About the work
Farce in two acts by Johann Nestroy, first performed on 5 May 1837 at the Theater an der Wien with music by Adolf Müller senior. Nestroy wrote the piece on commission to give the English acrobats W. Lawrence and P. Redisha, who appeared as supposed 'New Zealanders' and mute characters, a dramatic frame for their feats.
Plot
The servant Moppel loves the maid Peppi but is swept away to New Zealand after a shipwreck, captured by corsairs and sold into slavery in Morocco. He escapes together with fellow captives, and at a village festival he is reunited with Peppi after proving himself the rescuer of his master. Two mute characters round off the play with acrobatic turns.
Cultural significance
Contemporary critics cared mainly about the guest acrobats' feats and had little praise for the play itself: the journal 'Der Humorist' found 'nothing praiseworthy' to say about it. A few weeks after the premiere, Nestroy himself took on a role in the piece.