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Comediettas and Farces

Chapter 10: Transcriber’s Note
By John Maddison Morton
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HumourPlays/Films/Dramas

About This Book

A collection of short stage comedies and farces written for private and amateur performance. Most pieces adapt French plots but feature substantial alterations and original dialogue, while a few are wholly original. The plays rely on situation-driven humor—misunderstandings, comic reversals, and brisk exchanges—delivered in a dry, sententious style. An introductory essay sketches the author’s theatrical background and era, and the pieces favor economical staging, quick pacing, and character-based comic devices suited to small-scale production.

Transcriber’s Note

This transcription is based on images posted by the Internet Archive and which were scanned from a copy made available by the Library of Congress:

archive.org/details/comediettasfarce00mort

The following changes were noted:

  • p. 20: (pointing to BOX, only being at home—Changed comma after “BOX” to a closing parenthesis.
  • p. 20: COX. and BOX. True.—Deleted period after “COX”.
  • p. 32: BOX (leaning over COX’S shoulder). A lady’s got out—The lines before and after this line were both assigned to Box, therefore the names Box and Cox were switched.
  • p. 68: (Aside to JESSIE, as he goes towards table),—For consistency, the comma after the parenthesis has been changed to a period and inserted after “table”.
  • p. 73: (going up to meet CHIRPER, who enters at C).—Inserted a period after “C”.
  • p. 97: (Doctor looks at her again and gives a loud sigh.)—Changed “Doctor” to unitalicized small caps in html version of file and all caps in text version for consistency.
  • p. 104: MRS. P For you?—Inserted a period after “P”.
  • p. 147: In the cast list, added a period after “MR. SAMUEL SKRUFF” and “SPRONKS’S BOY” for consistency.
  • p. 148: SALLY If you’ve come for the water-rate—Inserted a period after “SALLY”.
  • p. 148: SALLY Well, sir, that depends—Inserted a period after “SALLY”.
  • p. 150: . . . the name of the firm—“tailors”—‘Conduit Street”. . . —Changed the single quotation mark before “Conduit” to a double quotation mark.
  • p. 151: GRITTY (pouring out a glass of wine) There, Samuel—Inserted a period after the closing parenthesis.
  • p. 155: HETTY (to Gritty). If this odious creature Skruff stays—Changed “Gritty” to small caps in the html version of the file and all caps in the text version for consistency.
  • p. 161: TAUNT. (heard without at R).—Added a period after “R”.
  • p. 163: at the same time drops the letter on stage.—Inserted a closing parenthesis after “stage.”
  • p. 164: Florence has entered from house and runs down eagerly—Changed “Florence” to small caps in the html version of the file and all caps in the text version for consistency.
  • p. 170: the ten thousand pounds will be divided equally beween them.—Changed “beween” to “between”.