OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  Denis Johnston 

• Author Notes

  Credited as E.W. Tocher

• Setting

  The action of the play takes place in an old Fort, now used as a dwelling-house, near the mouth of a river in Ireland.

• Synopsis

  The play is set in 1927 during an attempt by the IRA to destroy a Free State government power plant. The attack fails; nevertheless the plant is then blown up by accident. Along the way the play deals with nation-building, terrorism, war crimes, the rape of the environment, industrialism and globalization, while at the same time it is a deeply personal story of loss, denial and reconciliation. The title is from Ezra Pound, about a poet grasping at illusory ideals. As the play closes the action turns back from the political to the personal, as the central character discovers a resolution to his nihilism, and the idea that in man’s unhappiness could lie his greatness.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  7

• Female

  3

• Total

  10

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  27 April 1931

• Producer

  Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach

• Original Venue

  Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
  

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme and from press cuttings of the time.