The list of dramatis personae printed in the 1612 quarto is incomplete and inaccurate. The list has been revised, missing characters' names added, "ghost characters" removed, and inconsistencies corrected.[1]
Ward - English pirate captain
Dansiker - Dutch pirate captain
Francisco - Pirate captain
Gismund - Ward's officer
Sares - Dansiker's captain
Lieutenant - Dansiker's officer
Monsieur Davy - Master of a French merchant ship
Ferdinand - French merchant
Albert - French merchant
Lemot - French gentleman, Alizia's brother
Carolo - French gentleman, friend of Lemot
Frederick - French gentleman
Raymond - French gentleman
First Son - Son to Raymond
Second Son - Later Raymond, eponymous son of Raymond
Mufti - Religious leader to the Muslim community of Tunis
Mulli - A Turk of Tunis
Benwash - A wealthy Jewish merchant
Ruben Rabshake - Servant to Benwash
Alizia - Sister to Lemot, disguised as a sailor's boy, then as the page Fidelio. Betrothed to Raymond the younger.
Agar - Turkish wife of Benwash
Voada - Sister of Crosman, married to Ward after his conversion
Backgroundedit
A Christian Turn'd Turk was entered into the Stationers' Register on 1 February 1612 (new style) and was published in quarto format later that year by the bookseller William Barrenger.[2]
John Wardedit
An Early Modern map of Tunis by Willem Jansz Blaeu
A Christian Turn'd Turk's protagonist John Ward is based on the historical figure of the same name. A notorious pirate, he operated along the Barbary coast in the early 17th century and was also known by the name Jack Ward.[citation needed] Tales of Ward's piracy heavily influenced A Christian Turn'd Turk. Dabourne based his depiction of Ward on two pamphlets which recounted tales of Ward's piracy.[3] The pamphlets portrayed him as an engaging antihero and a risk-taker who rose from poverty to riches. Ward's capturing of foreign ships was lauded in several popular ballads but there was still concern in England regarding 'his crimes against God'.[4] Ward would later make an agreement with the Turks to use Tunis as a base for his piratical operations and would attack Christian ships in an attempt to steal their lucrative cargo.[3] Despite Ward's attacks on Christian ships, he remained a popular figure during the early years of James I's reign. James I's proclamation against piracy in 1608-9 added to the almost mythical status Ward had cultivated, derived from his capture of a rich Venetian argosy in 1607.[5] However, his conversion to Islam and assumption of the name Yusuf Reis was considered scandalous, and his relentless and indiscriminate attacks on sailing vessels caused concerns about the amount of money England was losing as a result of his piracy.[6]
Apostasyedit
Ward's conversion is a pivotal part of A Christian Turn'd Turk and relates to contemporary concerns regarding apostasy.[citation needed] Converting to another faith was considered heretical by the English with Judaism and Islam portrayed as the most undesirable religions.[7][8] The actions of Ward and other pirates were decried not only because of their criminality but also because of the temptation for other Christians to turn to piracy or to Islam for economic gain. The ease of conversion to Islam and the lack of regret amongst those who had converted was surprising, and the lack of divine retribution for converts because of their heresy unsettling.[9] Despite Ward's conversion and incessant piracy, he was flourishing in Tunis without undergoing divine or human punishment for his apostasy.[10]
Synopsisedit
In the play, Ward converts to Islam in order to marry Voada, a beautiful Turkish woman with whom he has fallen in love. Ward's conversion to Islam (portrayed in dumbshow) is contrasted with the repentance and pardon of Simon Dansiker, the other pirate captain in the play (also shown in dumbshow). Dansiker's reform is complicated by the reluctance of the French merchants he's robbed to accept him—until he returns to Tunis to apprehend the renegade Jew, Benwash. The unrepentant Ward dies at the end of the play—though he delivers an anti-Muslim rant that conforms to the prejudices of the play's original audience. (This was a large leap of dramatic license on Daborne's part, since the real Ward would die eleven years after the play was written.)[11]
Key scenesedit
Dumb showedit
The dumb show of Act I Scene VIII depicts Ward's conversion ceremony. As with other dumb shows, there are magical and supernatural overtones as well as high-ranking officials represented by the Muftis who administer the ceremony. The scene was presented as a dumb show in order to display the solemnity and spiritual importance of Ward's supposed conversion.[12] The scene contains many elements which portray contemporary conceptions of Islam and how Islamic conversion ceremony may be carried out. Daborne looked towards contemporary accounts of Islamic conversion to draw inspiration and gain ideas on how to stage the scene. The head of Mahomet, a common prop of the period, was used to emphasise the religious nature of the scene but also to highlight Islam's status as a pagan faith.[13]
Modern Productionsedit
An extract of Robert Daborne's A Christian Turn'd Turk was performed as part of a special Read Not Dead event at Shakespeare's Globe in the newly constructed Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.[14] Four directors and four scholars were teamed up with actors and presented their arguments with selected scenes at a special hustings event on Thursday 29 May 2014. David Oakes teamed with Dr Emma Smith of the University of Oxford presented the case for Daborne's play. Alex Lanipekun performed the part of Capt. Ward, Helen Bradbury as Voada, Adam Ewan as Dansiker and Matthew Houlihan in various other parts. The play was subsequently selected to be performed on Sunday 5 October 2014 in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with the following cast:[15]
^Hoenselaars, A. J. Images of Englishmen and Foreigners in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. Madison/Teaneck, NJ, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992; p. 173.
^. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
^"Bardathon Review of Christian Turn'd Turk". 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
Bibliographyedit
Vitkus, Daniel (2000). Three Turk Plays: From Early Modern England. Chichester: Columbia University Press. ISBN0-231-11029-4.
Gil Harries, Jonathan (2004). Sick Economies : Drama, Mercantilism, and Disease in Shakespeare's England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN0-8122-3773-0.
Potter, Lois (1996). "Pirates and "turning Turk" in Renaissance Drama". In Maquerlot, Jean-Pierre; Willems, Michèle (eds.). Travel and Drama in Shakespeare's Time. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-47500-7.
Matar, Nabil (1998). Islam in Britain: 1558-1685. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-62233-6.
Vitkus, Daniel (2003). Turning Turk: English Theater and the Multicultural Mediterranean, 1570-1630. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN0-312-29452-2.
Mazzola, Elizabeth (1998). The Pathology of the English Renaissance: Sacred Remains and Holy Ghosts. Leiden and Boston: Brill. ISBN90-04-11195-6.
Mehl, Dieter (1982) [First published 1965]. The Elizabethan Dumb Show: The History of a Dramatic Convention. London and New York City: Methuen. ISBN0-416-33980-8.
October 30, 2023
christian, turn, turk, 1612, play, english, dramatist, robert, daborne, concerns, conversion, pirate, john, ward, islam, john, ward, ship, engages, british, vesselwritten, byrobert, dabornecharacters25original, languageenglishsubjectreligious, conversion, pira. A Christian Turn d Turk 1612 is a play by the English dramatist Robert Daborne It concerns the conversion of the pirate John Ward to Islam A Christian Turn d TurkJohn Ward s ship engages a British vesselWritten byRobert DaborneCharacters25Original languageEnglishSubjectReligious conversion Piracy Islam Protestantism ReligionSettingTunis Contents 1 Characters 2 Background 2 1 John Ward 2 2 Apostasy 3 Synopsis 4 Key scenes 4 1 Dumb show 5 Modern Productions 6 Footnotes 7 BibliographyCharacters editThe list of dramatis personae printed in the 1612 quarto is incomplete and inaccurate The list has been revised missing characters names added ghost characters removed and inconsistencies corrected 1 Ward English pirate captain Dansiker Dutch pirate captain Francisco Pirate captain Gismund Ward s officer Sares Dansiker s captain Lieutenant Dansiker s officer Monsieur Davy Master of a French merchant ship Ferdinand French merchant Albert French merchant Lemot French gentleman Alizia s brother Carolo French gentleman friend of Lemot Frederick French gentleman Raymond French gentleman First Son Son to Raymond Second Son Later Raymond eponymous son of Raymond Governor Viceroy of Tunis Crosman Captain of the janissaries in Tunis Voada s brother Mufti Religious leader to the Muslim community of Tunis Mulli A Turk of Tunis Benwash A wealthy Jewish merchant Ruben Rabshake Servant to Benwash Alizia Sister to Lemot disguised as a sailor s boy then as the page Fidelio Betrothed to Raymond the younger Agar Turkish wife of Benwash Voada Sister of Crosman married to Ward after his conversionBackground editA Christian Turn d Turk was entered into the Stationers Register on 1 February 1612 new style and was published in quarto format later that year by the bookseller William Barrenger 2 John Ward edit nbsp An Early Modern map of Tunis by Willem Jansz BlaeuA Christian Turn d Turk s protagonist John Ward is based on the historical figure of the same name A notorious pirate he operated along the Barbary coast in the early 17th century and was also known by the name Jack Ward citation needed Tales of Ward s piracy heavily influenced A Christian Turn d Turk Dabourne based his depiction of Ward on two pamphlets which recounted tales of Ward s piracy 3 The pamphlets portrayed him as an engaging antihero and a risk taker who rose from poverty to riches Ward s capturing of foreign ships was lauded in several popular ballads but there was still concern in England regarding his crimes against God 4 Ward would later make an agreement with the Turks to use Tunis as a base for his piratical operations and would attack Christian ships in an attempt to steal their lucrative cargo 3 Despite Ward s attacks on Christian ships he remained a popular figure during the early years of James I s reign James I s proclamation against piracy in 1608 9 added to the almost mythical status Ward had cultivated derived from his capture of a rich Venetian argosy in 1607 5 However his conversion to Islam and assumption of the name Yusuf Reis was considered scandalous and his relentless and indiscriminate attacks on sailing vessels caused concerns about the amount of money England was losing as a result of his piracy 6 Apostasy edit Ward s conversion is a pivotal part of A Christian Turn d Turk and relates to contemporary concerns regarding apostasy citation needed Converting to another faith was considered heretical by the English with Judaism and Islam portrayed as the most undesirable religions 7 8 The actions of Ward and other pirates were decried not only because of their criminality but also because of the temptation for