Cockneys in California

Cockneys in California, subtitled "a piece of golden opportunity in one act", is a play about the California gold-rush by Joseph Stirling Coyne (1803–1868)[1].

The original text

A popular piece, both in Britain and America, as well as the colonies.

First published and produced in London in 1849. Issued as number XXXIII of French's Minor Drama series. The first American edition appeared in 1850 under Taylor's imprint. Also published in New York by M. Douglas (ca 1851) and Samuel French (ca 1855?).

Performances in South Africa

1855: A play entitled The Cockney in Corsica was performed in the Drawing Room Theatre, Cape Town, on Friday 13 July 1855 by Sefton Parry, as a benefit performance for the Patriotic Fund, along with A Capital Match (J.M. Morton) and Monsieur Jacques (Barnett). Bosman, 1928[2]: p432, suggests that it may have been Cockneys in California but he mistakenly has the author's surname as "French". However, Bosman seems to have been unaware sub-titling for J.M. Morton's play A Capital Match, namely A Cockney in California.