View source for All that Glitters is not Gold

''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' is a comic drama in two acts by Thomas Morton (1764-1838)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Morton_(playwright)] and John Maddison Morton (1811-1891)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maddison_Morton].   

This piece also found as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold, or The Poor Girl's Diary]]'', ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold, or The Factory Girl]]'', ''[[The Factory Girl, or, All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' or simply ''[[The Factory Girl]]''. The title ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters, or The Factory Girl]]'' also occurs in South Africa. 

'''Not to be confused with the 17th century play ''[[All is not Gold that Glisters]]'' by Henry Chettle and Samuel Rowley or the 1863 novel ''The Factory Girl, or All is not Gold that Glitters'', "a romance of real life", by Mary Elizabeth  Braddon.''' 


==The original text==

Said to be "adapted from the French" (though no French source has  been traced so far), it was first performed at the Olympic Theatre, London, on January 13, 1851, with Mrs. Stirling as "Martha Gibb". It was first played in New York Broadway Theatre, March, 1851 and later at the Bowery Theatre, 1851. It was apparently widely performed in America and the British colonies afterwards. 

The text was strangely credited to both father and son, even though the first performance only took place 13 years after the death of Thomas Morton. Which suggests that the play may either have been an early work only performed much later, or an adaptation by the son of an original version (or concept) by his father.  The published texts however, say nothing on this. 

Published as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' by London : T.H. Lacy in 1851 and in New York by William Taylor, 1851 
Published under this title by Samuel French as well and as Dicks' Standard Plays: no.1054. Published as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold, or The Poor Girl's Diary]]'' by the School Publishing Company, Darrowville, Ohio and by A.D. Ames, Publisher, Clyde, Ohio in 1888. There is a strange confusion in cataloguing of this latter version of the work by American libraries, for it is often listed as ''[[The Factory Girl, or, All that Glitters is not Gold]]'', even though  the text says ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold, or The Poor Girl's Diary]]'' on the title page, and simply ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' at the head of the text itself.

==Translations and adaptations==



== Performance history in South Africa ==

'''A note on the text(s) used:''' 

In his report on [[Sefton Parry]]'s first productions of the play in South Africa (1858-1862), as well a performance at  Port Elizabeth in 1865, [[F.C.L. Bosman]] (1980: p. 69) gives the title as ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters, or The Factory Girl]]'', calling it "a beautiful pathetic play" and ascribing it wrongly to Henry Chettle and Samuel Rowley. However, the one source for information on the performances appears to be Groom (1988-1900), who has the title as  ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'', which seems to suggest that the play Parry did was in fact the 1851 work by Thomas Morton and J.M. Morton,  a supposition further supported by both the subtitle and the name of the one characters ( "Martha Gibbs") mentioned by Bosman. In the case of later performances (e.g. those in the 1870s) Bosman uses the correct title and ascribes it to the Mortons, with no explanation, even though he refers to the play as "an old favourite" - this all suggesting it is the same work as that done by Parry, and that Parry (or his publicist) may have been the one to make the (deliberate?) error.  

'''The performances'''

1858: A play called ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters, or The Factory Girl]]'' was performed by [[Sefton Parry]] and his company,  under protection of Colonel Hope and the [[Cape Volunteer Corps]], on 27 April in the [[Cape Town Theatre]]. Also performed was an English song ("The Ratcatcher's Daughter") and the comedy  ''[[Buried Alive, or The Illustrious Stranger]]'' (Milligen and Kenney). The orchestra of the [[Cape Royal Rifles]] also performed.  

1861: Performed as ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters, or The Factory Girl]]'' by [[Sefton Parry]] and his company  on 13 May 1861,  the opening night of the newly completed [[Theatre Royal]]. (However, Groom has the title as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]''.) The rest of the programme consisted of a tambourine dance by [[Miss Powell]],songs by Mr [[James Leffler|J.H. Leffler]] and the burletta ''[[The Bonnie Fishwife]]'' (Selby). 

1862: Performed as ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters]]'' by [[Sefton Parry]] and his company on 11 April, with ''[[The Omnibus, or A Convenient Distance]]'' (an adaptation of ''[[The Bounce]]'' by Raymond). The evening was as a benefit for [[Mr Bland]] and [[Mrs Bland]]. 

1865: Performed as ''[[All is not Gold that Glitters]]'' by the company of [[W.H. Parkes]] in Port Elizabeth on  31 July, with  Mrs [[Clara Tellett]] appearing as "Martha Gibbs".

1870: Performed as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' in the [[Royal Lyceum Theatre]], Cape Town,  by the company of [[Benjamin Webster]] on  5 July, with scenes from ''[[King John]]'' (Shakespeare). The performers [[Benjamin Webster]], [[T. Brazier]], [[Mrs  Brazier]], [[Mr Devere]] and [[James Leffler]] all appeared in the main play. The evening was a bit of a fiasco however, since a [[Mr Illford]], who was make his Cape Town debut by playing the lead, had not turned up and Leffler had to take on  two roles.

1874: Performed as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' in the [[Oddfellows Hall]], Cape Town,  by the company of [[Disney Roebuck]] on  13 February, with ''[[The Lottery Ticket]]'' (Beazley)

1874: Performed as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' in the [[Oddfellows Hall]], Cape Town,  by the company of [[Disney Roebuck]] on  20 February, with an unnamed farce. 

1877: Performed as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' in the [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town,  by the company of [[Disney Roebuck]] on  12 September, with ''[[The Spitalfields Weaver, or How are you, Brown?]]'' (Bayly)

1878: Performed as ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' in the [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town,  by the company of [[Disney Roebuck]] on  29 May, with ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' (Gilbert and Sullivan) as a benefit performance for Wilmore, Leonard and Pine.

== Sources ==

Facsimile version of the 1851 text of ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' by Taylor, Hathitrust Digital Library[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435054497086;view=1up;seq=5]

Facsimile version of ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold, or The Poor Girl's Diary]]'',  Hathitrust Digital Library[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t0vq7qh96;view=1up;seq=2]

Facsimile version of the 1851 text of ''[[All that Glitters is not Gold]]'' by Samuel French, Hathitrust Digital Library[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858023946738;view=1up;seq=13]

[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]: pp. 69, 73, 76, 97, 100, 112, 139, 252, 311-3, 360, 369. 

[[William Groom]]. 1899-1900. Drama in Cape Town. ''Cape Illustrated Magazine'', 10(4): 478-481, 517-520, 547-552, 580-584, 640-643, 670-672, 706-708. 

Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

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