The Corsican Brothers

The Corsican Brothers; or, the Fatal Duel is a play by Dion Boucicault, first seen in 1852. It is a melodrama based on a French dramatization of the 1844 novella by Alexandre Dumas. Background From 1850 Dion Boucicault was employed by the actor Charles Kean, who leased the Princess's Theatre, London, as the house dramatist. Boucicault, fluent in French, travelled to France to find plays he could adapt for the English stage; a result of this was The Corsican Brothers, adapted from the 1850 play Les Freres corses by Eugène Grangé and Xavier de Montépin. The play, directed by Charles Kean, opened at the Princess's Theatre on 24 February 1852. Charles Kean played both of the brothers Fabien dei Franchi and Louis dei Franchi, and Alfred Wigan played Chateau-Renaud. Synopsis Act I and Act II are understood as taking place at the same time. Each of the brothers Fabien dei Franchi and Louis dei Franchi are able to sense if the other is in danger.