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Title The on and off-stage roles of Abbey Theatre actresses of the1930s
Author(s) O'Dowd, Ciara
PublicationDate 2016-05-11
Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/5789
CiaraO’Dowd
B.A.(Mod.)M.A.
09232113
DoctoralScholarofTheCollegeofArts,SocialSciences,andCelticStudies
atNationalUniversityofIreland,Galway.
TheOnandOff-StageRolesofAbbeyTheatreActressesofthe1930s
SupervisedbyProf.AdrianFrazier&Prof.LionelPilkington
May2016
Acknowledgments
I am forever indebt toall thepeoplewhoprovidedexpertise,assistance
andsupportasIcompletedthisthesis.ProfessorAdrianFraziermadeitall
possible, and I would like to acknowledge his inspirational teaching and
guidance. Thanks are due to all the staff of the English Department,
particularly Professor Lionel Pilkington, Professor Sean Ryder and Dr.
Marie-Louise Coolahan. Thanks to my fellow doctoral students and to
ProfessorPatrickLonergan;Dr.CharlotteMcIvor;ProfessorsJillDolanand
StacyWolfofPrincetonUniversity;and,forherastutequestionsatmyviva
voce,toDr.AoifeMonks. IwasprivilegedtobeaDoctoralScholarofthe
CollegeofArts,SocialSciencesandCelticStudies.
Inmyarchivalresearch,IwasablyassistedbyBarryHoulihanandallofthe
staffoftheHardimanLibrarySpecialCollectionsaswellasCarrieMarshof
Claremont University in California. I have boundless gratitude for those
who shared my passion and helped along the way: Christine Shields;
KatharineWeber; Patrick Laffan;Maev Kennedy andValMulkerns;Mary
McCullough;AlmaNowlan;SusanSlott;HelenSheehyandFinolaFinlay.
Fortheirpatience,practicalsupportandgoodhumour,Ithankmyparents,
Patrick and Deirdre, my brothers Killian and Oran and my sisters-in-law
MarinaandHana.I’vebeenblessedtohaveJames,Hannah,Shane,Mark,
Rose andNell acceptmyeccentricities. Throughout this process, Thomas
Conwayheldmyhandand,whenneeded,heldmeup.Therearenowords
toexpressthedepthofmygratitude,onlylove.
TableofContents
Introduction............................................................................................1
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologies,ArchivesandTruths........................8
Chapter2:EileenCrowe(1898-1978)andMayCraig(1889–1972)........39
Chapter3:AideenO’Connor(1913–1950)............................................94
Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)..............................................166
Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)..................................................179
Conclusion...........................................................................................263
WorksCited.........................................................................................270
InterviewsConducted..........................................................................286
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes..................................................................287
Appendix2:InterviewwithPatLaffan.................................................301
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
1
Introduction
Building on the work of Maggie B. Gale and John Stokes in The
Cambridge Companion to the Actress, this doctoral thesis exposes ‘the
constructionoftheactress’intheparticularcontextoftheIrishFreeState
(1922 – 1937). (2) It examines the life stories of five women who
performed together in the Abbey Theatre Company during the 1930s.
These are life stories that intersect and interweave, that separate and
come together. The five women, Eileen Crowe, May Craig, Aideen
O’Connor,FrolieMulhernandRiaMooney,areconnectedbyonething:a
devotiontoIrishtheatre.The‘construction’ofanactressismulti-faceted,
but has two key elements: (1) the training and development of her
theatrical craft, and (2) the professionalization of the individual as a
working performer with the consequent impact of this position on her
place in society. The following chapters examine the careers of each of
thesewomen,detailingmanyoftheirperformancesattheAbbeyTheatre
andtwoparticulartoursofAmericabytheAbbeyCompany(1934-35and
1937-38),toexposethesetwoelements.
Chapter1tracesthegenealogyoftheoreticalresearchinthisarea,
considersthemethodologiesavailableandsetsouttheinterventionIseek
tomake in the fieldof theatrehistory. Chapter 2 focuseson the livesof
Eileen Crowe andMay Craig, considering their careers particularly in the
contextoftheirpredecessorsattheAbbeyTheatreandthesocialcontext
of the 1930s. Crowe’s career, I argue, ismost usefully considered in the
lightof the Irish Free State and the female ideal it upheld fornationalist
purposes. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the lives of Aideen O’Connor and
FrolieMulhern,whojoinedthecompanyinthe1930s.Chapter5tracesthe
lifeofRiaMooney,thedevelopmentofherartisticvisioninNewYork,and
arguesthatshewasthefirstfeministdirectorattheAbbeyTheatre,whose
contributiontoIrishculturallifehasbeenoverlooked.
FortheeditorsofTheCambridgeCompanion,thedominantfeature
of‘theactress’ isher‘occasional invisibilitycoupledwithherall-pervasive
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
2
significance’. (Gale and Stokes 2) While portraying ‘real’ women, she
retainsauniquestatusasanobserveroftheirlivesbothonandoffstage.
Sheis,independentofthecharactersdepicted,inapositiontounderstand
therisksandrewardsinvolvedinanyactofself-presentationbywomenin
society. This is significant in the context of 1930s Ireland,wherewomen
wereparticularlyvulnerabletowhatMelissaSihraterms‘themonotheistic
patriarchalmeta-narrative’,i.e.,thepowerofChurchandState.(2)
The theatrical lives explored here have been largely forgotten or
ignored;yetIarguethesewomenarelegitimatesubjectsforanexploration
oftheformationoftheprofessionalactressinIreland.Inthisdissertation,I
drawonmucharchivalmaterial thathashithertoneverbeen collatedor
usedforscholarlypurposes.Ineachcase,Ire-constitutearchivaltracesand
strivetocaptureasenseof thewomanherself:herunderstandingofher
craft,herpersonalchallenges,herachievementsandfailures.Thenatureof
thesearch,challengesandmaterialunearthediscommenteduponineach
sectionandthereisaconcertedeffort,asSusanBennetturges,‘toextend
anddisturbhistoriographicalmethodbeyonditsusualevidence.’(55)
Thelengthanddensityofeachofthechaptersreflectsthevolume
of archival material about these women. These are partial biographies,
basedonlyonarchivaltraces,andsuchtracesvaryfromactresstoactress.
However,Iarguethat,presentedtogether,thesebiographiesfacilitatethe
inductionofpatternsthatallowadeeperunderstandingofstrategiesused
by women to further their artistic careers.1That is to say, where these
women may not have consciously calculated their every career and life
choice, the overall story of their lives as actresses was shaped by their
decisions in tandem with external circumstances and influenced by
prevailingideologies.Collectedtogetherinthismanner,thesebiographies
provide evidence that Irish women who conformed to the dominant
1Inusingtheterm‘strategy’,IamrelyingonJoanWallachScott’sdefinitionoftheterm,beingonethatenablesustothinkabouthowpeoplemakedecisionsintheface of changing economic circumstances. Scott also says, ‘In addition,we takestrategytobeashorthandfor theapplicationof (culturallyspecific)perceptionstothepractical(subsistence)demandsofdailylife.’(ScottandTilly7)
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
3
ideologiesonandoffthestageoftheAbbeyTheatrewererewardedwitha
levelofsuccess, longevityandprofessionalrespect in Ireland.Conversely,
womenwhobehavedinamannerviewedasinanywaysubversiveofthat
ideologymetwithresistancethathadthecapacitytoendtheircareersin
thiscountryand/ortodenythemrespecttheydeserved.
TheConceptofRole
Akeyresearchquestionis:howdotheseparticularactressesofthe
IrishNationalTheatre learnandplaythemyriadrolesrequiredofthem—
on and off the stage? Gale and Stokes suggest using ‘a double lens’ to
consider ‘the lossanddisguiseof theself indramaticperformance’while
simultaneouslyholdinginbalance‘thepracticalandideologicalaspects’of
thecareer.(2)Theagencyoftheactress,theabilitytoearnindependently
andtopubliclyrepresentotherwomen,sitsatoddswiththerequirement
of the actress to conceal her individuality and subsume her own
personalityintoanon-stagepresence.Suchagencyalsoconflictedwiththe
ideologiesinIrelandthatdemandedparticularbehaviourofwomen.
Stanislavski, actor and theoretician of the craft, alluded to a
principlesimilartothis‘doublelens’.HistranslatorJeanBenedettistates:
The actor’s individuality, her own particular way of doing andsayingthings,wasofparamountimportance.Atthesametimealltheactor’sgiftsandtalentshadtobesubordinatedtothecentralthemeoftheplay.(13)
In researching this thesis, it became evident that such a ‘double
lens’, as suggested by Gale and Stokes, is useful but not adequate.
Somethingclosertoakaleidoscopeisrequired,allowingasthiswouldfor
shifting focus, background and foreground to switch places at various
points,andafullappreciationofthemyriadofelementsatplayatanyone
moment inthe livesofthesewomen.Thatsaid,theconceptof ‘role’was
vitalinallaspectsandthusdemandsdefinition.
