Marking the centenary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, Edna O’Brien’s stage portrait of the artist is created through the eyes of the women around him. Commissioned by the Abbey theatre and co-produced with Eilene Davidson Productions, this new ensemble play reflects 91-year-old O’Brien’s lifelong admiration for Joyce’s work.
Through the characters of his mother, May (Deirdre Donnelly); wife, Nora Barnacle (Bríd Ní Neachtain); daughter Lucia (Genevieve Hulme Beaman); lover Martha Fleischmann (Caitríona Ní Mhurchú); and patron Harriet Shaw Weaver (Ali White), episodes from their life in exile in Trieste, Paris and Zurich are evoked. In flashback and reverie, Joyce’s words – drawn from his short stories, novels, poetry and letters – are threaded through every scene; the life and work inextricable.
