Tomorrow I will drive down to the Harrisburg International Airport to depart for my trip to Dublin. I managed to read a lot of plays and two books to prepare for the Dublin Theatre Festival. I finally finished reading the book Sacred Play by Anne F. O’Reilly. This book deserves its own comprehensive review since shamanism in relation to theater is a special interest of mine. I also read the book The Theatre of Marina Carr: “Before rules was made” which was very important because I am going to meet the playwright Marina Carr. This is what really sold me on this trip.
I read three more plays by Marina Carr; Hecuba, Girl On An Altar, and The Cordelia Dream. The first two plays are based on Ancient Greek plays but with a modern emphasis on the brutality of war. Many translations of Ancient Greek plays are very poetic and completely mask the true horrors of war. The Cordelia Dream was an interesting play about artistic rivalry between an old man (based on King Lear) and his daughter.
I also read a few plays by the female playwrights whose shows I am going to see. I read The Cat’s Mother by Erica Murray. It is a light comedy. And I read two plays by Nancy Harris; The Beacon and No Romance.
The only other play I read was Pentecost by Stewart Parker. I bought a biography of this Northern Irish playwright because he is the only contemporary Irish playwright to have a biography. His biography is an expensive book. Fortunately it was delivered before my trip but I did not have time to read it.
It is possible that my interest in Irish drama will come to an abrupt end after this trip. I will want to move on to Argentina drama which is an undiscovered country.