TheatreandStanislavski scholarSharonCarnickehasexplored the
Stanislavskian definition of ‘role’ and how this can be applied in critical
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
4
theory.Carnickesuggeststhatby‘role’Stanislavskimeant‘thewordsthat
serveasa“score”fortheactor’sperformance,inthesamewaythatnotes
provide a “score” formusicians.’ (4) A ‘role’ allows each actor to give a
unique performance, while providing a structure and form thatmust be
preserved. These paradoxical positions of the actor, repetition coupled
with incessant variation and invisibility coupled with public notoriety,
drove Stanislavski’s thinking. Like his mentor Mikhail Shchepkin,
Stanislavskiviewedcharacter-creationasaprocessnotofself-effacement
butofself-transformation.Heclaimedthatathirdbeingwascreatedinthis
process, a fusion of the character the authorwrote and the actor’s own
personality, ‘theactor/role’.(Benedetti95)It isthis‘actor/role’–thetwo
positionstogether,distinctandoverlapping–thatthisthesiscentresupon.
TheOxfordEnglishDictionarydefines‘role’as:‘Anactor’spartina
play,film,etc.’(‘Role’)However,ithasasecondarymeaninginvoking,the
‘function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular
situation.’ (‘Role’) In sociological terms, a ‘role’ denotes particular
behaviouralpatternsthatareconnectedtosocialstatus.Theword‘role’is
in fact synonymous with ‘capacity’, ‘duty’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘place.’ In
using the phrase ‘roles’ in my title, I am consciously invoking all of the
meanings of this term – considering the place of these women in Irish
society as well as in the theatre, considering their capacity as an Irish
woman and as a performer. The rate of married Irish women in paid
employmentremainedaroundthe6%markfromtheestablishmentofIrish
Free Stateup to the1960s. (HillWomen99) Thus, themarried actresses
(MayCraigandEileenCrowe)werealreadyinadistinctminorityinIreland.
PotentialRoleModels:ActressesattheAbbeyTheatrepriortothe1930s
ThewomenoftheIrishNationalTheatreSocietyandofInghinidhe
na hEireann are a useful starting point in seeking role models for the
actresses of the 1930s. Inghinidhe na hEireann was a radical nationalist
women’s organization, Daughters of Ireland, founded in 1900. In 1902,
severalnationalistorganisationscametogethertoperformtwoIrishplays:
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
5
George Russell’s Deirdre and Yeats’ Cathleen Ní Houlihan. (Trotter 74)
Inghinidhe na hEireann members took on vital work as producers,
financiers, ticket sellers andactors. Thesewereaunitedbodyofwomen
fromacrosssocialclasses,butasMaryTrotterhaselucidated, ‘Feminism,
nationalism and workers’ rights activity often pulled [these] women in
contradictorydirections.’(73)Someoftheplaywrightsandactorsinvolved
inthe1902productionswentontoformtheIrishNationalTheatreSociety
(INTS) a year later. At that point, Inghinidhe na hEireann discontinued
dramaticactivity,althoughsomewomenremainedactiveinbothgroups.
ThewomenofInghinidhenahEireannbegantoblurtheboundaries
betweenthepersonalandthepoliticalrealmsthathadbeensodistinctfor
womenin Irishpublic life.But itremainsthatthefemaleperformersthat
emerged from this movement, most notably Maud Gonne, remained
political and nationalist advocates first and foremost. Even where
members of the group did become devoted to acting, theywere always
primarilyidentifiedwiththepoliticalgroup.HistorianR.F.Foster,inwriting
of howGonne, SaraAllgoodandothers tookdrama classesorganizedby
theInghinidhe,concludes,‘Allofthemsawtheirtheatricalactivitiesasan
integralpartofnationalistconsciousness-raising.’(VividFaces81)
AsTrotteralsodescribes, thesewomen ‘performednot [as]“real”
women but [as] idealised personae, developed from rhetoric of Irish
femininity such as Hibernia and Dark Rosaleen.’ (78-79) Inghinidhe na
hEireann initially presented ‘tableaux’, still images carefully posed to
represent ideasorpoliticalmoments.When theybegan rehearsingplays,
MaireNicShiubhlaigh,theoriginalNoraBurkeinInTheShadowoftheGlen,
recalledhow in rehearsals for the1903premiere Frank Fay toldher: ‘Be
themouthpieceofNoraBurke,ratherthanNoraBurke.’(qtdinRitschel90)
InFay’steaching,thesewerenotrealorordinarywomen,butratherwere
the mouthpiece for a particular type of Irish femininity. To perform
typicallymalepoliticalacts,Gonnehadtoconstructandpresentherselfas
an extraordinary woman. She did so with aplomb, but her class and
economic privilege undoubtedly assisted. The stage remained for Gonne
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
6
primarilyapoliticalplatformtorallysupportfornationalistcauses.Whenit
nolongerservedtosupporthercause,shemovedon.
The next generation of actresses at the Abbey Theatre included
SaraAllgoodandhersisterMolly(MaireO’Neill). Allgoodhadalsobegun
her career with Inghinidhe na hÉireann, although she later travelled to
Liverpool and left for Australia in 1915 with the lead in ‘a Hibernicized
melodrama’entitledPegO’MyHeart.(FrazierHollywoodIrish149)Having
appearedonstageintheUKfrequently,shereturnedtotheAbbeyinthe
1920s, before settling in Hollywood where she established a film career
andappliedforUScitizenshipinthemid1940s.Allgoodwas,fromearlyon,
ambitious and hardworking. Her depiction of the mother figure Juno in
SeanO’Casey’sJunoandthePaycockin1924wasconsideredalandmarkin
Irishacting.(Crowewaspresentforthatpremiere,playingtheminorrole
ofMaryBoyle,Juno’sdaughter.)ManyactresseswhoplayedJuno,Crowe
inparticular,neverescapedtheshadowofAllgood’slaudedperformances.
In considering Allgood’s career it becomes evident how she
becamesynonymouswithaparticular typeof female role.AdrianFrazier
describeshowshewasbroughttoBroadway‘toadvertiseadegreeofIrish
authenticity’ in a production of Paul Vincent Carroll’s Shadow and
Substancein1938.(HollywoodIrish151)Allgood’splumpfigure,plain,soft
featuresandIrishaccentdefinedherroles.Shewasadeptatmimicryand
presentation of the stereotypical ‘Irish characteristics’ demanded by
Hollywood executives. But by the 1930s, actresses at the Abbey were
strainingtotakeonrolesnotalwaysdefinedbytheirnationality,andwere
increasinglyawareofinternationaltheatricalinfluences.
ItwasintravellingtoAmericathatthesewomenfoundrolemodels
andfemalementors.ForRiaMooney,itwastheinspirationofdirectorand
actress,EvaLeGallienne.ForAideenO’Connor,itwasBroadwaycomposer,
Kay Swift. Both Le Gallienne and Swift left an impression on their Irish
counterparts,allowingconsiderationofanotherkindoffemininityandthe
prospectofplayingtheirchosenroleinmoreradicalways.
Thewomenrepresentedherebytheir lifestoriesformpartofthe
Introduction CiaraO’Dowd
7
firstwaveofprofessional Irishactresses from theNational Theatre. They
did not seek to rally political support, although they held political views.
They did not travel the world to showcase a particular form of Irish
nationalityandwomanhood. Instead, theysought tobe independentand
successful theatrical performersworthyof appearingon theworld stage,
and aimed to perform awide range of female roles.Mooney,O’Connor,
Mulhern, Craig and Crowe all held an identical score, to fill all the roles
requiredofaprofessionalactress.
Thetrainingandtechnicaldevelopmentofthesewomenistracked
herealongside thedevelopmentof Irish theatreduring theperiodof the
IrishFreeStateandbeyond.Iconsidertheirinterpretationoffemaleroles
alongwith the femalecharacters thatwerebeing stagedat theAbbey in
the 1930s. However, as Olwen Fouéré, the actress and theatre artist,
asserts,‘Contrarytopublicopinion,actorsdon’tneedaplaytopracticethe
art of theatre. It is a way of life. A lot of our work is about completely
subverting thescript.’ (Qtd inSihra220)This thesis seeksalso toexplore
theirlivesoffthestageandtoexposethescripttheysubvertedandlived.
Foster asserts, ‘Part of recapturing their world must involve
prospecting the ties of affection, and the patterns of tension, between
families,friendsandlovers.’(VividFaces116)Thisthesisexploressuchties
andpatterns,amongAbbeyactorsandoutsideofthatcircle.Unexpectedly
for me, the women of American theatre that inspired their Irish
counterpartsbydemonstratinghowtoleadalifefullofcreativeambition,
withindependenceandlove,becameavitalpartofthenarratives.
Toarguethatthelifechoicesmadebythesewomenwererightor
wrong,goodorbad,theirtheatricalcareerswere‘successful’or‘failed’,is
not my intent. They all sought professional success in the theatre and
personalhappiness.Eachwomannegotiatedherownlife,withinthevery
particularcircumstancesandconstraintsofIrishsocietyinthe1930s.This
thesis is a study of the work required and the choices made by these
womentoconstructthemselvesasIrishactresses.
