Difference between revisions of "The Castle Spectre"
Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lewis_(writer) | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lewis_(writer) | ||
− | |||
[[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]], 1928: pp. 148-9, 199, 212, 224, 389 and 417. | [[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]], 1928: pp. 148-9, 199, 212, 224, 389 and 417. |
Revision as of 09:11, 19 September 2014
A play in five acts by Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775 –1818) Apparently based on a previous attempt at a gothic story by the author, inspired by Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, it was reworked into a play in 1796 and first performed at the Theatre-Royal, Drury-Lane, on Thursday, December 14, 1797.
Despite manifold obvious weaknesses the play was a popular success and according to Bertrand Evans (1947, pp 143-44), with its appearance "...Gothic drama assumed a popular position not below that of the Gothic novel. Besides having a very long and eminently successful first run, this concoction went through seven printed editions in 1798 and eleven by 1803." It was apparently still popular in 1829.
Performance history in South Africa
1816: First performed in the Cape Town Theatre, Cape Town by the English Theatricals on 20 January, 1816, in support of the Waterloo Fund. With The Village Lawyer (Macready) as afterpiece. Repeated on 3 February, 1816 and played once more on 17 August, 1816.
1824: Performed in the Cape Town Theatre, Cape Town by the English Theatricals on 27 November 1824, with The Poor Soldier (O'Keeffe) as afterpiece.
1830: Performed in the Cape Town Theatre, Cape Town by All the World's a Stage under the leadership of Mr H. Booth on 6 March 1830, with The Lying Valet (Garrick) as afterpiece.
1832: Performed in the Cape Town Theatre, Cape Town by the British Amateur Company (under the motto All the World's a Stage) on 12 November 1832, with The Scape Goat (Poole) as afterpiece.
Translations and adaptations
Sources
Bertrand Evans, Gothic Drama from Walpole to Shelley, University of California Publications in English vol. 18, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1947; pp.143-44.[1]
http://omni.sytes.net/lewis.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lewis_(writer)
Bosman, 1928: pp. 148-9, 199, 212, 224, 389 and 417.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to C in Plays II Foreign Plays
Return to South_African_Theatre/Plays
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page