The Maid of Croissey, or Theresa's Vow

The Maid of Croissey, or Theresa's Vow[1] is a drama in two acts by Mrs. Charles Gore (Catherine Gore, 1798–1861)[2],

The original text

First produced in London at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, July 20th, 1835, and published by Chapman and Hall in 1835(?) and as No. 339. Dicks' Standard Plays.

Translations and adaptations

There are references to plays entitled Theresa's Vows, or The Cross of Gold[3] and in South Africa (rather oddly) Theresa's Bow, or The Cross of Gold, The Cross of Gold, or The Orphan's Vow or simply The Cross of Gold.

It appears that Mrs Gore's play may be the original work, subsequently performed under a variety of titles (and possibly adapted) in various parts of the world. The assumption is supported by the fact that there are references to a "Gold Cross" and a "vow" in Mrs Gore's play.

Performance history in South Africa

1858: Probably the play that, according to F.C.L. Bosman (1980: p. 69) was performed as Theresa's Bow, or The Cross of Gold (sic., no author given) by Sefton Parry and his company in the Cape Town Theatre on 4 May. It was accompanied by performances of Scottish songs ("I'm a Young Man and I Live with my Mother" and "Johnny Cape") and two dances (a "Broad Sword Dance" and a "Highland Fling") by a visiting artist en route to Australia, the "celebrated Highland Singer and Dancer" Fraser MacGregor.

1860: Performed as The Cross of Gold, or The Orphan's Vow (no author credited) on 22 June in the Cape Town Theatre, Cape Town, by the Sefton Parry company, with a dance by Miss Powell and Used Up (Boucicault).

1876: Performed as The Cross of Gold (no author credited) on 2 November in the Athenaeum Hall, Cape Town, by the Disney Roebuck company, under the temporary management of C. Wiltstone. Also played was Checkmate (Halliday).

Sources

Facsimile version of "The maid of Croissey [or, Theresa's vow; a drama in two acts] by Mrs. Charles Gore", The Internet Archive [4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Gore

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007429847

R.J. Broadbent. 1969. Annals of the Liverpool Stage, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time: p. 383[5]

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 1923. (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: pp. 69, 73, 76, 80, 343

Go to ESAT Bibliography