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page8of307
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologies,ArchivesandTruths
Introduction
This thesis isworkingonanumberof different fronts. In the first
instance,itpresentsthebiographiesoffiveIrishactressesoftheIrishFree
State,recountinglifestoriesofwomenthathavebeenlargelyelidedinthe
history of the Irish National Theatre recorded heretofore. There are
limited accounts of the achievements of these women and, with the
exception of Ria Mooney, no prior written accounts of their lives.
Therefore, these biographies draw on extensive archival research and
shapethehithertounknownmaterialintonarrative.Theyarethestoriesof
womenwhodedicatedtheirlivestothestage.ItisthisdedicationtoIrish
theatreIwishtodrawout,ratherthananynotionofsuccess,oflegacy,or
of lasting influence. These are individual lives, but they are stories
embeddedin Irishtheatricalhistory.Theyarecasestudiesoffemale lives
inIrishtheatreduringthefirsthalfofthecentury.
In her essay ‘Actors’ Biography andMythmaking: The Example of
EdmundKean’,theatrehistorianandbiographerLeighWoodsasserts,‘Not
only does the biographical narrative furnish a way of selecting and
organizing fact, consistent with the narrator's preexistent values; but it
can, finally, absorb fact, amoeba-like and reconstitute it in order to
transcend it. It can, in this, tilt the narrativemode into a dramatic one.’
(245) Such a ‘tilt’ empowers biographicalwork in a newway. InWoods’
writingonactors,thisdramaticmodeisalliedwiththecreativeworkofthe
actorsthemselves.Iarguethatthenarrativemodecanalsobetiltedintoa
different,moretheoreticalmodethatexposesandhighlightshowarchival
materialmayre-constitutealifestory.Thismeansthatinusingarchivesto
constructalifestory,itispossibletosimultaneouslyreflectonthatmanner
ofconstruction.
Second, this thesis serves as a critical intervention in the field of
theatre history through the development of methodologies for the
treatmentofarchivesandtheatrehistory.Inthisway,itcontributestothe
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page9of307
furtheringofknowledgeinthisarea.Itisacompositebiographyofwomen
previouslyelidedinIrishhistory.Itisalsoapieceofcriticalwritingonthe
history of Irish theatre and performance, and how we serve this
historiographybydifferentmodesofworkingwitharchivalmaterial.Most
crucially, however, it works at the intersection of both fields, forcing
reflectiononand re-evalutionofhowwe record, re-tell andperform the
historyofIrishtheatre.
TheatreandPerformanceHistory
In Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, Katie
Normington et al pose a question essential to this study: ‘What
methodologiesareappropriatetoretrieveatheatrehistoryforwhichthere
arefewtraces?’(‘Researching’86)Theatreandperformancehistoriesare
concerned with the ephemeral and intangible and the limited materials
availabletothehistoricalstudyofperformanceandperformersshouldnot
be limitedtoafixednotionofdocumentation.Restrictingtheexploration
ofpastperformancestoanexaminationof textual remainsworksagainst
capturing the temporal nature of the event, but to focus only on the
performance aspects (ignoring such textual remains) similarly restricts
understanding. In Research Methods a number of subject-area experts
explorethepossibilitiesofvariousresearchmethods.
According to JosephRoach,an important strategyofperformance
researchtodayistojuxtaposelivingmemoryasrestoredbehaviouragainst
ahistoricalarchiveofrecords.(Normingtonetal. ‘Researching’101)Heis
following a current within performance studies that sets ‘the archive’—
writtenandmaterialtexthousedinanarchive—againstthe‘repertoire’—
embodied traditionsofperformance.ForRoach, theseare fundamentally
differentmodesofworkingforatheatrehistorian.However,DianaTaylor,
oneofthefirstscholarstoseparatethediscursivefromtheperformative,
describestherelationshipbetweenthearchiveandtherepertoireas ‘not
by definition antagonistic or oppositional.’ (36) The two forms of
knowledge,Taylorstates,‘usuallyworkintandem.’(21)
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page10of307
For Taylor, the focus on repertoire is a political act of resistance.
Thearchivesustainspowerinitscurrentformwhiletherepertoireenacts
socialagencyandthusisnotamenabletobeinghousedinanarchive.Both
Taylor and Roach champion the body and oral traditions as legitimate
pointsoffocusforfuturestudy.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’92)Dance
historian Susan Leigh Foster elucidates the compelling notion of ‘Bodily
Writing’. (She had previously set out this concept in the 1995 volumeof
essays, Choreographing History.) Bodily writing examines the physical
traces of the pastwithin contemporary somatic expression including the
relationshipofbodiestotheirsurroundings:buildings,clothingorobjects.
(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’87)
In contrasting these aspects of study, the archive and the
repertoire, the binary between the two is re-asserted. Even where they
maywork in tandem, they become two distinct forms of archive,where
onecanbe treatedasmore ‘authentic’ormore ‘real’ than theother.By
setting out to find a more inclusive mode of study, Taylor arguably
reiterateswhatRebeccaSchneiderinPerformingRemainscalled‘thetired
mutualexclusitivity’betweenthe‘error-riddentheatrical’andapureform
of the ‘real’. (18)Schneider’swork focuseson thepossibilitiesofferedby
historical re-enactment,andthe ‘temporaldrag’ thatcomeswhen ‘in the
syncopatedtimeofreenactment,...thenandnowpunctuateeachother’.
(2) She insists that theatricality isnotamatterof the lossof someprior,
purer actual. Instead, theatricality and mimesis are allied; neither
threatens authenticity. Rather, both are ‘vehicles for access to the
transitive,performativeandcross-temporalreal’.(30)
This thesis does not seek to re-play the argument about the
‘archive’ and the ‘repertoire’, or to reify one mode of archival research
overanother.Thisisastudynotonlyoftheatricalperformancesbutofthe
performersthemselves-althoughtheirperformancesarefundamentalto
how theworld viewed them aswell as to how they viewed themselves.
Therefore, lines of enquiry focusing on the dramatic repertoire (oral
traditionsandbodilymemory;bodilywriting)arenotonlylimitedbecause
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page11of307
of the historic nature of my subjects, but also are limiting in that they
exclude a number of other approaches. Other methods of biographical
researchincludingtheexaminationofdocumentation,interviewingrelated
people, visiting locations and reflecting on the larger political and social
context had to be incorporated. It was sometimes necessary to develop
methodologies to meet my ends. It is here useful to revisit historical
theoriesonarchivesandtheirimpactonthedevelopmentofperformance
theorytofurtherexplainmymethodologicalapproach.
Archives:TracesandMarks
Derrida’snotionof‘tracesandmarks’regardingtheongoingpower
of language to communicate in the absence of the original interlocutors
remains a core concept in the investigation of historical performances.
(Franko and Richards 5) The ‘trace’ is only ever a tantalising glimpse,
without real substance, while the ‘mark’ is something that remains.
Theatre and performance studies must consider that which remains,
persists, and even returns. The archives themselves are ‘marks’; the
documents can be handled, examined, copied and cited. The ‘mark’, as
Mark Franko and Annette Richards have pointed out, is a scar, a clear
referencetothepast.(5)ButwhileFrankoandRichardsbelievethatscars
donotrefertothepresent,Iwouldsuggestthattherelevanceofthescar
liesinitscurrentinterpretation.
Such ‘marks’ disappear only if we ignore them, fail to read them
accurately, or read them outside of an appropriate pattern. Making
decisionsaboutthecontextinwhichthe‘mark’isplacedisacrucialpoint
ofdeparture.Thecompositionofthepatterninwhichwesituateandread
themarksbecomescrucial,asitisthisstructure(ratherthanthematerial
itself)whichprovidesmeaningandaffordspowertothemarks.
In1985,BruceA.McConachiemadeapowerful argument for the
needtomovebeyondtheaestheticsoftheatreto itsmodesofreception
and to the social and cultural contexts that engendered these.
(Normington et al. ‘Researching’ 89) He drew attention to the fact that
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page12of307
theatrehistories(plural)donotexistinalimbobutarepartofsomething
broader in scope and relating to society at large. It is equally important
that as the scholar researching and narrativising this history that I
acknowledgemyownideologicalpositionandsubjectivedecisions.Iintend
this thesis as a work of feminist historiography: exploring lives of 1930s
actresses and asserting the importance of recognising these women’s
careersinIrishtheatrehistory.
T.C.Davisasserts,‘Inwritingtheatreandperformancehistory,we
utilize theory, logic, surmise, and induction.’ (‘Context’ 204) Induction
allows the inference of a general principle from a number of specific
instances.Sheexcludes‘deduction’:theinverseof‘induction’.Thisprocess
involves using general principles to investigate specific circumstances.
However,ResearchMethodsinTheatreandPerformancepointsoutthata
‘top-down’approachtoinvestigationisjustaslegitimateasa‘bottomup’
approach.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’92)Thatis,itisasvalidtolook
attheculturalbackdropofthe1930sandmakeassumptions(orsurmise)
about the treatment of actresses in the Irish theatre business (using
‘deduction’) as to beginwith the experience of a sample ofwomen and
elicit information about the position of actresses in Irish theatre during
that time (using ‘induction’). This thesis uses both methods at different
points, exposing the limitations as well as the strengths of these
approaches.Yetanymethodologymustcontinuallyquestiontheequation
of‘archive’with‘truth’.
