The Theatre of Tom Mac Intyre: Strays From the Ether Book

List of illustrations xvi

Acknowledgements xix

Preface/Réamhrá Fiach Mac Conghail xxiii

Introduction: 'Strays from the ether' Bernadette Sweeney Marie Kelly 1

Chapter 1 'Someone opened a door…And now the traffic's racin'…'

A Vibrant Presence: A Biography of Tom Mac Intyre's Work Bernadette Sweeney 23

Introduction to The Harper's Turn Seamus Heaney 43

In Conversation with Tom Mac Intyre Vincent Woods 44

Tom Mac Intyre: Border Country Bandit Tom Hickey 55

Chapter 2 'a 'conspirator's gleam'

The Long Surrender: Finding a Theatrical Voice Through the Plays of the 1970s Ben Francombe 65

Theatre Review: 'Salome gets Modern Treatment'(The Irish Independent, 10 May 1977) Desmond Rushe 81

Theatre Review: Doobally/Black Way (The Irish Times, 9 October 1979) David Nowlan 81

Theatre Review: 'A Nimble Mime at the Peacock'(The Evening Press, August 1976) Michael Sheridan 82

Chapter 3 'Down the ruckety pass'

A Director's Note Patrick Mason 85

On Design Environmental Design and the Plays of Tom Mac Intyre Bronwen Casson 87

Environmental Design in the Dublin Theatre John Barrett 89

Theatre Review: 'A Great Poem Without Words'(The Irish Press, 11 May 1983) Gerard Stembridge 93

Theatre Review: 'Images of Fragmented Ireland'(The Sunday Independent, 20 July 1986) Colm Tóibín 94

Theatre Review: The Great Hunger (The Guardian, 13 August 1986) Michael Billington 95

Theatre Review: 'People Hungering After Humanity' (The Guardian, 27 November 1986) Nicholas de Jongh 96

In the Beginning Was…the Image … (Theatre Ireland, 1984) Kathryn Holmquist 98

Programme Note: 'The Hurt Mind'(Peacock Theatre, 1986) Dermot Healy 105

Programme Note: 'The Ghost, the Gate and the Go Beyant' (Peacock Theatre, 1986) Michael Harding 109

Oedipal Desire in Mac Intyre's The Great Hunger: A Palaeo Postmodern Perspective Catriona Ryan 111

'What Shall I Wear, Darling, to The Great Hunger?' Paul Durcan 125

Chapter 4 'Warming to the fray'

Theatre Review: The Bearded Lady (Theatre Ireland, Autumn 1984) Joseph Mc Minn 133

Theatre Review: The Bearded Lady (The Irish Press, 12 September 1984) Peter Thompson 135

In Conversation with Bríd Ní Neachtain Marie Kelly 136

The Lunatics in the Basement: Madness in Mac Intyre Dermod Moore 139

New Dimensions: Spaces for Play in the Theatre of Tom Mac Intyre Marie Kelly 145

Theatre Review: Rise Up Lovely Sweeney (The Sunday Tribune, 15 September 1985) Fintan O'Toole 165

Programme Note: Dance for your Daddy 'Must you Play the Piano in your Nightgown?' (Peacock Theatre, 1987) Dermot Healy 167

Theatre Review: Dance for your Daddy (The Irish Times, 3 March 1987) David Nowlan 170

Scenes from Snow White Tom Mac Intyre 171

Programme Note: 'Chomh geal le Sneachta' (Peacock Theatre, 1988) Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill 176

Theatre Review: Snow White (Theatre Ireland, Summer 1988) David Calvert 178

Theatre Review: Snow White (The Irish Times, 28 June 1988) David Nowlan 180

Performing Women in Tom Mac Intyre's Drama SarahJane Scaife 181

Tom Mac Intyre and Theatre of the Image Daniel Shea 198

Chapter 5 'a gradle o' stories

Programme Note: Kitty O'Shea (Peacock Theatre, 1990) Medbh McGuckian 215

Theatre Review: Kitty O'Shea (Theatre Ireland, October 1990) Victoria White 218

Theatre Review: Fine Day for a Hunt (The Galway Advertiser, 23 July 1992) Jeff O'Connell 220

Theatre Review: Chickadee (The Sunday Tribune, 23 May 1993) Jocelyn Clarke 221

Programme Note: 'The Night Before the Morning After' (Peacock Theatre, 1994) Ciaran Carson 223

'Between two languages…' Olwen Fouéré 224

Images of Sheep's Milk on the Boil Amelia Stein 226

Second Opinion: Sheep's Milk on the Boil (The Irish Times, 2 March 1994) Fintan O'Toole 237

Good Evening, Mr Collins Christina Hunt Mahony 239

Theatre Review: Good Evening, Mr Collins (The Irish Times, 12 October 1995) David Nowlan 244

Programme Note: 'The Bandit Pen' (Peacock Theatre, October 1995) Marina Carr 245

Stories Happen to Storytellers Karen Ardiff 247

A Conversation with Carolyn Swift, Tom Mac Intyre, and John Scott on You Must Tell the Bees (UCD Forum, 1996) Deirdre Mulrooney 256

'The Magic of Dissonance'(The Irish Times, 24 September 1996) Helen Meany 263

Theatre Review: The Chirpaun (The Irish Times, 4 December 1997) Victoria White 265

Theatre Review: Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (The Irish Times, 20 April 1998) Diarmuid Johnson 266

Programme Note: Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (Peacock Theatre, 1998) Alan Titley 267

Choreographing Cúirt an Mheán Oíche Finola Cronin 270

Chapter 6 'between the worlds'

Theatre Review: The Gallant John-Joe (The Irish Times, 29 November 2001) Fintan O'Toole 279

Ballet in the Bog (The Guardian, 23 February 2005) John Mahoney 280

Mapping the World of Bridgie Cleary Joe Vanek 285

Theatre Review: What Happened Bridgie Cleary (The Irish Times, 29 May 2005) Fintan O'Toole 298

Theatre Review: What Happened Bridgie Cleary (Irish Theatre Magazine, 19 May 2005) Patrick Lonergan 299

Theatre Review: What Happened Bridgie Cleary (The Guardian, 29 April 2005) Karen Fricker 301

Anarchic and Strange: Only an Apple Bernadette Sweeney Marie Kelly Selina Cartmell 302

Theatre Review: Only an Apple (Irish Theatre Magazine, 6 May 2009) Patrick Lonergan 314

Letters to the Editor Eilish MacCurtain Pearse Augustine Martin Sebastian Barry 316

The Hurt Mind (1985) Tom Mac Intyre 321

Notes on the Contributors 323

Index 327