Sethona

Last updated

Sethona
Sethona play.jpg
Written by Alexander Dow
Date premiered19 February 1774
Place premiered Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreTragedy
Setting Ancient Egypt

Sethona is a 1774 tragedy by the British writer Alexander Dow. [1] It is set in Ancient Egypt at a time when Menes is heir to the crown. The original Drury Lane cast included Spranger Barry as Serapis, Samuel Reddish as Menes, Francis Aickin as Amasis, James Aickin as Orus, John Hayman Packer as Otanes and Ann Street Barry as Sethona. The prologue was written by Richard Cumberland.

Contents

Plot

Act 1

In the temple of Osiris, Sethona, former fiancee of Menes, is distraught by Amasis usurping the Egyptian throne and potentially having killed Menes and Seraphis and trying to forcefully marry her. Orus, high priest of Osiris comforts her in that a vision tells him that Egypt would rightfully restored by Menes and his followers. Amasis tries to woo Sethona, making many promises, but Sethona rejects his advances. Meanwhile, Menes is revealed to be alive and well in the temple, and he plans a scheme to take back Egypt from Amasis.

Act 2

At Sethona's apartment, Sethona meets Menes. Menes tells Sethona what happened, that when he was arrested during their wedding ceremony, he was against his will locked in a cell, but was rescued by Orus. Knowing it was an escape unknown to Amasis, Sethona tries to hide Menes, but he is almost caught by an officer. Otanes, having seen this, suggests to Menes to abandon Sethona for a greater cause, the abolition of tyranny. Otanes also reveals that Seraphis is alive in Ethiopia. But Menes vehemently refuses the offer, and he is at risk of being executed. Otanes also suggests that Sethona marry Amasis, but she again refuses. She pledges to get Amasis to retract his execution order, but Amasis refuses. Soon, Amasis chooses to instead banish Menes from the palace.

Act 3

Back in Sethona's apartment, Menes is joined by Orus, who tries to proceed on his plan against Amasis during Amasis's nuptial ceremony. He is then joined by Seraphis. Seraphis soon meets Sethona. However, a sudden interruption by Amasis and Otanes breaks off the conversation. Amasis is soon informed by Myrtaeus of a revolt against him led by Menes. Meanwhile Sethona hears that Seraphis is slain during the conflict, which makes her worry that Menes is also slain, leading to her distress. Menes is rejoined with Sethona.

Act 4

In the catacombs, Seraphis is again revealed to be alive; however, mortally wounded. He is joined by Otanes, while Seraphis delivers his dying message. Seraphis is antagonized by Myrtaeus. Seraphis is found by Sethona in a tomb. While Sethona confesses her love of Menes, it is revealed by her father Seraphis that Menes is his son, which means he is her brother. Sethona faints from the shock that her love was incestuous this whole time. Sethona's heart grows cold after knowing the truth. However, she refuses to part ways with her father.

Act 5

Sethona, even after knowing the truth, lives happily ever after now that Amasis has been put away and Egypt being restored.

Review

Tobias Smollett, spoke negatively of the production saying while it was lavish enough, it was not enough to hide the defects in the plot. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Its a Wonderful World</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by W. S. Van Dyke

It's a Wonderful World is a 1939 American screwball comedy starring Claudette Colbert and James Stewart, and directed by W. S. Van Dyke.

<i>The White Bull</i> Literary work by Voltaire

The White Bull is a fable and a work of "contes philosophiques", a philosophical novel, written by the Age of Enlightenment-era philosopher Voltaire. The story is based on the Greek tale of Europa and the bull, where the white bull is in fact the Greek god Zeus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Brady and Belle Black</span> Fictional couple from Days of Our Lives

Shawn-Douglas "Shawn" and Isabella "Belle" Brady are fictional characters on the American soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Shawn-Douglas Brady has been played by Jason Cook and Brandon Beemer. Belle Black has been played by Kirsten Storms (1999–2004), Charity Rahmer (2004), and Martha Madison. Along with Lucas and Sami, the popular couple has been lauded by critics and fans as one of the soap's next supercouples. They are often referred to as the portmanteau "Shelle" by fans on internet message boards and in magazines. Shawn and Belle have a daughter, Claire Brady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clint Buchanan</span> Soap opera character

Clint Buchanan is a fictional character from the American soap opera One Life to Live.

"The Man from Tallahassee" is the 13th episode of the 3rd season of Lost, and the 62nd episode overall. It was aired on March 21, 2007, on ABC. The episode was written by Drew Goddard and Jeff Pinkner and directed by Jack Bender. The character of John Locke is featured in the episode's flashbacks. The episode received critical acclaim and is considered by critics and fans as one of the best episodes of Lost.