CanArchivesYieldTruth?
In Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression Derrida explored the
politicsofthearchive.Heinterrogatesthenexusofpowerrelationsaround
the‘archive’andarguesthattheworditselfdenotescommencementand
commandment: the origin and the principle. He wrote of an archontic
power which ‘gathers the functions of unification, of identification, of
classification’andalso‘ofconsignation’.(Derrida9)Theactofconsignation
wasnotonly theputting inorder,but theputting intoorder.ForDerrida
Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd
Page13of307
was troubled by this archontic principle: its authority, and its genealogy,
therightthatitcommands,andthelegitimacythatdependsonit.Itisthe
structuresthatestablishandhousethearchivesthatdemandmostofhis
attention; Derrida sees these as predetermining archivable material and
enforcing particular ways of reading it. Maggie B. Gale and Ann
Featherstone, interrogating ‘the archive’ both in concept and material
form,alsocallonscholarsto ‘developawarenessofhowideology,values
andbeliefsnuancehowarchiveshavebeencreatedandtheintentionsthat
haveinformedtheprocessofcollection.’(18)
Myownresearchprocessunderlinesthecontinuing importanceof
Derrida’s concerns. In 2011, I abandoned research on the actress Shelah
Richards because of a lack of archival material documenting her life. I
subsequently discovered that the actress’s personal diaries and most
intimate letters are contained in the (William) Denis Johnston Collection
held inTrinityCollegeDublin.This is thearchiveofmaterialsdonatedby
herex-husband,thewriterDenisJohnston.Thelettersanddiarieswerehis
property on his death. Indeed, the material archives show his
amendments, edits and retorts to her correspondences; he used a
different-coloured pen to annotate her letters in the margins as he
assembledmaterialtocompletehisautobiography.Detailedconsideration
of this material allowed me to re-visit Richards’ inclusion in this study.
However, it became apparent that she was set apart from the other
women by virtue of her Protestantism, family background, and by her
departurefromthecompanyinthe1930stoworkinothertheatres.Allthe
other women travelled together with the Abbey Company in 1934 and
1937; this shared experience is vital tomy narrative. Richardswas not, I
concluded,afittingpieceforthepatternIwasconstructing. This isnota
reflectiononthepowerorimportanceofherlifestory;itwasapragmatic
decisiontoomitastorythatdidn’tconnectwiththosesetouthere.
The nexus of power relations around the archives of women
(writers, artists and performers) in Irish theatre history is slowly being
interrogated. At the same time, the structures around Irish archives
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themselves are being rethought and realigned (in particular, due to the
introductionofdigitalarchives).Ihavechosentosetasidetheseconcerns
becauseDerrida’sdiscussionaboutthepoliticsofthearchiveinterestsme
less than the proposals he makes about the archive as a pledge that
providesaresponse,apromiseandaresponsibility.AsRebeccaSchneider
asserts, ‘materials in the archive are given, too, for the future of their
(re)enactment.’(108)
Schneider focuses on this aspect of the archive that promised a
tokenforthefuture.Shestatesthat,‘thearchiveperformstheequationof
performance with disappearance, even as it performs the service of
“saving”.’ (Schneider 99) The question then becomes: Can the archive
performdifferently?Or,acceptingDerrida’semphasisonagency:Canwe
make the archive perform differently? Rather than disappearing or
restoring, Schneider suggests the archive could be ‘saved’ by its
transmission into the future. She goes on to argue for a new mode of
workinginwhichthearchivemaybepitchedtowardsthefuture,whereit
may function as a form of text that can be set in play. Rather than the
notionofascript,whicharguablyplotsacourseevenasitallowsspacefor
improvisation, Schneider suggests that archival documents may be a
‘score,scriptormaterialforinstruction.’(28)Ifindmostusefulthenotion
ofthearchiveasamusicalscore:awrittenrepresentationthatshowsallof
the vocal and instrumental parts arranged one below the other, to
foreground different elements at various points but always to work
towardsapieceharmoniouswithitsguidingprinciple.
This consideration of the future possibilities of archives moves
scholarsawayfromaformofarchivalresearchthatisakinto‘archaeology’.
This process of excavation and analysis is often used as an analogy for
archival research,but archaeology strives (never succeeding) toexposea
historicalsiteinaplacewhereitholdsnomeaningwithouttheframework
ofasecure,immutablecontext.AsDavisdescribesinarguingforafeminist
methodologyintheatrehistory:
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Atheatrehistorythatassemblesprimarysources(textual,visual,andtactile)todescribebutnottoanalyseperformance...resultsin...thearchaeologyoftheatricalforms[...](‘FeministMethodology’65)
Daviscontinues:Feminist theatre historians are rarely satisfied with 'recreative'approaches because the meaning of the production is alwaysparamountamongourconcerns.(‘FeministMethodology’65)
Thiscompositebiographybeginswithsuchare-creativeapproach,seeking
toreconstitutethedetailsofthewomen’slivesfromallmannerofarchival
material. It does so in the understanding that, as Shannon Jackson has
pointedout,‘Afocusonthedetail,thelocal,theparticularhasagendered
history.’ (150) Jackson observes that throughout history, femininity has
beenassociatedwithwhatwasgenerallyseenas inconsequentialdetail–
inconsequentialeitherforbeingseenasmerelyornamental(Jacksonuses
the term ‘decadence’ (162)) or as mundane ‘prosiness.’ Yet, such detail
containsathreateningpower:
[I]ts tendency to subvert an internal hierarchic ordering of thework of art which clearly subordinates the periphery to thecentre, the accessory to the principal, the foreground to thebackground.(NaomiSchorqtdinJackson163)
Assemblingprimarymaterialonthelivesofthesewomenallowsan
exploration of this hierarchical ordering. One can finally shift the focus
betweenforegroundandbackground,centreandperiphery.But it isvital
to move past the archaeological model once that work is completed
because on its own it is, as Davis asserts, unsatisfying in its failure to
express something meaningful and current. Furthermore, the strata of
archaeologicallayersdonotallowthe‘syncopation’ofpastandfuturethat
Schneider celebrates. This movement, the travelling and returning, a
jumping and recurring, ‘troubles ephemerality’. (Schneider 94) Such
syncopation is vital for theatre history to create a connection with the
present. It is inherent in the relationship between historical subject and
current day researcher, and its presence can be exposed rather than
elidingtheconnection.Afeministmethodology,then,mayberequiredto
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make the archive perform differently. I intend to revisit this notion of
syncopation and performing archives, but before I move on from this
considerationofarchivalandperformance theory, it isuseful toexamine
therelationshipbetweenhistoricityandperformativity.
HistoricityandPerformativity
ForPeggyPhelan, ‘Performance’sonly life is in thepresent.’ (146)
ThereisnospaceforhistoryinPhelan’sconceptofabsoluteperformance.
Its temporal condition and independence from reproduction is
fundamental to its being. C. M. Soussloff, however, has probed the
interdisciplinary concept of ‘performativity’ to assess its effectiveness in
the interpretation of historical performance in her essay ‘Like a
Performance’. (69-99) Soussloff traces an argument from J. L. Austin’s
speechactstoDerrida’sinsistenceallcommunicationsexistasapresence
knownonlythroughiteration,andhencetoJudithButler’sargumentthat:
Performativeactswithintheatricalcontextsare likeorsimilar tonatural acts in any other context, and it is only through theextreme naturalisation of each - the loss of their ‘culturalmeaning’ - that has allowed them to appear distinct from eachother.(Butler520)
Butler continues, ‘In its very character as performative resides the
possibilityofcontestingitsreifiedstatus.’(520)
Soussloffexaminestheseconceptsinrelationtosculpture,butinits
‘dualsubjectivity’actingisalliedtothisancientartform.Sculpturereveals
somethingof the creator/artistwhose idea rests inmarble alongside the
body of the sitter/figure, whose shape is imitated in stone. In their
performances, the women I write about embodied the characters and
ideasof playwrights, butwithout entirely erasing their self-manifestation
aswomenlivingintheFreeStateestablishedinIrelandin1922.
IsGenderausefulcategoryofanalysisinIrishtheatrehistory?
In 1986, feminist JoanWallach Scott first applied to her study of
historythetheoreticalconceptofgenderasawayofreferringtothesocial
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organisationof therelationshipbetweenthesexes.Scottwentontocite
and explore its usefulness as a category of historical analysis. (‘Gender’
1053-1075)Thiscategoryofanalysismustbeconsideredhereasafurther
dimensiontothe interventionofthisthesis.Thepowerdynamicsatwork
inthelivesoftheseIrishactressesareevidentthroughoutthesechapters,
whetherthosetensionsberelatedtoclass,religionorgender. Whilethe
issues of class and religion have been explored in prior Irish scholarship,
there has been little direct focus on gender. A focus solely on gender,
however, would occlude the other aspects of these lives: they were
professionalperformersfirstandforemost. Iwould liketo includegender
inmyanalysisoftheirlives,withoutignoringotheraspectsoftheircareers.
