Ben Bolt

Ben Bolt is a drama in two acts by John B. Johnstone (1803-1891)

The original text
The play was inspired by the famous American ballad Ben Bolt by Thomas Dunn English (1819–1902), written in 1842 and published in the New York Mirror in 1843, after which it became a very popular as poem in America and England, and thereafter even better known as a naval song, having been set to music by Nelson Kneass.

The poem provided both the broad theme and the names of the lead characters, and the play was first performed at the Royal Surrey Theatre on Tuesday, 28 March 1854, and published in the same year by Thomas Hailes Lacy.

Performance history in South Africa
1859: Performed by the Charles Fraser and his company in Cape Town with Slasher and Crasher (Morton) on 3 May.

1859: Repeated by the Charles Fraser and his company in Cape Town with a scen from Macbeth (Shakespeare) and To Paris and Back for £5 (Morton) on 9 May.

1865: Performed by the Valorous Amateurs (amateur players from H.M.S. Valorous) in the Garrison Theatre, Cape Town on 17 November, with Michael Erle the Maniac Lover (Wilks) and Betsy Baker (Morton).

1866: Performed by the Garrison Players in the Garrison Theatre, Cape Town on 8 December, with performances of dances and music.

1867: Performed by the Young Men's Dramatic Company in Mr Ferguson's Saloon, in the Swiss Hotel, Plein Street, Cape Town on 24 July, with A Shilling Day at the (Great) Exhibition (Halliday and Brough).

1875: Performed by the Disney Roebuck company in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town on 3 July, with Life's Revenge (Suter).

1877: Performed by the Disney Roebuck company in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town on 18 August, with The Shaughraun (Boucicault).

1877: Performed by the Disney Roebuck company in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town on 20 October, with Our Boys (Byron), as a benefit for E.V. Sinclair and Mrs Sinclair.

Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page