The Streets of London

Les Pauvres de Paris by Edouard-Louis-Alexandre Brisbarre ()[] and Eugene Nus ()[].

The original text

This is actually a later title for Dion 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.

The play was adapted and billed under a vast number of names, including The Streets of New York, The Poor of Liverpool (and then adapted to the location where it was to be performed), The Streets of Islington, etc. In the British colonies it was best remembered as The Streets of London, or The Streets of Dublin.

First performed as The Streets of London, 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

The Streets of London, University of Kent Special Collections and Archives[1]

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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