Mauritius by Teresa Rebeck is a play that had it's world premier at the Boston Centre for the Arts in the 6th of October 2006. A year later Mauritius was premiered in New York at the Baltimore Theatre.
Published in 2008, Mauritius is a full length play, a dramatic comedy, that follows step sisters Jackie and Mary as they inherit their late mother's stamp album. Jackie wants to sell the album and Mary does not. Along come Philip, Dennis and Sterling who know a lot about stamps, in particular the Mauritian 'post office stamps'.
The One Penny and the Two Penny Post Office. Together: They're considered the crown jewel of philately.
Printed in 1847, the One Penny and Two Penny Post Office stamps had a printing error. Instead of 'post paid' it was engraved with 'post office'. I felt that the stamp album was also another character in this play. We get to know a bit more about this album, its provenance and lineage, we learn a bit more about the other rare stamps that are also part of this collection, alongside the post office stamps. For example, the inverted Jenny or the Colombian stamp of Columbus and Queen Isabella. Stamps with design or printing errors are quite rare and sought after items to philatelists internationally.
Rebeck inspired me to go through my old album, which I began in 1989. It's exactly as I remembered. However, I'm saddened by the water damage in the older album I inherited from my godmother, which she started in 1976. Her collection includes stamps from Scotland, France, French Polynesia, England, America, and Australia. These colourful stamps were my initial exposure to travel and the idea of other landscapes. As I rediscover the stamps, I feel deeply connected to these memories. I can see my personal journey growing up in Mauritius, alongside Mauritius' own cultural and historical history that are represented in the stamps' art works.
Stamp album (1989) Water damaged stamp album.
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