Details

Based on Behan's own experience of 14 years internment in Mountjoy for his Republican activity, The Quare Fellow is set in an Irish prison and is a subtle condemnation of capital punishment. Described by Behan himself as "a comedy-drama", it has a large ensemble of brightly drawn, colourful characters with vivid dialogue. Its construction is highly original in that the audience never see or hear the condemned man who, in a sense, is the central figure. The Quare Fellow was premiered in Dublin in 1954 and first presented in Britain by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in 1954. The subsequent six-month West End run of a play with such a sharp political impact at a time when judicial hanging was still practised by the British and Irish governments, was unprecedented. The Quare Fellow website.

Creatives/Company

Author: Brendan Behan