What better way to follow up St. Patricks day than with one of Ireland’s greatest writers and poets? I would say that this was the thinking from the clever guys and gals at The Lyric Theatre who have lined up a weeks worth of shows of the stage version of James Joyce’s iconic novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by The New Theatre in Dublin. Also of note is that this is the first Irish production since the copyright was lifted on James Joyce’s work to be performed in Ireland. We will have a full review for you tomorrow but for the minute here’s the synopsis, sure check it out and get into some great Irish drama.
“Joyce’s first novel is one of the most playful and provocative in the English language,” said the director, Jimmy Fay. “The themes of religion, nationalism and sexuality alongside the birth of an artist’s consciousness make a heady mix and we have strived in this production to be as inventive and theatrical as possible. The production places Joyce’s writing centre stage in an attempt to make the language soar so people new to Joyce will discover his humour and veteran readers will be engaged by this production’s interpretation of it.”
The classic tale of Stephen Dedalus follows the young man during his formative years as he breaks away from the Irish Catholic conventions of his past to become an artist who will “encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.”
In the course of A Portrait which covered the first decades of his life, we see him creating his own individual aesthetic, as opposed to the dictates of the Church. He is already aware of the beginnings of new European writers such as Ibsen, and leaves Ireland to live mostly in poverty, but at liberty to seek nourishment from other cultures. The novel eventually published in 1916, contains some of the most dramatic scenes in modern literature.
When: Tues 18 – Sat 22 March
Where: Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Price: Tuesday – Thursday £16, Friday – Saturday £20 (Balcony seats discounted by 20%)
Click here for more info and to book tickets
