It's great to have enjoyed so much support from the Bloomsday community, and a wider range of people, many of them Irish. Bloomsday thanks you for this, and we would love some feedback on why the play was so important to so many people.
My sense is that the play was hitting a nerve, especially among the Irish. It left people in debate about how much room Maggie had to manoeuvre in given a highly restrictive set of social circumstances, if she was to survive at all. People gasped at how cruel and uncompromising she could be with her children and would-be lovers, and many could admire her grit and spirit. It's especially remarkable as an artefact coming out of a pre-feminist era, and written by a man. We think being a publican might have helped his understanding of the women of his era. Interesting too to see how much men's talk about women has changed in the intervening 30 years.
So, thanks to Renee Huish and her remarkable and big team of actors. And especially to Deirdre who worked so hard to be the redoubtable Maggie Polpin.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for entering the conversation with Bloomsday in Melbourne.