La Priére des Naufragés

La Priére des Naufragés ("Prayer of the Wrecked") is a French melodrama by Adolphe d'Ennery (1811-1899) and Ferdinand Dugué (1816-1913).

The original text
First performed at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique on October 20, 1853, and published by J-A Lelong, Paris, in the same year.

Translations and adaptations
Adapted into English by T.W. Robertson and produced by Benjamin Nottingham Webster at the Adelphi Theatre, London, under the title The Thirst for Gold, or the Lost Ship and the Wild Flower of Mexico on December 4, 1853. Also found are a number of other versions by other producers, such as The Struggle for Gold (23 January, 1854), The Struggle for Gold and the Orphan of the Frozen Sea (20 February, 1854), and Prayer in the Storm (28 March, 1874). In America it was produced as The Sea of Ice in a popular version by Laura Keene, opening at her New York theatre on November 5, 1857.

The text published in London by T.H. Lacy as The Sea of Ice, or The Prayer of the Wrecked and The Gold-Seeker of Mexico, a romantic drama in five acts, probably in 1853(?). The title Prayer of the Wrecked is also found for the publication and it has apparently also been published as The Sea of Ice, or A Thirst for Gold and The Wild Flower of Mexico.

Performance history in South Africa
1867: Performed by the Madame Duret and company in the Theatre Royal in Harrington Street, Cape Town, with Bombastes Furioso (Rhodes).

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