''The Orphan of China'' is a 1759
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
by the Irish writer
Arthur Murphy, based on the traditional Chinese play ''
The Orphan of Zhao
''The Orphan of Zhao'' is a Chinese play from the Yuan era, attributed to the 13th-century dramatist Ji Junxiang (紀君祥). The play has as its full name ''The Great Revenge of the Orphan of Zhao''. The play is classified in the ''zaju'' genre ...
'' with the setting moved forwards from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. Although his work, written from 1756, was on a similar topic to
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
's play ''
L'Orphelin de la Chine'', Murphy asserted that he had written his before he became aware of Voltaire's adaptation. Substantial rewrites took place, including with assistance from
Horace Walpole and
William Whitehead before Garrick was satisfied and ready to stage it.
The original
Drury Lane cast included
David Garrick as Zamti,
Henry Mossop
Henry Mossop (1729 – 18 November 1773) was an Irish actor.
Life
He was born in Dunmore, County Galway, where his father was a clergyman. He made his first stage appearance as Zanga in Young's tragedy ''The Revenge'' at the Smock Alley Theat ...
as Etan,
Charles Holland as Hamet,
William Havard
William Thomas Havard (23 October 1889 – 17 August 1956) was a Welsh clergyman and rugby union international player. He served as a military chaplain during the First World War, and later as Bishop of St Asaph and then Bishop of St Dav ...
as Timurkan and
Mary Ann Yates
Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787) was an English tragic actress. The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates (c. 1706-1796), a well-known comedian of the time.
In 1754, aged 25, she appeared at Drur ...
as Mandane. In his preface to the play Murphy criticised Voltaire for adding a romance to his version to play. The play was met with "great applause" and ran for nine performances in total and was revived a number of times over the next two decades.
[Chang p.65]
References
Bibliography
* Baines, Paul & Ferarro, Julian & Rogers, Pat. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing, 1660–1789''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
* Chang, Dongshin. ''Representing China on the Historical London Stage: From Orientalism to Intercultural Performance''. Routledge, 2015.
* Duffy, Cian & Howell, Peter. ''Romantic Adaptations: Essays in Mediation and Remediation''. Routledge, 8 April 2016.
1759 plays
Tragedy plays
West End plays
Plays by Arthur Murphy
The Orphan of Zhao
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