There are two plays named Crimson Crimes, both containing the phrase "Crimson Crimes" in the full title as well:

Crimson Crimes, or The Blood-Stained Bandit (1832)

This is described as a melodrama or burletta by John Baldwin Buckstone (1802-1879)[1]

First performed at the Adelphi Theatre, London on 19 November, 1832.

Crimson Crimes, or Deeds of Dreadful Note (1849)

This is a farce attributed to William E. Burton (1804-1860)[]

Also found as Deeds of Dreadful Note! .

The original text

One commentator suggests that it may have been a parody of the one act “romantic tale of terror” published in 1810 by Alfred Dubois (nom de plume of James Stuart Bowes, 1768/69-1863) called Wilful Murder, or Deeds of Dreadful Note (or simply Deeds of Dreadful Note), though it could of course also have been Buckstone's play - or a parody of it, or of the genre in general, merely taking the title from the two works.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1857: Performed in the Harrington Street Theatre , Cape Town, on 23 September by the Sefton Parry Company as Crimson Crimes, a "screaming farce" by an unnamed author. Also performed was Who Speaks First? (Dance) and Monsieur Jacques (Barnett and Barnett).