Jimmy Murphy – författare

Contemporary Irish Documentary Theatre is the first anthology of Irish documentary drama. It features five challenging plays by Irish writers, and one by an international author, interrogating and commenting on crucial events of Irish history and of the diaspora, with introductory essays by established academics. Together these plays represent the most innovative development in contemporary Irish theatre and illuminate the social and political realities of contemporary Ireland.The first two plays, of 2010 and 2013, deal with scandals of clerical and institutional abuse, and use as source material the Ryan Report of 2009, and the documents from the 2008 Irish Bank Guarantee. The next two, of 2014 and 2013, concern interpretations of the most iconic moment of Irish history: the Easter Rising. The first of these is based on published statements of participants in the event and the second on the lived experiences of those in the contemporary Republic whose founding ideals have not been realized . The last two plays, of 2015 and 2016, widen the view to the history of the Irish in the diaspora: one retelling the history of emigration to England based on published research material; and the other tracing Roger Casement's experiences in the Amazon and his subsequent participation in the Easter Rising using extracts from his diaries and other writings.The plays included and discussed are: No Escape by Mary RafteryGuaranteed by Colin MurphyOf This Brave Time by Jimmy MurphyHistory by Grace DyasMy English Tongue, My Irish Heart by Martin LynchThe Two Deaths of Roger Casement by Domingos Nunez

Contemporary Irish Documentary Theatre is the first anthology of Irish documentary drama. It features five challenging plays by Irish writers, and one by an international author, interrogating and commenting on crucial events of Irish history and of the diaspora, with introductory essays by established academics. Together these plays represent the most innovative development in contemporary Irish theatre and illuminate the social and political realities of contemporary Ireland.The first two plays, of 2010 and 2013, deal with scandals of clerical and institutional abuse, and use as source material the Ryan Report of 2009, and the documents from the 2008 Irish Bank Guarantee. The next two, of 2014 and 2013, concern interpretations of the most iconic moment of Irish history: the Easter Rising. The first of these is based on published statements of participants in the event and the second on the lived experiences of those in the contemporary Republic whose founding ideals have not been realized . The last two plays, of 2015 and 2016, widen the view to the history of the Irish in the diaspora: one retelling the history of emigration to England based on published research material; and the other tracing Roger Casement's experiences in the Amazon and his subsequent participation in the Easter Rising using extracts from his diaries and other writings.The plays included and discussed are: No Escape by Mary RafteryGuaranteed by Colin MurphyOf This Brave Time by Jimmy MurphyHistory by Grace DyasMy English Tongue, My Irish Heart by Martin LynchThe Two Deaths of Roger Casement by Domingos Nunez

In the mid-1970s a group of young men left their homes in the West of Ireland, took the boat out of Dublin Bay and sailed across the sea to England in the hope of making their fortunes and returning home. Twenty-five years later only one, Jackie Flavin, makes it home, but does so in a coffin. The Kings of the Kilburn High Road takes place on the day that the winners and losers of the group meet up to drink to Jackie Flavin's memory and looks at their lives, lost dreams and their place in the new Ireland. Brothers of the Brush is a 'subtle unsentimental lament for the working class' (Irish Times) in which house painters, patching over the cracks of an old house, misuse each other for their own advantage. In a world blighted by economic recession, with workers losing faith in old ideologies, this play demonstrates just how fragile allegiances are when personal interests are at stake. (Winner of the Dublin Festival Best New Play Award)