Description: This listing is for a very nice Playbill for THE BISHOP'S BONFIRE by Sean O'Casey The condition is very nice showing minor signs of age. There are a few light marks on the cover. It measures approximately 5 1/2" x 7 1/4" The play premiered in 1955 ‘The bishop's bonfire’, after Cusack visited O'Casey in Torquay to persuade him to showcase his new work in Dublin. The play (typically for O'Casey) was anti-clerical; Cusack, the devout, mass-going president of the Catholic Stage Guild, probably disagreed with its sentiments, but appreciated its pulling power. The performance, directed by Tyrone Guthrie (qv), was condemned in advance by a small catholic action group, and this guaranteed audiences. Critics came from Britain and America, and on the opening night (28 February) 2,000 people had formed a queue down Grafton St., and police were called to keep order. The expected uproar began in the second act but was led by a small faction of the audience; the majority remained bemused. Cusack made a curtain speech – beginning in Irish, and switching to English on demand – in which he derided the ‘self-appointed defenders of God in the manger’ (Irish Press, 1 Mar. 1955). However, his ambiguous attitude towards the play – not a critical success, then or later – must have been apparent, because Conor Cruise O'Brien wrote that his speech was delivered ‘with the air of Ajax defending a damp Monday evening’ (New Statesman and Nation, 5 Mar. 1955). PLEASE SEE MY OTHER LISTINGS IN MY STORE FOR SIMILAR ITEMS AND COMBINE FOR THE LOWEST POSTAGE. Please feel free to message any questions to me.(89)
Price: 24.95 USD
Location: Lake Zurich, Illinois
End Time: 2025-01-07T15:10:51.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Industry: Theater
Object Type: Playbill
Original/Reproduction: Original
Country/Region of Manufacture: Ireland
