Month: February 2016

Categories
History

Juno and the Paycock Radio Recording with an Introduction by Sean O’Casey

Sean O'Casey smiling

In a recent article on the dialects of Ireland Professor Raymond Hickey talks about how Irish and specifically Dublin accents aspirationally referenced English RP. He gives as examples James Joyce and Sean O’Casey, “listening now to recordings of James Joyce and Sean O’Casey, it’s extraordinary how English they sounded”.

Dr Liam P Ó Murchú contests this view. He gives examples of available recordings as evidence and contextualises them by pointing out that as formal recording both men probably put on their dialectical best to be understood.

The example he gives for Sean is an introduction to a 1955 radio recording of Juno and the Paycock produced by Cyril Cusak. Cusak himself plays Joxer. Juno and Captain Boyle are played by Siobhan McKenna and Seamus Kavangh. Sean’s introduction sets the scene for the play and lasts about seven minutes.

Categories
News

First Draft of Juno and the Paycock Arrives at The National Library of Ireland

National Library of Ireland | Flickr - Photo Sharing! : taken from - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicokaiser/8119894533Author: Nico Kaiser https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The first draft of Juno and the Paycock has been officially received by the National Library of Ireland.  The manuscript was acquired in an auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The purchase was made possible by special allocation funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the NLI Trust.

The manuscript includes a handwritten draft of acts one and two of Juno and the Paycock, sections of act three, a list of characters and a synopsis of the play. The draft is in a school notebook, titled ‘Juno and the Peacock’ on the front cover.

Dr Sandra Collins, Director of the National Library of Ireland, said of the acquisition,

“We are delighted that this unique manuscript is now safely homed in the National Library. It represents a very significant addition to the NLI’s O’Casey collections, joining a substantial holding of O’Casey papers and his personal library, writing desk and other artefacts that really tell the story of this outstanding Irish playwright… This beautiful piece of Irish history and literature is as relevant for Irish actors and audiences today as it was in 1923”

Categories
Productions

Juno and the Paycock at the Gate Theatre Reviews

Mark O’Rowe’s production of Juno and the Paycock has opened at the Gate Theatre and is receiving very positive reviews for his interpretation of this classic play.

In the Irish Independent Katy Hayes describes the production as,

A Juno of rare Chekhovian power

[T]his excellent production of this classic play is a must-see

Chris McCormack writing in The Stage describes how O’Rowe portrays,

[T]he punishing binds of addiction, poverty and religious conservatism seem aimed for the present

The production runs through 16th April at the Gate Theatre.