeys’ Histoire du théâtre à Gand (1892) and in notes bynineteenth-century German theatre historians, the present essay seeks to partially reconstruct the repertory of William Durham, the (largely forgotten) manager of a troupe of wandering actors, who performed at Ghent in 1713 and in various German cities between 1724 or 1725 and 1728. No particulars are available about his performances at Ghent, which appear to have been a combination of acting and rope-dancing. Contemporary play-bills, on the other hand, reveal the diverse nature of three pieces which Durham produced in German-speaking areas: (1) Das durchlauchtigste Müllermädchen, possibly an adaptation of aseventeenth-century English comedy by John Fletcher and William Rowley; (2) Genovefa, a play about the legendary eponymous character, whose story had been widely circulated in Europe; and (3) Der transmetamorphosirte Arlequin, a Harlequin-Faustus Hauptaktion, which may have taken its cue from a spate of popular harlequinades on the contemporary London stage. Although the scanty available evidence does not allow of any firm conclusions about his international standing, Durham may have been the exponent of a ‘transnational’ or ‘transcultural’ theatre bridging the gap between various dramatic traditions.