Scott asserted that ‘thewriting ofwomen into history necessarily
involves redefining and enlarging traditional notions of historical
significance,toencompasspersonal,subjectiveexperienceaswellaspublic
andpoliticalactivities.’(‘Gender’1054)Shesetoutthefourelementsshe
identifiedofgenderasaconstitutiveelementofsocialrelationships,andas
aprimarywayofsignifyingrelationshipsofpower.Theseare:(1)culturally
availablesymbols;(2)normativeconcepts(whichsetforthinterpretations
ofthemeaningsofsymbols);(3)kinshipsystem(basedonhouseholdand
family but also to include the labour market, education, polity) and (4)
subjective identity. (‘Gender’ 1067) These four elements do not operate
chronologicallyorinisolationtoeachother.Rather,theyservetoshowthe
connections between the individual identity and thewider social sphere.
Scottdemonstratedthatgenderoperates insubjectiveand localtermsas
wellasinthesocialandnationalconsciousness,andthattheseaspectsare
inextricablyinterconnected.
Itwillbecomeapparentthatthisstudyconsidersallfourelements
of gender in the context of Irish theatre history. Culturally available
symbols of Irish femininity were a strong feature of the early plays
performedattheAbbeyTheatre,mostnotablywiththenationalisticonof
CathleenniHoulihanwhofirstappearedinYeats’andLadyGregory’sone-
actplayin1902.Cathleenor‘theSeanBheanBocht’,isdiscussedindetail
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in Chapter 2. The manner in which such symbols of Ireland and Irish
womanhood were manipulated and used by later generations of
playwrights is evident in the exploration of dramatic female characters
through the 1920s and 1930s. Later characters, such as Deevy’s Katie
RocheandO’Casey’sRosieRedmond(bothdiscussed inChapter5), show
how the cultural symbols were gradually transmuted into normative
concepts.Whiletheseplaysandcharactersmayhavebeenconceivedasa
critiqueorcommentaryontheideologyoftheIrishFreeStategovernment,
inmanycasestheyservedtosolidifythestatusquo.Insettingouttheties
betweenthesewomen,theirfamiliesandcolleaguesandinconsideringthe
termsandconditionsoftheir labour, Iexploretheoperationofgender in
the kinship system.With its biographical focus, this thesis considers the
subjectiveidentityofeachwomanindetail.
In the 1999 revised version ofGender and the Politics of History
Scottreturnedtoherground-breakingbooktoaskanumberofquestions,
including: ‘Does thepresenceofwomenalways call for genderanalysis?’
Shewentontoassertthat‘thephysicalpresenceoffemalesisnotalwaysa
sure sign that ‘women’ are a separate political category, that they have
beenmobilisedaswomen.’(Scott212)Scottasksthatfeministscholarsbe
precise about the kind of gender analysis that is appropriate and useful.
(212)Ihaveendeavouredtoensurethatthisthesisispreciseinitsgender
analysis. A consideration of gender is inherent in the use of the term
‘actresses’butthefactremainsthattheseperformerswerenotmobilised
asfeministsinthepoliticalorsocialsense.Indeed,IrishhistorianMaryDaly
has claimed that the ‘Irish women's movement lost momentum as a
politicalforceafterindependence’andsothesewomenwereinstepwith
muchoftheirgeneration.(108)
Inher2014book,HapticAllegories:KinshipandPerformanceinthe
BlackandGreenAtlantic,KathleenGoughdrawsattentiontothechallenge
of reading the objective reality of Irish women as separate from their
allegoricalimagesandmetaphoricconstructionsinhistory.Sheisintrigued
bythepossibilityoffindinginanarchiveafemalebodythatexistspriorto
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suchmetaphoricconstructions.(Gough7)Thisthesisusesarchivalmaterial
never consideredbefore to takeon this challenge,andendeavours togo
furtherbyplacingtherealwomenindirectcontactwiththeallegoricaland
metaphoric constructions of women, in the form of the characters they
playedonthestageoftheNationalTheatre.
Focusedgenderanalysis isanotableabsence inthescholarshipof
Irish theatre history to date. In 1991 Irish historian Margaret Ward
challengedhowIrishhistorywasbeingresearched,publishedandtaught.
InTheMissingSexin1991Wardaskedthatthecollectiveamnesiaofmale
historiansbeinterrogated,withafreshfocusonwomen’scontributionto
Irish history. However, in terms of Irish theatre history there remains a
dearth of such work, with a few notable exceptions. Melissa Sihra’s
Women in Irish Drama: A Century of Authorship and Representation has
been called ‘field changing’ and commentators see the essays contained
therein as locating ‘a discursive gendered relationship in Irish theatre
practice, thusmakingway for a richerunderstandingof thepluralitiesof
gendered representations on the stage.’ (Caulfield 276-277) In her 2010
volume Irish Women Playwrights 1930 – 1939: Gender and Violence on
Stage Cathy Leeny focuses on a small number of female playwrights to
worktowards‘acriticalframingandcontextualizationoftheseplaywrights
withinagender/violencedialectic.’ (Caulfield276-277)More recentwork
such asPerforming Feminisms in Contemporary Ireland considers gender
on the Irish stage in the21st century. (Fitzpatrick2013)Yet, for themost
part, academic and historical theatre research has not engagedwith the
Irishfemaleperformerinhistory.
The(Irish)ActressinTheory
The publication ofActresses asWorkingWomen: Their Social Identity in
VictorianCulturebyTracyC.Davisin1992wasadepartureinthestudyof
women in theatricalhistory. Itwas the firstnewhistorical readingof the
actress,re-inscribingthefigurewithinasociologicalframework.Yet,inThe
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Cambridge Companion to the Actress (published in 2007), Davis’s work
receivesonlytwobriefreferences.Intheintroduction,theeditorsstate:
Theactualbusinessoftheatreis,asT.C.Davishasshowninearlyresearch that has done more than any other to determine thiswholefield,aguardedmalepreserve.(GaleandStokes4)
Butfromthere,thevolumeswiftlymovesinadifferentdirection,exploring
new research and offering a radically different perspective on the
‘powerfulandlastingphenomenon’oftheactress.(GaleandStokes2)(The
secondreferencetoDavisisafootnoterelatingtoherlaterworkonfemale
playwrights.) As her starting point, Davis acknowledged the key
relationshipofwomen’sworkonstagetotheirsocialexistenceoffstage.In
her introduction,Davis explains how she abandonednarrativemodels of
historical explanation when she came to believe that the complicated
social existence of actresses could only be explained pluralistically.
(WorkingWomenxi)Inherwork,shesoughttouse‘hardfacts’(legislation,
census returns, labour supply) but to balance these with ‘soft evidence’
(socialbeliefs,customsandvalues).
Davis brought together individual stars (many already familiar
personas in theatre history such as Ellen Terry) with a host of hitherto
forgottenandlargelyunknownwomanperformers—balletgirls,musichall
acts, acrobats, equestriennes, trapeze artists—all of whom can be
legitimatelycategorizedas‘actress’.Theinitialcommentaryonthevolume
united in applauding how Davis succeeded in grouping the female
performersofthisperiod.Criticsassertedthatshe‘highlightstheVictorian
actressasakindofeverywomanworkerconfrontedwiththenecessityof
earning a living within the rigid gender restrictions of her time’. (Ferris
Signs162-172)
In 1994, writers in Feminist Review were championing the
employmentofMarxistandfeministtheorybyDavis,aswellasapplauding
her use of ideas from New Historicism to establish the group of the
Victorianactress.(D’Monté94-97)(Againandagain,scholarsresisttheuse
of‘class’forthelesspoliticalandmoregenericterm‘group’.)Butalreadyit
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was being noted (in Feminist Review and other journals) that Davis had
madelittlereferencetotheappearanceofthatstrongandpoliticalfigure
ofthe latenineteenthcentury,the ‘NewWoman’.HerMarxistreadingof
theVictorianactressasthesubjectofexploitationbyemployers,themale
audienceand societyat large,put theactress in the roleof victim.Davis
viewedawoman’sentry intoa lifeonthestagewithinthelightof labour
supply and financial demands, without any consideration of creative
ambitionsorambitionsforpersonalfulfilment.
Gail Marshall offered an important challenge to Davis's work in
1998,exploringhowthe'Galatea-aesthetic'oftheVictorianerapositioned
actressesasvisualand sexual commodities.Marshall restrictedher study
to ‘legitimate theatre,’ (i.e., drama rather thanmusic hall acts) and then
convincinglyargued that theactresscouldbeahighlyconservativesocial
figure.Marshall recognizedhowthisrancountertotheprevalentcurrent
view of the Victorian actress as awoman of positively transgressive and
liberatingsexualenergies. (97)Sheelucidatedhowtheemergenceof the
‘New Drama’ at the end of the century challenged this aesthetic. Her
analysisshowedhowVictorianactresseswerenotconstitutivelysubversive
butinsteadconformedtoVictorianexpectationsofmiddle-classfemininity.
Writing an article on ‘The State of theAbyss:NineteenthCentury
PerformanceandTheatreHistoriography in1999’, JaneMoodyconceded,
‘Davis's monograph represents a brilliant synthesis of interdisciplinary
methods and historical rigour’. (112) Her work was still seen as a
sophisticated critique thatoverturned the familiarorthodoxyofVictorian
actress as prostitute to examine the more complex issue of the social
identity of female performers. But aside from the historical rigour and
economic investigation, feminist scholarship had moved on and was
strainingtolookattheagencyofwomen,ratherthantheirvictimhood.
