Captain Caricknagat, heading a ship of pirates, beats and expels Joe Miles since he made a move on his wife. Miles promises vengeance. The Captain and his team disembark on the shore of an island to find fresh water. They are attacked by its inhabitants. Captain asks a part of his troupes to bring his wife, 'The Lolita,' to his ship while he fights with the natives. Upon return to the ship, however, she is nowhere to be found, and the majority of his men have perished in the battle. Two days later, James Broad, the boatswain, returns. He has escaped and carries a message that The Lolita etched into a piece of tree bark. She writes that her body will be burnt and her head hung at the entrance of a cave. She asks her husband to recover her head, to put it in a box, and to bury it once back on their island (The Isle of Plumes). The Captain sends the last of his men to retrieve the remains of his wife, but it's a fluke, and only the Captain and James survive. The two pirates wait for nightfall to finally steal back the skull and the vessel before returning home. James dies of thirst as Captain nears the shore. Joe Miles, who is waiting for Captain on the island since being expelled from the ship, kills him for vengeance and steals his treasure. When he opens the chest, however, he finds only a severed head.

Toy theatre

Young audiences

Ireland

Strete

Printed

Revenge

Death

Piracy

Last will

Boat

Relic

Black comedy

Humorous

Dramatic

Jack B. Yeats, The Scourge of the Gulph, 1911.

English

Or Fierce Revenge

Captain

Pirate

Wife

Narrator

Gunshot

Murder on stage

Wandering

Plot twist

The Scourge of The Gulph

Le Fouet du Golfe

Ottavio worries about the health of his uncle Geronte: he is hoping to inherit from him and to marry the young Isabella. Geronte asks Ottavio if he knows Eugenia’s daughter, Isabella, but he only asks to let him know that he is planning on marrying her. Eugenia and her daughter arrive, but Isabella does not want to marry Geronte and have to bear his children. Ottavio asks Eugenia to honour the contract between them and to terminate the one with Geronte. They do so, provided that Ottavio is effectively designated as Geronte’s heir. Two doctors, Pantalone and Arlecchino, arrive to give their opinion on Geronte’s health, and to prescribe the best medicine. They both argue and accidentally drop Geronte. Meanwhile, Facanapa and Ottavio are waiting for the lawyers when Lisetta, the maid, rushes in to ask for help, and tell them that Geronte is dead. Facanapa wants to convince everyone that Geronte is still alive: he dresses up and replaces him to sign the will in front of the lawyers. As Geronte, he appoints Ottavio as his heir and leaves different bequests to Lisetta and Facanapa (himself). But Geronte regains consciousness. The lawyers come back and read the will, which is contested by Geronte. When faced with proof of the fraud, Facanapa and Ottavio ask for forgiveness. Geronte forgives them, confirms the will and agrees to Isabella and Ottavio’s wedding.

The Scourge of The Gulph

Or Fierce Revenge

Il testamento di Facanapa

Il morto risuscitato