Black-Eyed Susan, or All in the Downs
Black-Eyed Susan, or All in the Downs is a comedy in three acts by Douglas Jerrold (1803–1857)[1].
Sometimes simply referred to as Black-Eyed Susan or Black-Ey'd Susan.)
Contents
The original text
Based on John Gay's well known ballad by that name, it has been described as "a nautical melodrama (with all its stock characters) that praises the patriotic British tar (sailor) while critiquing authoritarianism in the British Navy"[2], it was the playwright's Jerrold's first successful play, opening at the Surrey Theatre on 26 January 1829 and setting a new record of over 150 performances. It is a key play in the history of English melodrama, and became a stock play across the Empire, also in South Africa, till well into the 20th century.
Translations and adaptations
An American version, published in 1856 by William V. Spencer, Boston, is apparently an adaptation, as it is called "A nautical and domestic drama, in two acts" (1856), based on the "carefully marked copy" of a performance in the Boston Theatre.
Black-Eyed Susan, or The Little Bill That Was Taken Up is a burlesque of Jerrold's play by Burnand.
Performance history in South Africa
1829: First performed in Cape Town by H. Booth and local amateurs on 10 November as an afterpiece to Pizarro, or The Death of Rolla (Sheridan), with Booth as "William".
1858: Performed by Sefton Parry and his company on 17 June in the Cape Town Theatre. Also performed was Buried Alive, or The Illustrious Stranger (Milligan and Kenney).
1875: Performed in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town, by Disney Roebuck's company on 13 April, with Black Sheep (Yates).
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-Eyed_Susan
Facsimile of the 1856 Boston version, Internet Archive[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_William_Jerrold
F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [4]: pp. 209-10, 242, 406.
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 70, 73, 323
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