Irish Justice

Irish Justice is a comedy sketch in one scene by an unknwon author, though ascribed to a "Charles Morton" in some cases.

The original text

The mimeographed text of a sketch in one scene called Irish Justice is ascribed to a "Charles Morton" in U.S. Government Printing Office's Catalogue of Copyright Entries (1914). This is most likely to be a reference to the famous Music Hall impresario Charles Morton, (1819–1904)[1], in whose collection held in the "Charles Morton Agency Collection of American Popular Drama 1842-1950", a copy of the text has been found and published in Alex. Byer's library of tabloid plays (1914).

As Morton is not known as a playwright himself, but as very successful impresario, it is more likely that this an anonymous text created by a performer appearing in one of the vaudeville shows put on Morton's New Canterbury theatre (a music hall venue) in the early 1860s, but is ascribed to Morton by the compilers of the library material in view of the provenance of the manuscript. The suggested date of creation/performance is based on the fact that a sketch by this name was performed in South Africa as early as May, 1866,

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1866: Performed by the Wheeler Company in the Theatre Royal in Burg Street, Cape Town, with The Private Secretary (Von Moser/Hawtrey) in May. It was their opening production there, and Frank Wheeler played the leading roles in both plays ("Peter Mulvaney" and "Reverend Spalding").

Sources

U.S. Government Printing Office, 1914. Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Pamphlets, leaflets, contributions to newspapers or periodicals, etc.; lectures, sermons, addresses for oral delivery; dramatic compositions; maps; motion pictures (Volume 11, Issue 2): p. [2]

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: p.381

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