BOX AND COX

A Romance of Real Life

in One Act.

Written by John Maddison Morton, Esq.

First produced at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, London on Monday 1st November 1847.

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The script of BOX AND COX was for many years available in the "French's Minor Drama - Acting Edition No. XXI."  The copy of the script that we present here is from the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, and was provided to them courtesy of a Mr. Ian Bond.  

Mr. Bond's script is a combination from several sources, "in all of which the quality of the print is poor to say the least and leads one to the conclusion that the play was being reproduced from plates of some considerable age.  Errors are manifest, but no effort has been made to correct these in the current edition." 

"A prime example of this is the description on the first page that this is 'ACT ONE', and at the beginning of the stage direction we read 'SCENE 1'.  There are several instances in the text where one also feels that words have been left out; E.G.. Page 49, Line 25, where one feels the line should read, "two people to keep firing pistols at one another, with nothing in 'em?"  Errors not withstanding, the script of BOX AND COX is a mini classic of British farce."

The original cast was as follows:

Box - Mr Buckstone
Cox - Mr Harley
Mrs. Bouncer - Mrs M’Namara

A popular play of the time, it was performed by the Royal Engineers, aboard the Thames City on 15 December 1858.  The advertisement for it which appeared in the ship board paper, The Emigrant Soldiers Gazette and Cape Horn Chronicle, looked just like this:

The review, which appeared in the Emigrant Soldiers Gazette and Cape Horn Chronicle for the week of 18 Nov 1858 read:

It was also performed at the Royal Engineer-built Theatre in New Westminster in 1861.

"...The evening's amusements closed with the laughable farce of "Box and Cox". Captain Luard in the character of 'Box' and Lieutenant Palmer as that of 'Cox' were decidedly entertaining and played with a good deal of spirit throughout the piece, giving the impression on the minds of the audience of their possessing a very fair conception of the play. Doctor Seddall as 'Mrs. Bouncer' was rather in the background, having very little room for displaying himself to advantage. He, however, aquitted himself well, in the character assigned him, and should the stage have been something more prominent, where he will, in fact, have more room to spread himself."

--The British Columbian - 13 Feb 1861