The Streets of London

The original text

This is actually a later version of Boucicault's The Poor of New York (1857), which was closely based on Les Pauvres de Paris by Edouard-Louis-Alexandre Brisbarre and Eugene Nus ((1856). For the original play Boucicault collaborated with three journalists, Seymour, Goodrich, and Warden (though Boucicault did most of the writing). The Poor of New York was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York, in 1857, to poor critical response, but popular with audiences.

In 1864 it was revived in Liverpool, as The Poor of Liverpool, and then frequently adapted to the location where it was to be performed, becoming The Poor of Manchester or Leeds, and then The Streets of Islington, London, or Dublin.

First performed at the The Princess Theatre, London, on 1864, the play received mixed reviews, though the scenery was an immediate success.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1866: Performed as Lucretia Borgia by the Le Roy-Duret Company in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, on

Sources

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.203-205

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