Cape Forlorn (play)

Cape Forlorn is a 1930 British stage play by Frank Harvey. Harvey appeared in the original cast. It was his second produced stage play.^[2]

Cape Forlorn
Written by	Frank Harvey
Characters	William Kell, lighthouse keeper Eileen Kell, his wife Henry Cass, the lighthouse mate Kieling, a castaway
Date premiered	30 March 1930[1]
Place premiered	Fortune Theatre, London
Original language	English
Setting	A lighthouse off the New Zealand coast

The play was produced throughout the world including Germany – where Conrad Veidt was in the cast – and France (which changed the location to an island off Madagascar).^[3]

The play was produced on stage in Australia in 1931 with Harvey again in the cast.^[4]

Adaptations

The play was turned into a 1931 feature film of the same name.

A radio version of the play was performed in 1942,^[5] 1948, and 1954 with Rod Taylor.^[6][7]

Premise

Four people are in a lighthouse off the New Zealand coast.^[8] Kell, the lighthouse keeper, is married to the much younger Eileen who has been carrying on a love affair with his assistant, Cass, an Australian. The third man, Kingsley, is rescued by Kell when his launch capsized on the rocks. Kingsley becomes attracted to Eileen leading to conflict.