The Blood-Craz’d Scourge of the Redskin Wilderness; or, What You Will

Summary

1965 BBC production of the 19th-century American melodrama Nick of the Woods; or, the Jibbenainosay by Louisa H. Medina, in an adaptation by Alec Clunes titled The Blood-Craz’d Scourge of the Redskin Wilderness; or, What You Will.

Theatre play

Nick of the Woods; or, the Jibbenainosay by Louisa H. Medina [more information]

Play synopsis

'After the Indians have massacred his family, Reginald Ashburn adopts the disguise of a pacifist Quaker and travels the wilderness seeking revenge. He becomes known by a number of names, including Bloody Nathan, Nick, and Jibbenainosay, the last meaning an avenging devil. In his wanderings Ashburn is accompanied by Telie Doe, a white girl who has been kidnapped and raised by Native Americans and who turns out to be Ashburn’s long lost cousin. With time he kills numerous Indians, including Wenonga, the chief who had engineered the murder of Ashburn’s family. But this last battle also costs Nick and Telie Doe their lives.' Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/nick-of-the-woods.

Production history

Based on the novel of the same name by Robert M. Bird, the work was often viewed as a corrective to the romantic notions of Native Americans then in vogue. First produced in 1838 at the Old Bowery Theatre, New York, it failed to catch on until the following year’s revival at the New Bowery Theatre. Medina (d. 1838) was an active playwright of the time. Many of her works were dramatizations of contemporary novels, especially those of Bulwer Lytton. Source: adapted from http://www.answers.com/topic/nick-of-the-woods.

Date of transmission

Saturday 21 August 1965

Time

7.00-8.00pm

Series

Gaslight Theatre

Channel

BBC2

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Bryan Sears

Lighting

Sam Barclay

Playwright

Louisa H. Medina

Adapted for Television by

Alec Clunes

Conductor

Maurice Arnold

Musician

Maurice Arnold (pianoforte)

Musician

Martia Eitler (violin)

Sets / Settings

Peter Brachacki

Costumes

Olive Harris

Make-up

Monica Ludkin

Sound

Dick Chamberlain

Advisor

Alec Clunes

Cast

Joss Ackland	The Jibbenainosay / Bloody Nathan / A Missing Aristocrat
Ronnie Barker	Breakneck Ralph Stackpole / Shawnegenwam
Kate Brown	Sister Tabitha / Minna-Toe-Nay-Moh
Belinda Carroll	Edith Effingham
Terence Edmond	Roland Effingham
John Gower	Wenonga / Brother Reuben
Michael Graham	Bounding Elk
Eira Heath	Dappled Fawn
Warren Mitchell	Piankkeshaw / Bertram Braxley / Tianeskewawa
Peter Roy	The Bear

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; America, as theme or setting; melodrama; race relations

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 19 August 1965 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article, p. 4; listing, p. 7