The Successful Pyrate

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The Successful Pyrate - Wikipedia

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The Successful Pyrate
Written by	Charles Johnson
Date premiered	November 7, 1712 (1712-11-07)
Place premiered	Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy

The Successful Pyrate is a play by Charles Johnson, first performed 1712, published 1713, dealing with the life of the pirate Henry Avery. It opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 7 November 1712 and ran for five evenings.^[1] The original cast included Barton Booth as Arviragus, Robert Wilks as Aranes, John Mills as Boreal, Theophilus Keene as De Sale, William Pinkethman as Sir Gaudy Tulip, Henry Norris as Chicane, John Leigh as Jollyboy, William Bullock as Judge Bull, Christopher Bullock as Serjeant Dolt and Mary Porter as Zaida.

Plot

In the play, Avery goes under the name Arviragus, and has made himself a king in Madagascar. He captures the Indian princess Zaida and tries to force her to marry him, but she is in love with a young man named Aranes. There is an offstage fight and Aranes is reported killed; meanwhile, De Sale, who has confided to the audience that he plots to overthrow Arviragus and make himself king, ingratiates himself with Zaida.

De Sale's fellow plotters are bumbling incompetents and their plans are easily thwarted, followed by a comic trial scene. It is revealed that Aranes is Arviragus' long lost son, whom he recognizes from a bracelet, and that he is still alive, his friend Alvarez having died in his place. The plotters are executed and Aranes and Zaida marry.

Characters

Arviragus, king of the island of St. Laurence, or Madagascar
Aranes, an Omrah in Zaida's train
Boreal, admiral to Arviragus
De Sale, lieutenant to Arviragus
Richardo, captain of the guards
Piracquo, De Sale's creature
Sir Gaudy Tulip, master of the ceremonies
Chicane, a broken lawyer
Jollyboy, treasurer to Arviragus
Judge Bull
Serjeant Dolt
Counsellor Smooth
Herring
Porpoise
Shark
Codshead
Zaida, Aurengzebe's granddaughter, contracted to and in love with Aranes
Samanthe, her chief attendant
Lydia, Piracquo's wife
Lesbia, Tulip's wife

Dramatic analysis

The Successful Pyrate is a romanticised dramatisation of two episodes contained in a pamphlet that had been recently published concerning the career of the pirate Henry Avery: his capture of the Mogul Aurengzeb's ship Gang-i-sawai, allegedly carrying the Mogul's granddaughter; and a plot against him by his lieutenant De Sale and other pirates.

The play is primarily a comedy. The pirates are mostly fools, in particular Sir Gaudy Tulip, an aged and cowardly London beau; the Gang-i-sawai is, for no reason other than comic effect, carrying two European ladies, Tulip's ex-mistress and another pirate's ex-wife, who exchange tart comments with the men; the drunken conspirators and outrageously partial court are played entirely for laughs.

Reception

John Dennis condemned the play for "encouraging Villany".^[2]

References

^ Burwick, Frederick; Powell, Manushag N. (2015). British Pirates in Print and Performance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-349-46458-6.
^ Burwick, Frederick; Powell, Manushag N. (2015). British Pirates in Print and Performance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-349-46458-6.

External links

The Successful Pyrate at Google Books

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