other Christians to turn to piracy or to Islam for economic gain The ease of conversion to Islam and the lack of regret amongst those who had converted was surprising and the lack of divine retribution for converts because of their heresy unsettling 9 Despite Ward s conversion and incessant piracy he was flourishing in Tunis without undergoing divine or human punishment for his apostasy 10 Synopsis editIn the play Ward converts to Islam in order to marry Voada a beautiful Turkish woman with whom he has fallen in love Ward s conversion to Islam portrayed in dumbshow is contrasted with the repentance and pardon of Simon Dansiker the other pirate captain in the play also shown in dumbshow Dansiker s reform is complicated by the reluctance of the French merchants he s robbed to accept him until he returns to Tunis to apprehend the renegade Jew Benwash The unrepentant Ward dies at the end of the play though he delivers an anti Muslim rant that conforms to the prejudices of the play s original audience This was a large leap of dramatic license on Daborne s part since the real Ward would die eleven years after the play was written 11 Key scenes editDumb show edit The dumb show of Act I Scene VIII depicts Ward s conversion ceremony As with other dumb shows there are magical and supernatural overtones as well as high ranking officials represented by the Muftis who administer the ceremony The scene was presented as a dumb show in order to display the solemnity and spiritual importance of Ward s supposed conversion 12 The scene contains many elements which portray contemporary conceptions of Islam and how Islamic conversion ceremony may be carried out Daborne looked towards contemporary accounts of Islamic conversion to draw inspiration and gain ideas on how to stage the scene The head of Mahomet a common prop of the period was used to emphasise the religious nature of the scene but also to highlight Islam s status as a pagan faith 13 Modern Productions editAn extract of Robert Daborne s A Christian Turn d Turk was performed as part of a special Read Not Dead event at Shakespeare s Globe in the newly constructed Sam Wanamaker Playhouse 14 Four directors and four scholars were teamed up with actors and presented their arguments with selected scenes at a special hustings event on Thursday 29 May 2014 David Oakes teamed with Dr Emma Smith of the University of Oxford presented the case for Daborne s play Alex Lanipekun performed the part of Capt Ward Helen Bradbury as Voada Adam Ewan as Dansiker and Matthew Houlihan in various other parts The play was subsequently selected to be performed on Sunday 5 October 2014 in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with the following cast 15 Ward Ben Lamb Dansiker John Gregor Francisco Helen Bradbury Gismund Colin Ryan Gallop Doug Rao Sares Alex Harcourt Smith Lieutenant Frances Marshall Monsieur Davy Matthew Houlihan Ferdinand Robert Macpherson Albert Robert Heard Alizia Beth Park Lemot Patrick Osborne Governor David Whitworth Raymond David Whitworth First Son Frances Marshall Second Son Robert Heard Crosman Adam Ewan Mufti Patrick Osborne Mulli Frances Marshall Benwash Martin Hodgson Ruben Rabshake Mark Oosterveen Agar Heather Saunders Voada Madeleine HylandFootnotes edit Vitkus 2000 p 153 Chambers E K The Elizabethan Stage Oxford Clarendon Press 1923 Vol 3 p 271 a b Vitkus 2000 p 24 Vitkus 2003 p 147 Maquerlot 2000 p 130 Gil Harries 2004 p 153 Vitkus 2003 p 145 Mazzola 1998 p 29 Matar 1998 p 33 Matar 1998 p 57 Hoenselaars A J Images of Englishmen and Foreigners in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries Madison Teaneck NJ Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1992 p 173 Mehl 1982 p 24 Vitkus 2000 p 236 Globe Read Not Dead Wanamaker Playhouse Poll 2014 Archived from the original on 30 May 2014 Retrieved 29 May 2014 Bardathon Review of Christian Turn d Turk 6 October 2014 Retrieved 7 October 2014 Bibliography editVitkus Daniel 2000 Three Turk Plays From Early Modern England Chichester Columbia University Press ISBN 0 231 11029 4 Gil Harries Jonathan 2004 Sick Economies Drama Mercantilism and Disease in Shakespeare s England Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 0 8122 3773 0 Potter Lois 1996 Pirates and turning Turk in Renaissance Drama In Maquerlot Jean Pierre Willems Michele eds Travel and Drama in Shakespeare s Time Cambridge and New York Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 47500 7 Matar Nabil 1998 Islam in Britain 1558 1685 Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 62233 6 Vitkus Daniel 2003 Turning Turk English Theater and the Multicultural Mediterranean 1570 1630 Basingstoke and New York Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0 312 29452 2 Mazzola Elizabeth 1998 The Pathology of the English Renaissance Sacred Remains and Holy Ghosts Leiden and Boston Brill ISBN 90 04 11195 6 Mehl Dieter 1982 First published 1965 The Elizabethan Dumb Show The History of a Dramatic Convention London and New York City Methuen ISBN 0 416 33980 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Christian Turn 27d Turk amp oldid 1141069521, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
