Juno and the Paycock

Synopsis

Sinead Cusack and Ciaran Hinds lead the casr in the acclaimed National Theatre revival of Juno and the Paycock.

Jack Boyle is out of work and determined to stay that way. He postures and drinks with his sidekick Joxer while the long-suffering Juno balances threats with cajolement to preserve the semblance of family in a squalid tenement flat. Their son Johnny, crippled fighting for the IRA, cowers indoors, terrified of reprisal; his sister Mary has joined the labour movement and is on strike.

Sudden news of an inheritance provokes dreams of escape but, even before their rowdy celebrations are done, reality asserts itself as a neighbour’s corpse is carried down the stairs – another victim of the bitter civil war. Mary falls for an educated man as the loans stack up. Tragedy ensues.

One of the great plays of the twentieth century, Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock offers a devastating portrait of wasted potential in a Dublin torn apart by the chaos of the Irish Civil War, 1922.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 17 November 2011

This fine production of a truly great play marks the first collaboration between our two great institutional national theatres, British and Irish, the National and the Abbey in Dublin, and at this moment in history seems like an emotional truce in the wake of a century of political dispute and terrorism.

Juno’s lament, delivered without any blather or fuss by Sinead Cusack – “Sacred Heart of Jesus, take away our hearts o’ stone, and give us hearts o’ flesh! Take away this murdherin’ hate…” is a cry of enough is enough. Too many people have died in the name of religion and nationalism. So what else is new?

Howard Davies’ production, at once vivid and shadowy, is set in Bob Crowley’s monumental grey tenement apartment, lividly lit by James Farncombe, in the middle of Dublin. Davies does not skimp on the Shakespearean colour and character of the 1924 play, but nor does he let go of its vital, grim documentary ...

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Latest User Review

jeremyb - 16 February 2012:

I thought the performances were truly multidimensional but my partner thought them stereotypes. I was thoroughly engagfed in comedy and tragedy alike. She wasn't. Our dichotomy reflects the other opinions voiced but I dont know why it doesn't speak to some. I had no problem with the accents or sound level. ...

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