Kirsten Pullen’s Actresses and Whores: On Stage and in Society
(2004)notedhowtraditionalaccountsandhistoricalinvestigationsfocused
on the subjugation of actresses, rather than their potential for activity.
Pullen opened up the possibility that actresses did have a measure of
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controlovertheirownworkandrepresentations.Inherreading,actresses
wereentitled tounique ‘classprivileges’notafforded tootherwomen in
society. Pullen saw actresses as having a degree of financial autonomy
deniedtomanywomen.(41)
It is in the courseof continuing along the trajectory setbyPullen
thatTheCambridgeCompaniontotheActresscastsofftheassumptionsof
Davis’s work. Gale and Stokes set out their central concern as being ‘as
much to do with the construction, the loss and disguise of the self in
dramatic performance as it iswith the ideological and practical relations
between“acting”and“action’’.’(GaleandStokes2)VivGardneropensup
achapteronautobiographybydiscussinghowactressesusurpedthemale
right to a public persona both as individuals and as members of the
working class, but somehow managed to do this without losing their
subordinateanddomesticroleaswomen.(‘ByHerself’175)
Pullenexplorestheconceptof‘theactress’inGreatBritainandthe
UnitedStates,withaparticularfocusontheseventeenthcentury,butnot
excludingthoseinthetwentiethcentury.Yetagapinscholarshipremains;
therehasbeennoattempttounderstandtheparticularcircumstancesof
‘the Irish actress’. In 2007, Melissa Sihra edited the volume of essays
WomeninIrishDrama:ACenturyofAuthorshipandRepresentation,which
considers female Irish playwrights from Lady Gregory up to the current
day. In her introduction to the volume, Janelle Reinelt spokeof how the
book disentangled realwomen from themythical figures. She called the
volume‘aworkoffeministscholarshipinamomenttoo-oftenconsidered
post feminist’. (Sihra xii) The playwrightMarina Carr also acknowledged
this tardiness in her preface saying, ‘But for now the naming, the
announcing, the revival is the thing.’ (Sihraxi)Productionsof theseplays
andattemptstoestablisheithertheirvalueortheirsuccessinstandingthe
test of time were going to have to wait. The recovery of these female
voiceshadtocomefirst.
Thereisawealthofcriticismanalyzingtheplayscriptsofthe1930s,
situatingtheminthehistoricalcontextoftheIrishFreeState.InWomenin
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IrishDrama:A Century of Authorship andRepresentation, Lisa Fitzpatrick
examineshowthedwindlingopportunitiesaffordedwomeninthisperiod
are reflected in theplays. She stops shortof callingTeresaDeevy’swork
‘feminist’, instead asserting it addresses ‘a discomfort or uncertainty
regarding the unjust social position of women’. (Sihra 71) Fitzpatrick
explores the public reception of Deevy’s work and how the plays were
reinterpreted by male commentators to conform to dominant social
attitudesof the time.Again, the subjectof actress/role isbypassed for a
detailed textual analysis that ignores the creative input of the actresses
performing(andoftencreatingforthefirsttime)theseroles.
It is curious, and startling, to find that in a book that focuses on
female playwrights, the final word was given to an actress and theatre
artist: Olwen Fouéré. Her eloquent afterword opens up a new debate
ratherthanconcludingone,askingnotonlythatwerecoverandcelebrate
thefemaleplaywrights,butthatwe lookagainat thefemaleperformers,
their performances and their lives. (Sihra220) Fouéré’s testament to the
craftandvocationofactresseswasasvalidintheVictorianperiodstudied
byDavisasitwasinthe1930s,anditremainstrueinIrelandtoday.
InhisbookHegemonyandFantasyinIrishDrama1899–1949Paul
Murphysometimeslooksspecificallyatthedepictionofwomen.Heargues
that Deevy’s characters are deliberately hyperbolic to emphasize the
economic brutality and sexual repression of the period. For Murphy,
Deevy’s work shows ‘the relative complicity between women and the
ideological roles they were required to play’. (182) In his work,Murphy
consistentlyattachesthenameoftheperformertothepart.Forexample,
inhisanalysisofTheKingofSpain’sDaughter:
In the opening lines the threat of patriarchal violence is madeclearbyPeterKinsella’s(JohnStephenson)annoyancethatAnnie(RiaMooney)hasn’tmadehisdinnerontime.’(Murphy182)
BysettingouttheclosealliancebetweencharacterandactorintheAbbey
Theatreduringthisperiod,Murphycapturestheconnectionbetweenthe
actressandtherole.Healsohintsat thecomplicityof theaudiencewith
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theAbbeyCompanyduringthisperiod.
In considering Victorian actresses, Davis discusses their unique
positionamongEnglishwomenoftheperiod,onaccountoftheirhavinga
co-sexualworkplaceandtheabilitytoearnequalpay.Davissuggeststhat,
byengaging inan insecure, itinerant, andbohemianoccupation,female performers pushed beyond the traditional consciousnessofhome-centredwomenandengagedinactivestrugglewiththeideology of the dominant (masculine) culture. (‘FeministMethodology’69)
Whilethismightbetrueof Irishactressesduringotherperiodsofhistory
and for femaleperformersoutsideof theAbbey,beingamemberof the
IrishNational Theatre companyduring the1930swasnot an insecureor
wildlybohemianlife.Theideologyofthedominantmasculineculturewas
rarely openly confronted, but my research shows it was continually
encounteredandnegotiatedbywomenonaprivateandcovertlevel.
In a letter to Synge dated 1906 W. B. Yeats declared the
hopelessness of finding a ‘passionatewoman actress in Catholic Ireland.’
(Saddlemyer174) ‘WomenoftheclassofMissGarveyandMissWalker’-
IrishCatholicactresses-Yeatsoncecomplained,‘havenotsensitivebodies’
even though they had ‘high ideals’ and ‘simplicity of feeling’. (Frazier
Behind188)Yeats’insistenceonemployingEnglishwomentoembodyhis
heroinessuggestshenotedaparticularsubjectivityintheperformancesof
the Irish actresses that resisted passionate emotion to conform to Irish
culturalexpectations.
The production values of the Abbey Theatre in the decades after
1906stillborethemarksofitsamateurbeginnings:manyoftheactorshad
dayjobs,thefoodontheplateswascardboardandperformersoftenused
theirownclothesascostumes.The‘illusion’wassignaledbyahugebrass
gong and reinforced by the greasepaint on the performers’ faces.Unlike
thereverentialsilenceoftoday,theaudienceorderedteaandcoffeeand
smokedthroughouttheperformances.
TheatrescholarAoifeMonkshaswrittenoftheformativenatureof
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costume.Monksassertshow‘becauseinatheatreperformance,costumes
represent“clothes”,theybecomesymbolicofaseriesofmoral,emotional
and ideological qualities, and stand in for a set of broader social values.’
(39) The values of Dublin society were intrinsic to the National Theatre,
where actors fashioned their costumes from their own or a borrowed
wardrobe. An outing to the theatre was a social event, where actresses
mingledwiththeatregoersinthelobbydressedastheywereonstage.
ContextfortheworkingstructuresoftheAbbeyTheatreCompany
The Abbey School of Acting was established after the theatre
receivedastatesubsidyin1925,anditofferedeveningclassestostudents
who could pay for tuition. There is little archival data on the nature or
formatoftheclasses,althoughM.J.Dolan’spapersintheNationalLibrary
of Irelandsuggest that studentshad toaudition foraplace in the school
and that the emphasis at such auditions was on vocal technique of the
classicalstyle:enunciation,recitationand‘wordpainting’.(NLIMss22,556)
Students in the school attended weekly classes during the ‘term’
andthetermconcludedwithaperformanceofaplay,usuallydrawnfrom
themainrepertoire.WhiletherewasnoautomaticroutefromtheSchool
ofActing intotheCompany,astheexperiencesofMooneyandO’Connor
show,thedirectorswereawareoftalentedstudents.Requeststojointhe
Company appear to have been on a ‘type needed’ basis. Therefore, if a
memberof theperformingCompany left, theywoulddrawontheschool
to provide the required ‘type’. O’Connor joined the Company after the
femaleingénueKateCurlingdepartedforAmerica;sheautomaticallytook
on the roles Curling had played. Others first appeared with the main
Companywhenachildorteenagerwasspecificallyrequired;forinstance,
May Craig in Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World (1907). Later,
schoolgirlPhyllisRyanwasattendingclasseswhentheyauditionedherfor
theroleofBrigidinShadowandSubstancebyP.V.Carrollin1937.