<i>Los ricos también lloran</i> Mexican telenovela

Los ricos también lloran is a popular telenovela produced in Mexico in 1979, starring Verónica Castro, Rogelio Guerra and Rocío Banquells. Castro also sang the theme Aprendí a Llorar, a song written by Lolita de la Colina. The telenovela was produced by Valentín Pimstein and Carlos Romero, it was directed by Rafael Banquells. The story was written by Inés Rodena and adapted by Valeria Philips.

"Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin" is the first episode of Season 3 of the Batman television series, first aired on ABC September 14, 1967 as its ninety-fifth episode. It guest starred Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and also was the first appearance of Yvonne Craig as Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl.

<i>Forbidden</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Forbidden is a 1932 American pre-Code melodrama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, and Ralph Bellamy. An original story inspired by the 1931 novel Back Street by Fannie Hurst, with a screenplay by Jo Swerling, the film is about a young librarian who falls in love with a married man while on a sea cruise.

<i>Bella Mafia</i> 1997 American TV series or program

Bella Mafia is a 1997 American television film starring Vanessa Redgrave, Nastassja Kinski, Jennifer Tilly, Illeana Douglas and Dennis Farina. Redgrave was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

<i>Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari</i> 1995 Indian film

Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj who stars alongside Meena. The film was released on 15 January 1995, and became a box office success.

<i>Khiladi</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

Khiladi is a Bengali romantic action comedy film directed by Ashok Pati and produced by Ashok Dhanuka under the banner of Eskay Movies. The film features Bengali actors Ankush Hazra and Nusrat Jahan in the lead roles. The music of the film has been composed by Shree Pritam. The film was released on 11 October 2013. This film is a remake of 2012 Telugu movie Denikaina Ready which itself was a remake of the 1999 Malayalam film Udayapuram Sulthan.

Nephté is an opera by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 15 December 1789. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The libretto, by François-Benoît Hoffman, is set in Ancient Egypt but is based on the story of Camma, Queen of Galatia taken from the ancient historian Plutarch.

<i>Vairam</i> 1974 Indian film

Vairam (transl. Diamond) is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language action spy film directed by T. R. Ramanna and written by T. K. Balu. The film stars Jaishankar and Jayalalithaa, with M. R. R. Vasu, S. A. Ashokan and R. S. Manohar in supporting roles. It is a remake of the 1972 Hindi film Victoria No. 203. The film was released on 24 May 1974, and became a box office hit.

<i>Jaana Na Dil Se Door</i> Indian television series

Jaana Na Dil Se Door is an Indian television series that aired on StarPlus. It stars Vikram Singh Chauhan, Shivani Surve and Shashank Vyas. The show also features Sara Khan, Smita Bansal, Vineet Kumar and Shilpa Tulaskar in key roles. The show ended on 30 June 2017.

<i>Shakti – Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki</i> Indian social drama television series

Shakti — Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki is an Indian Hindi-language social drama television series produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms airing from 30 May 2016 to 1 October 2021 on Colors TV. It starred Rubina Dilaik, Vivian Dsena, Jigyasa Singh, Simba Nagpal and Cezanne Khan. This show is the fourth longest-running television show of Colors TV.

<i>Ishqbaaaz</i> Indian romantic drama television series

Ishqbaaaz (transl.Lovers) is an Indian romantic drama television series that aired from 27 June 2016 to 15 March 2019 on Star Plus. It initially starred Nakuul Mehta, Surbhi Chandna, Kunal Jaisingh, Shrenu Parikh, Leenesh Mattoo and Mansi Srivastava. In December 2018, the show took a generation leap and aired a new season, Ishqbaaz: Pyaar Ki Ek Dhinchak Kahaani starring Nakuul Mehta and Niti Taylor.

<i>Brahmarakshas</i> Indian television series

Brahmarakshas is an Indian Hindi-language supernatural thriller television series broadcast on Zee TV and digitally available on ZEE5. Spanning two seasons, it is a franchise produced by Ekta Kapoor under her studio Balaji Telefilms.

<i>The Citizen</i> (play) 1761 play

The Citizen is a 1761 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. A farce it was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 2 July 1761. Another of Murphy's works The Old Maid was staged as the afterpiece The original cast included Edward Shuter as Old Philpot, Henry Woodward as Young Philpot, John Dunstall as Sir Jasper Wilding, Patrick Costollo as Dapper, James Perry as Quilldrive, Ann Elliot as Maria and Elizabeth Davies as Corinna. The Dublin premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre on 11 November 1761.

<i>The Grecian Daughter</i> 1772 tragedy by Arthur Murphy

The Grecian Daughter is a 1772 tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It was widely performed for nearly sixty years, through the 1830s. For many British actresses in the eighteenth century, playing the role of the central heroine, Euphrasia, was an important part of gaining fame.

<i>The Welch Heiress</i> Play by Edward Jerningham

The WelchHeiress is a 1795 comedy play written by Edward Jerningham. Although it had only a single stage performance, the published script had some success.

References

Bibliography