OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  John O'Donovan (1) 

• Synopsis

  It is 1798 in Dublin and corruption in the legal profession is rife. John Scott(Lord Clonmel), the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland is nicknamed 'the hanging judge' and 'Copperfaced Jack', the latter because of the colour of his face - the result of too much brandy drinking. In a series of flashbacks, with fleeting moments of conscience about his corruption the Judge reassesses his life, where we see the pathetic case of Fennessy, sentenced to death for sheep stealing, who has to build his own coffin to earn some money to send to his family; the battle with the Attorney General over the condemned rebel leader, Peter Shanks; a transient love affair with the mother of a condemned man.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  17

• Female

  5

• Total

  22

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  25 February 1963

• Producer

  Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach

• Original Venue

  Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
  

• Venue Notes

  Produced at the Queen's Theatre.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from published material.