Britain's Brave Tars, or All for Saint Paul's

Britain's Brave Tars, or All for Saint Paul's is a special celebratory piece John O'Keeffe (1747 – 1833)[1], written for the celebration of naval victories.

The original text

Also billed simply as Britain's Brave Tars!!, it was first performed at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden in 1797, as part of the events celebrating the British naval victories. Apparently only acted twice.

The text was printed by T. Woodfall for T. N. Longman, 1796.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1808: On 16 July, 1808, a play called The Tars of Old England was apparently performed in the African Theatre, Cape Town by the Garrison Players on 16 July, 1808, with The Agreeable Surprise (O'Keeffe). One possibility is that this could have been Tonias Smollett[2]'s play The Reprisal, or The Tars of Old England, given the use of the sub-title. However, it is also very likely that it could have been a version of this piece, given the predilection the Garrison Players had for the work of O'Keeffe in this period and the fact that it was a patriotic play in a time of war.