Itisusefulheretonotetheprerequisiteforactorstohavefinancial
means to pursue their interest in theatre. Students paid for classes and
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only those with employers that allowed time for rehearsals and didn’t
object to public performances, or the independently wealthy, could join
theCompanyonapermanentbasis.Onherappointmentasdirectorofthe
SchoolofActing,Mooneyhadaspirationstoeradicate(oratleast,conceal)
the class differences between the students by providing a standard
‘uniform’.Thisproveddifficultinlightofotherpriorities.(McGlone64)
As well as the Abbey School, the biographies recorded here do
showatransferofartists fromotherperforminggroups inthecitytothe
theatre.Many began performing in the ‘At Homes’ or other upper-class
entertainments, including theDublinDrama League. Therewas a vibrant
amateur music hall scene in Dublin during the 1930s as well as small,
covert but strong scene of experimental theatre. However, only a few
notableexceptions(suchasRiaMooney)transferredseamlesslyfromsuch
groupstotheAbbeyCompany.
Many scholars have considered the social context of the 1930s in
termsofIrishnationality,its‘performance’anditstransmissiononnational
andinternationalstages.BarryMonahan,forinstance,haspointedout:
OnthestageoftheAbbeytheatre,actorsandactresseseffectedan embodiment of the ideological positions occupied by thegroup before and after the foundation of the Irish Free State.(Monahan111)
InActingIrishInHollywood,RuthBartonfollowsthesamelineofenquiry,
developing her argument by considering the identification at work
between film spectators and performers. But while the performance of
nationality has been studied, there has been less consideration of the
impactongenderrolesintheIrishFreeState.Scholarshavenotexplored
theblurringbetweenIrishactressandcharacterthatisnotreflectedinany
script.NobodyhasexplainedthatnegotiatingDublinsociallifeasafemale
member of the acting profession, particularly in the deepening
conservatismofthe1930s,wasataskasarduous,ifnotmoreso,thanany
ofthepartstheyplayed.
Davis’s bookActresses asWorkingWomen: their social identity in
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VictorianCulture laid the foundation for subsequent investigationsof the
subject, yet since then theperspectivehas shifted radically.WhereDavis
saw victim,Gale and Stokes see power. Iwant to take up the argument
fromGale and Stokes but to interrogate it in the specific context of the
Irish Free State, where the women were making career choices,
compromisesandpersonaldecisionswithincomplexstrictures.Thenature
of the female parts theywere playing on the stage (whether penned by
menorwomen)putintostarkreliefthecomplicationsoftheirownlives—
bothpersonalandprofessional.
Thisisnotastudyof‘theIrishactress’ingeneralterms.Itdoesnot
seektomakeaclaimforaparticularnatureofperformeracrossdecadesof
Irishhistory. Instead, it focusesonasmallnumberofwomentrainedand
working in the IrishNational Theatreduring the Free Stateperiod,when
therewaspoliticalandsocialpressuretomeetaparticulartypeoffemale
ideal.MyworkseekstopointupthisaspectofthecareersthatIstudy,and
to demonstrate how archival research can expose the pressure on
individual lives,aswellashowthewomenrespondedtothesechallenges
in their own life choices. I’d like to prise apart performativity from
performance, while always showing them as co-constitutive. This is only
possiblewiththeextensiveuseofawiderangeofarchivaldocumentation.
ContextandMicro-History:EncounteringandCounteringGaps
‘TheContextProblem’waselegantlyoutlinedbyT.C.Davisin2004.
Davis asserted, ‘In theatre and performance history, the encounter with
‘gaps’ is a major conundrum of the discipline.’ (203) She uses the art
historytechniquesof ‘rigatino’and‘rondeur’to interrogatetheprocesses
bywhichtheatrehistorianscanmask,fillinordrawattentiontosuchgaps.
Davisasserts, ‘Contextualization isaprocess. It involvesreasonedchoices
aboutwhatissoughtandprovidedasexplanatorymechanisms.’(207)My
work aims to expose these subjective choices and to foreground the
incompletenessofthedatausedtoforgeahistoricalandsocialbackdrop.
As Davis explains, the process of what painters call ‘passage’ allows the
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foregroundingofspecificelementsorfeaturesforthefirsttime.Withinthis
‘complete’landscape,thenarrativesofthesewomen’slives(eachunique)
nowtakethecentralfocus.
Foucault’snotionof‘microhistories’assetoutinTheArchaeology
of Knowledge is one line of enquiry, championing as he does the
connection between the existence of documents and the existence of
events. In the evocatively-titled essay Historians Who Love Too Much:
ReflectionsonMicrohistory&Biography,JillLeporesetsoutthedifferences
inthesetwomodesofworking.Shedefinesmicro-historyasstudyingthe
history of ‘hitherto obscure people’ that ‘concentrates on the intensive
studyofparticular lives’. (130) Leporeargues thatmicro-historians ‘trace
their elusive subjects through slender records and tend to address
themselves to solving small mysteries.’ (133) She explains that micro-
historians see the value of a life in its exemplariness, as an allegory for
broaderissues,ratherthanitsuniqueness.Thatis,‘Thelifestoryisalways
ameanstoanend--explainingtheculture.’(Lepore133)Mysubjectsdid
not, in every case, leave ‘slender’ records, and I address small aswell as
largermysteries. I do not primarily seek to explain the culture, but I do
wanttoexploretheseactresses’livesinrelationtotheirculture.
In a strictly ‘clinical’ sense, one might read this thesis as case
studies of the actress who held steadfast to her individual craft (Aideen
O’Connor),theactresswhotrainedasadirectorandteacher(RiaMooney),
the upper-class girl who became a comedienne (Frolie Mulhern), the
wealthy widow that acted for pleasure (May Craig) and the respectable
Catholicwifeandmother(EileenCrowe).Butonemightalsoreadeachof
these life stories as a unique and discrete biography, celebrating the
individuallifechoices,achievementsandcontributiontotheatreinIreland.
Lepore goes on, ‘Micro-historiansmaintain a kind of distance (or
illusionofdistance)fromtheirsubjects.Abiographer'salteregoisusually
thesubject itself,whileamicro-historian'salteregomaybea figurewho
plays the role of detective/judge in relation to the subject.’ (134) In this
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thesis,Iaimnottojudgebuttounderstandandtonarrativisethedetailsof
theirlives.Inthismode,Ifindmyselfalliedwiththebiographer.
Pullen, inherseminalstudy inthisareaActressesandWhores:On
Stage& In Society, dismisses theuseof casehistories asonly capableof
producing tentative, incomplete, revisable conclusions. (5) The question
thenbecomes:cantentativeincompleteconclusionsbeuseful?Certainly,it
isintheserevisableconclusionsthatsignificanttruthsmaybefound.
Origins&Endings
InFreudianpsychoanalysis,with itsemphasisonrepetition, traces
and repression, Derrida saw a theory of the archive that drove the
investigatoralwaysbacktoorigins.Freudianism,forDerrida,wasascience
of the archive concerned with a powerful (death) drive moving in one
direct line, back to the source,where themomentof inception couldbe
recovered.The‘fever’hewritesofispartofthisdesiretofind,orlocate,or
possessthebeginningsofthings.InheressaycollectionDust:TheArchive
and Cultural History, Carolyn Steedman applied practical experiences of
archivalresearchtoDerrida’stheories.Shearguesin‘Somethingshecalled
a fever: Michelet, Derrida, and Dust’ that authority comes not from
documentsthemselves,butfromtheresearcher’svisits,andsheasserts:
Noonehistorian’sarchiveisever likeanother’s;eachaccountofhis or her experience within them will always producecounterexamples.(Steedman1163)
Theinsistenceon‘withinthem’isrevealing.Herfocusisnotthestructures
aroundthearchive.Instead,archivaldocumentscansubsumeandenvelop
thehistorians.Researchersarriveatthesitewiththeweightoftheirown
ideological baggage, perhapswith an arsenal of political belief already in
place to attack the material. They come with the intention to extract
something. Instead, theymust become absorbed into thematerial, with
thevisit allowingaparticular typeofosmosisbetweenpastandpresent.
While Derrida focuses on possession, Steedman is enthralled by the
creativepossibilitiesintherelationshipbetweenresearcherandmaterial.
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Derridaalsoquestionsthe‘theinstantofarchivization’inanageof
technological advances where boundaries between public and private
spheresareincreasinglydifficulttofind.Writingashewasin1995,Derrida
may have anticipated but could not have foreseen exactly how digital
technologies would transform both social and cultural contemporary life
and the process of storing and researching archives. Steedman arguably
needs to incorporate such changes into her own exploration of research
expeditions.Now,thejourneycanbevirtual.Thecompositionofthe‘dust’
inhaled in sucha simulatedencounterhasbeenomitted fromher study.
Refutinganyconnectionbetweenarchivesandorigins,Steedmansays:
Rather, they hold everything in medias res, the account caughthalfway through, most of it missing, with no end ever in sight.(‘Somethingshecalledafever’1175)
This refutation comes from the notion of ‘dust’; the exploration of
everything and nothing that archives may contain, where the minutest
detailcanbevital,andabsencescanbeastellingastheitemspresent.For
evenifoneiscollectingmaterialwiththeknowledge(orhope)thatitwill
bearchived,howcanoneknowthefinalshapethismaterialwilltakewhen
eventshaven’tyetunfolded?
