Cock-a-Doodle Dandy
Encyclopedia
Cock-a-Doodle Dandy is a 1949 play by Irish dramatist Seán O'Casey
.
Regarded by O'Casey as his best play, this is a darkly comic fantasy in which a magic cockerel appears in the parish of Nyadnanave and forces the characters to make choices about the way they live their lives. It is a parable of mid-century Irish rural life, symbolising the struggle between repression and liberty. Initially it was regarded as anti-Catholic and was banned from professional public performance in the UK by the Lord Chamberlain
. It was also suppressed in Ireland and the USA.
, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1949. This performance was reviewed in the Irish Times newspaper on 14th December 1949. Under the headline "A Play to Arouse both Anger and Pity", it was described as "a performance of infinitely better quality than I had expected to lie in the capacity of mere Anglo-Saxons, unlearned in the tricky inflexions of O'Casey's Nyadnanave."
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
.
Regarded by O'Casey as his best play, this is a darkly comic fantasy in which a magic cockerel appears in the parish of Nyadnanave and forces the characters to make choices about the way they live their lives. It is a parable of mid-century Irish rural life, symbolising the struggle between repression and liberty. Initially it was regarded as anti-Catholic and was banned from professional public performance in the UK by the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
. It was also suppressed in Ireland and the USA.
In performance
The World premiere of the play took place at the People's TheatreThe People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne
The People's Theatre is a theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.The People's Theatre originated from the Newcastle branch of the former British Socialist Party, who started to stage dramatic productions in 1911 in order to raise money to fund their political activities. One of the theatre's key...
, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1949. This performance was reviewed in the Irish Times newspaper on 14th December 1949. Under the headline "A Play to Arouse both Anger and Pity", it was described as "a performance of infinitely better quality than I had expected to lie in the capacity of mere Anglo-Saxons, unlearned in the tricky inflexions of O'Casey's Nyadnanave."
Sources
- Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 0521434378.