Difference between revisions of "The Pilot, or A Tale of the Sea"
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Fitzball also wrote a burlesque version that takes place off the American coast with British sailors and which makes the ridiculous characters Yankees. It was licensed by the Lord Chamberlain as '''''[[The Pilot, or a Storm at Sea]]''''' and, styled "A Nautical Burletta", it was first produced on October 31, 1825 at the Adelphi Theatre, London. This version, though hated by the Americans, had great success in England, and by extension probably also in the colonies. The title ''[[Pilot, A Nautical Burletta]]'' also appears in some sources (e.g. Clifton, 1993). | Fitzball also wrote a burlesque version that takes place off the American coast with British sailors and which makes the ridiculous characters Yankees. It was licensed by the Lord Chamberlain as '''''[[The Pilot, or a Storm at Sea]]''''' and, styled "A Nautical Burletta", it was first produced on October 31, 1825 at the Adelphi Theatre, London. This version, though hated by the Americans, had great success in England, and by extension probably also in the colonies. The title ''[[Pilot, A Nautical Burletta]]'' also appears in some sources (e.g. Clifton, 1993). | ||
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| + | In turn ''[[The Pilot, or A Tale of the Thames]]'', a satirical burlesques of Fitzball's play, was done at the Adelphi, 6 December 1830 (Fitzball's version was playing at Covent Garden at the time 1830). An Americanized version of Fitzball's play, ''[[Paul Jones; or, The Pilot of the German Ocean]]'', styled "A Melodrama in Three Acts", was prepared and produced in New York by W.H. Wallack in 1829. | ||
== Performance history in South Africa == | == Performance history in South Africa == | ||
Revision as of 06:21, 3 May 2018
The Pilot, or A Tale of the Sea is a play by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873)[1].
Contents
The original text
It was an adaption by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873)[2] of the historical novel The Pilot; A Tale of the Sea[3] by James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)[4]. The novel was first published in late 1823 and it deals with the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution, but Fitzball changed the pilot to a British sailor. It is the first of a trilogy of sea sagas for the stage, along with The Red Rover (1829) and The Waterwitch
The original stage adaptation was first performed at the Park Theatre in New York on October 29, 1824.
Translations and adaptations
Fitzball also wrote a burlesque version that takes place off the American coast with British sailors and which makes the ridiculous characters Yankees. It was licensed by the Lord Chamberlain as The Pilot, or a Storm at Sea and, styled "A Nautical Burletta", it was first produced on October 31, 1825 at the Adelphi Theatre, London. This version, though hated by the Americans, had great success in England, and by extension probably also in the colonies. The title Pilot, A Nautical Burletta also appears in some sources (e.g. Clifton, 1993).
In turn The Pilot, or A Tale of the Thames, a satirical burlesques of Fitzball's play, was done at the Adelphi, 6 December 1830 (Fitzball's version was playing at Covent Garden at the time 1830). An Americanized version of Fitzball's play, Paul Jones; or, The Pilot of the German Ocean, styled "A Melodrama in Three Acts", was prepared and produced in New York by W.H. Wallack in 1829.
Performance history in South Africa
1833: First performed in Cape Town in the African Theatre by the All the World's a Stage on Monday 6 May, 1833, as afterpiece to The Illustrious Stranger, or Married and Buried (Kenney and Millingen). The production was a benefit for Mr Whiley. In view of the origins of the company, it is very likely that the text used was the popular 1825 burletta[5] version, rather than the straight play of 1824.
Sources
http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/drama/stage.html#a-pilot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilot:_A_Tale_of_the_Sea
http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/articles/ala/2012ala-crane.html
Larry Stephen Clifton. 1993. The Terrible Fitzball: The Melodramatist of the Macabre. Popular Press: p.184[6]
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [7]: pp. 226,
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