Britain's Brave Tars!!

A special celebratory piece by John O'Keeffe (1747 – 1833), written for the naval victories of 1797.

Performance history in South Africa

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 Smollett'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 and the fact that members of the company most probably had taken part in some of the battles.