The Silver Tassie
Thrilling. A drama of exceptional power and originality
A fine revival of O'Casey's tumultuous play
The Guardian
Thrilling. A drama of exceptional power and originality
Thrilling. A drama of exceptional power and originality
Sean O'Casey's startling, voracious anti-war play from 1928 takes a more personal look at the madness of World War I through the eyes of the young dashing Harry Heegan. O'Casey was the first Irish playwright to focus his material solely on the working class, and this was to be his fourth, specifically infamous for its unforgiving anti-war, anti-Establishment stance - the ensuing controversy actually led to O'Casey's self-imposed departure from Ireland.
The four-act Expresionnist play is intersected with music and dance throughout, as memories of happier times are brought into sharp relief against the war-torn backdrop.
Leaving his beloved Ireland after winning a local football tournement, handsome Harry Keegan is immediately bound for the trenches of France and the horrors that accompany it. Returning home a cripple, he watches on as the young men and women of the town dance together at his welcoming home party; he yearns to be part of it once again, the handsome, local hero.
However, he is forgotten in the wings, whilst others look at him as a pitiable figure. Betrayed by the friend who saved his life in the trench, with his fiancee, Harry is no longer deemed worthy in the eyes of his once-loyal town, and is resigned to carry on living - his last duty to the dea that he left behind.
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