Sean O'Casey

Sean O'Casey (March 30, 1880 - September 18, 1964) was a major Irish dramatist and memorist. A committed nationalist and socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. His plays are particularly noted for his sympathetic treatment of his female characters.

O'Casey and the Abbey

O'Casey's first accepted play, The Shadow of a Gunman was performed on the stage of the Abbey Theatre in 1923. This was the beginning of a relationship that was to be fruitful for both theatre and dramatist, but that ended in some bitterness. The play deals with the impact of revolutionary politics on Dublin's slums and their inhabitants. It was followed by Juno and the Paycock (1924) and The Plough and the Stars (1926), probably O'Casey's two finest plays. Both deal with the impact of the Irish Civil War on the working class poor of the city. The Plough and the Stars, an anti-war play, was misinterpreted by the Abbey audience as being anti-nationalist and resulted in scenes reminiscent of the riots that greeted Synge's The Playboy of the Western World in 1907. The success of these plays enabled O'Casey to give up his job and become a full-time writer.

Related Topics:
1923 - Juno and the Paycock - 1924 - 1926 - Irish Civil War - Synge - 1907

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Juno and the Paycock was successfully filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. In 1959 O'Casey gave his blessing to a musical adaptation of the play by American composer Marc Blitzstein. The musical, retitled Juno, was a critical failure.

Related Topics:
Juno and the Paycock - Alfred Hitchcock - Marc Blitzstein - Juno

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