Britain's Brave Tars!!

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

The full title was Britain's brave tars, or all for Saint Paul's. As performed at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden in 1797, as part of the events celebrating the British naval victories. Apparently only acted twice.

London : printed by T. Woodfall; for T. N. Longman, 1796

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 it was a patriotic play in a time of war.