Little Nell is the title of a play a number of plays based on the main character in the novel The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (1812-1870)[1]

The original novel

The Old Curiosity Shop was published serially from 1840 to 1841, and tells the sad story of Nell Trent ("Little Nell") and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London. Portrayed as infallibly good and angelic, Nell takes her grandfather on a journey to save them from misery. She gradually becomes weaker as they go on and finally finds a home with the help of the schoolmaster. However it is too late and she sickens and dies before her friends in London find her.

The novel was so popular that New York readers stormed the wharf when the ship bearing the final instalment arrived in 1841.

Dramatizations

The novel has seen a number of dramatizations over the years, most often referred to as Little Nell and frequently done in burlesque versions, especially in the 20th century.

Little Nell and the Marchioness by by (first performed on Broadway, 1867 - New York City Aug 14, 1867 and played through Sep 12, 1867.), Among the versions are Little Nell: A Burlesque Melodrama; Mortgage, Tears and Everything by John Nash (1940)[2], Little Nell and the Mortgage Foreclosure by John Donald O'Shea (),

Below more information on some of the versions done in South Africa

Little Nell and the Marchioness by John Brougham (1867)

Also known as The Old Curiosity Shop or The Old Curiosity Shop or, Little Nell, the Marchioness.

Suggested by an episode from the novel, the play is generally believed to have been written by John Brougham ()[],

First performed on Broadway in Wallack's Theatre, on 14 August, 1867, playing till 12 September.

Little Nell by

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1882: Performed as part of a season of plays in the Theatre Royal, Burg Street, Cape Town, by Mabel Hayes (billed as Mrs R.J. Hall) and her company.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Curiosity_Shop

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

Go to ESAT Bibliography