Juno and the Paycock

Ah, what can God do agen the stupidity o' men! Dublin, 1922. The Irish Civil War is tearing the nation apart. In the cauldron of the family's tiny tenement flat, Juno Boyle, a beleaguered matriarch whose sharp wit is a survival tool, struggles to make ends meet and keep the family together. Her husband, 'Captain' Jack Boyle, fancies himself a ship's commander but sails no further than the pub. Then providence comes knocking with news of a great inheritance. Sean O'Casey's tragicomic masterpiece was first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1924, and revived at the Gielgud Theatre, London, in September 2024. 'The power of Juno and the Paycock never fails to surprise and enthral and inspire. Its violent passion, its deep humanity, its bubbling humour and its appalling tragedy are soaked in the very spirit of Ireland itself.' Daily Mail

Sean O'Casey was born in Dublin in 1880. He was the youngest of seven surviving children and, because of malnutrition, ill health and poverty, he had little formal education. Although the first half of his life was spent as a labourer, he involved himself with the Irish political struggle for both independence and betterment of conditions for the poor. He was secretary of the Irish Citizen Army, and wrote for the Irish Worker. The production at the Abbey Theatre of his early plays translated his experiences into art and brought him international acclaim. Like many another great Irish writer, he paid his country the compliment of leaving it as soon as he conveniently could. Having lived in London and Chalfant St Giles, in 1938 he moved with his young family to Devon, where he died in 1964.