This operatic adaptation of A Mirror for Witches premiered in 1976. Like the novel it is set in fictional Cowan Corners, Massachusetts in the 1670s. Between May and August of 1672, Calico Jack is arrested and hanged in Boston.
Category: play
Treasure Island by Phil Willmott
This play was first performed in 2006. The story is set in 1772 and Jack Rackham appears in the ensemble with the nickname Gentleman Jack. He doesn't want to bring women to sea, but accepts it to travel with the other characters on the Hispaniola. He then joins the bad guys who want to put… Continue reading Treasure Island by Phil Willmott
Treasure Island by Ken Ludwig
This stageplay adaptation of Treasure Island was first performed in 2007. It's set in 1774, but Anne Bonny and Calico Jack appear in the pirate ensemble. The play opens with a scene on James Flint's ship, where Anne works on his crew. Later, she is working on the Hispaniola and is part of the crowd… Continue reading Treasure Island by Ken Ludwig
Under the Black Flag: The Early Life, Adventures and Pyracies of the Famous Long John Silver Before He Lost His Leg by Simon Bent
This play was first staged in 2006. It's a Treasure Island prequel set all the way back during the Cromwellian Protectorate. Long John becomes a pirate under the command of Kees de Keyser, among whose crew numbers Calico Jack. Kees is eventually replaced with Long John who inherits the crew.
Pirates by Mark Lee
This play was first performed in 1991. It stages a contemporary storyline about a historian alongside events in the life of Anne Bonney. As a child Anne lived as a boy for eight years. At some point her father taught her to fence. Her family lived in Charleston before she ran away from her father… Continue reading Pirates by Mark Lee
Hot Grog by Jim Wann and Bland Simpson
This musical was first staged in 1976. The story is about Blackbeard's relationship with Governor Eden, who is Anne Bonney's uncle. In the opening number Blackbeard's crew come ashore in North Carolina to accept pardons from Eden. Calico Jack tells us he has been a sailor for 14 years and is now Blackbeard's mixologist, while… Continue reading Hot Grog by Jim Wann and Bland Simpson
The Women Pirates Ann Bonney and Mary Read by Steve Gooch
This two-act play was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company on July 31, 1978. According to Gooch's introduction to the published script, he started working on it in 1969 but it turned out to be too expensive for the intended theater company. The original plan was to write a play about "the creative potential… Continue reading The Women Pirates Ann Bonney and Mary Read by Steve Gooch
Island of the Moon by Isabel Anderson
This script was published in New England Short Stories in 1936, despite being a play set in Madagascar. Ten years earlier, Isabel Anderson wrote the book Under the Black Horse Flag, in which she referred to John Rackam as "Jack Calico"--by which name he appears in this two-act play. It's a fluffy wisp of jarring… Continue reading Island of the Moon by Isabel Anderson
Mary Read: Dragoon & Pirate by James Bridie and Claud Gurney
This is a play performed in London in 1934, produced by Tyrone Guthrie. I don't think it was ever staged again. This run starred Flora Robson as Mary and Robert Donat as her love interest Ned Earle, a composite of the two husbands from Charles Johnson. The story has been massaged into a more theatrical… Continue reading Mary Read: Dragoon & Pirate by James Bridie and Claud Gurney
Depictions of John Rackam, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read 