Following it's sold out run in Dublin - The New Theatre, Dublin presents James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
In the name Stephen Dedalus, he adopted in this, his early masterpiece, Joyce signalled his need to escape the nets he claimed Ireland would trap him in – religion and nationality. He would seek to fly “above these nets”. Unique among his contemporaries he laid claim for the artist’s freedom from such temporal concerns to “forge the uncreated conscience of his race”. Thus began his life long task of sketching the universal human condition he had observed around him in Dublin in the real lives of ordinary people.
In the course of A Portrait which covered the first decades of his life, we see him creating his own individual aesthetic, as opposed to the dictates of the Church. He is already aware of the beginnings of new European writers such as Ibsen, and leaves Ireland to live mostly in poverty, but at liberty to seek nourishment from other cultures. The novel eventually published in 1916, contains some of the most dramatic scenes in modern literature.
'imaginative and graceful...Jimmy Fay's direction of this in-house production at the New Theatre in Dublin plays a great part in the success with its quirky and highly visual approach.' Emer O' Kelly, Sunday Independent
'*****... Thankfully the producers were not overly cautious or afraid to sully the original work by editing somewhat, as otherwise there would have been no chance the play could express so many of the original ideas. If anything, it is restorative and most definitely alludes throughout to the simultaneous universality and localism at the heart of Joyce's writing. With a relatively long run in The New Theatre, there's no excuse not to see it.' Aoife Ryan, entertainment.ie
'Wonderful...the production manages to become its own piece of art, drawing inspiration from Joyce but also finding its own feet too.'Kate O' Connor, Quality Waffle
'At times unsettling, always enthralling...there are powerful performances from the entire ensemble.' Gillian Greer, Meg.ie
'Another fine display from Jimmy Fay.' No More Workhouse
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