Joseph Holloway’s diaries in the National Library of Ireland
represent a particular type of archive for theatre historians, and indeed
culturalhistorians,researchingDublininthefirstdecadesofthetwentieth
century. Holloway transcribed and catalogued events in a meticulous
fashion.Hisnarrativestyle,episodicandasymmetric,makesnodistinction
between‘everything’and‘nothing’,describingashedoesthetrafficonthe
way home with the same detail as the performance he had seen. Long
conversations with Abbey directors sit side-by-side with banal dialogues
with strangers. Frank O’Connor described the journal as ‘that donkey’s
detritus’. (Hogan and O’Neill xvi) Editors have described it as ‘a gigantic
repositoryoftriviarendered inastylethatmakesthereadingsometimes
an almost unendurable agony’ while it retains ‘hypnotic fascination’.
(HoganandO’Neillxx)
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TheepisodicstructureHollowayemploysstallstraditionalnarrative
drive, working in opposition to the autobiographical (and biographical)
instincttonarrateandshapestory.AsSteedmansays, ifhistoriansareto
contemplate ‘everything’, thentheymustbeginsomewhere,which isnot
to say theymust find anorigin. Steedmanasserts, ‘starting is a different
thing fromoriginating,or even frombeginning.’ (‘Something she calleda
fever’1177)It’svitaltobegin,withoutfindingthebeginning.
Similarly,thereisnoending.Webringaboutaconclusion,butthere
isnoend;thereaderisstilltherewiththeclosedbook,andtheresearcher
remains,packingbagsinthearchiveroomofthelibraryandpreparingfor
the journey home. The biographical subject lives on within that
relationship and ‘the truth’ is never found but ‘a truth’ is conjured into
beingbythatencounter.
ConjuringaTruth:SpeculationandImagination
Thomas Postlewait has drawn attention to the significance of
micro-history as a means of investigating the theatrical past. He
persuasivelyarguesthatstudyingthepastsynchronicallymayyieldresults
thatdiffer substantially frommorediachronic studies. (Normingtonet al.
‘Researching’ 96) As Schneider has asked of Phelan’s concept of ‘a
maniacally charged present’: ‘is it not punctuated by, syncopated with,
indeed charged by other moments, other times?’ (92) This notion of
syncopating archives with ‘other times’, of releasing moments from the
restrictionsof linearnarrativehistory tosyncopate,orpulse through, the
present is compelling, permitting as it does an element of informed
creativity. In fact, Research Methods in Theatre and Performance is
perhapsmostconvincingwhenitstatesthat:
thestudyoftheatrehistoryandhistoriographyissomethingofanadventure,notsomuchasurveyofwhatwas,asaninvestigationof what might have been. […] It arguably comes alive at themoment when careful scholarship and detailed research mergewith imaginative speculation to ignite a creative yet informedresponsetolivedata.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’97)
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This echoes the call of Susan Bennett to feminist scholars to reconceive
theatre history itself: ‘I see the task as one thatmust drawemphatically
not on notions of “truth” or “fact”, but on what history most fears:
imagination.’(51)
Thisideaof‘imaginativespeculation’mustbeinterrogatedfurther.
InReflectionsonBiography,PaulaBackscheiderremindsusthatthereare
nofacts;thereisonlyevidenceforassessmentandinterpretation.(61)She
states: ‘Evidencemust bepresented inways thatmake the arrangement
seem to have arisen almost irresistibly from it.’ (Backscheider 88) In the
elision of ‘seem to’, there is once again the slip into the area of
‘imaginative speculation’. A stable, fixed history is not dictated by an
archive.Truth,evenwhenrestingondocumentaryevidence,iselusive.
Archives,whetherofficialorun-official, textualornon-textual,are
onlyformsofevidence.Datarequiresapatterntobecomesuggestiveofa
meaning.Appropriate strategies for reading suchevidenceeffectivelyare
essential. An example may help to illustrate this point. The marriage
certificate for Arthur Shield’smarriage to his thirdwife, Laurie Bailey, is
contained in theShieldsFamilyArchive in the JamesHardimanLibraryat
NUIGalway.ThecertificatewasissuedbyOurLadyofPeaceChurch(15444
NordhoffStreet,Sepulveda,California91343)on17thSeptember1955.The
names on the certificate in the archive read Lewis Shields and Loretta
Bailey.(ShieldsT13/A/495)Thecollection’sdescriptiveliststatesthisisan
error;theerrorwasnotedbyLaurieShieldsinlateryears,inpersonandin
writing.
Whatisthe‘real’orthe‘truth’insuchcases?TherecordorShields’
later anecdote? Can they, as Taylor advocates, work ‘in tandem’ where
theyovertlyresisteachother?Orcanaccesstothepastcomethroughan
erroneousdocument?Botharchiveandanecdoterevealsomethingabout
thatday,theevent.Thiscomplicatedrelationshipbetweendocumentand
memoryrequiresonetoreflectonthemannerinwhicharchivesperform.
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TheMannerinwhichArchivesPerform
In2009, culturalhistorianRobinBernsteinput forward thenotion
of ‘thescriptive thing’ inanarticleentitled ‘DanceswithThings:Material
Culture and the Performance of Race.’ Bernstein defined the ‘scriptive
thing’asa ‘heuristic tool fordealingwith incompleteevidence—andall
evidence is incomplete— tomake responsible, limited inferences about
the past.’ (76) Bernstein proposed that agency and intention co-emerge
through everyday physical encounters with thematerial world and used
this concept to explore issues of race. It is my proposition that in the
theatre historian or researcher’s encounter with any archive collection,
eacharticleofmaterialbecomessucha‘scriptivething’.
Following Heidegger, Bernstein elucidates that the essential
difference between a ‘thing’ and an ‘object’ is situational; a thing will
assert itself within a field of matter. (69) It follows that each item of
archival material is not a ‘scriptive thing’ by virtue of having been
catalogued and stored for posterity, but it becomes so through the
encounter with the researcher. That status is not assured until it is
examinedandputtowork.Bernsteinsays:
Anobjectbecomesathingwhenitinvitesapersontodance.[…]At the deepest ontological level, then, performance is whatdistinguishesanobjectfromathing.(70)
Ifitisperformancethatcharacterizesathing,itfollowsthateacharticleof
archivalmaterial inbecominga ‘scriptive thing’performs;and the ‘thing’
comestoconstitutebotharchiveandrepertoire.Taylor’sbinaryfallsaway:
The scriptivity [...] calls into question the verymodel of archiveandrepertoireasdistinct-but-interactive.(Bernstein89)
It follows that whether one is considering a dramatic text, an oral
interview,ananecdote,taxcorrespondenceorabookofphotographs,the
formofthethingismoot.Onepieceofevidenceisnotdistinguishedfrom
the other by virtue of having been ‘left behind’ or by being ‘not
transposable’. If the researcher chooses to dance with it, to treat each
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articleasacluefromthepastandpledgetothefuturefromthathistorical
moment,itbecomesascriptivethingratherthananinanimateobject.
Thelyricalconceptof‘dancingwiththings’capturestheinteraction
between researcher and archivalmaterial, but it obscures the inelegant,
frustrated relationship that often characterizes such research. Bernstein
accepts as essential the need to gain contextual understanding, but she
alsoinsiststhattherelationshipwitharchivalmaterialtakesitsownform:
One gains performance competence not only by accruingcontextualizingknowledgebutalso, crucially,byholdinga thing,manipulating it, shaking it to see what meaningful gesturestumbleforth.(90)
While the researchermayhold, shakeormanipulate it, archives conduct
theirownperformanceinthatencounter:‘thegesturestumbleforth’.
Drawing on archives to construct a composite biography such as
this,theresearcherfindsthatthe‘scriptivethings’cometostagetheirown
performanceofidentity.Itmaybeusefulheretorevisitsomeofthetypes
ofscriptivethingsthisthesishasdrawnon.Whilethereisnohierarchyof
evidential truth inparticular items, it is important to ask if thenatureof
each‘scriptivething’shapestheperformanceinparticularways.
ThePerformanceofArchives
PersonalLetters
MyresearchbeganwiththelettersofAideenO’Connor,writtenby
hand and sent home as she traversed theUS for the first timewith the
AbbeyTheatreCompany. These lettershadalreadybeenconfined to the
periphery:theywerecollectedbyShields’sthirdwifeassheresearcheda
biographyofherhusbandandusedonly forbackgrounddetailsaboutUS
tours.O’Connorwasagoodletterwriter:passionate,livelyandpackingher
correspondence with intimate thoughts and details specifically for the
recipient. The letters dating from 1934-35 and 1937-38 foreground the
differencesbetweenO’Connor’slifestyleandthatofhersistersathome.In
tone, they are young, confident and ambitious. They present a
professional, successful actress throwing off her middle-class roots and
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envisioninganewlifeforherselfinAmerica.Immediateandvisceral,they
presentfleetingmomentsinherlifeasatravellingperformer.
O’Connor’slaterletterstotheatreproducerEddieChoates,written
from Hollywood during World War II, mimic the same tone: upbeat,
confident and forward-looking, yet they perform differently. Now typed,
lettersoftenbeginwithformalreferencestobusinessarrangementsbefore
personaldetailsspillout.Work-relatednewsoftenslipsintothewayward
fantasies of someone drinking heavily. The loss of O’Connor’s belief and
passion ispalpable inthegapbetweentheformaltypeofthe lettersand
thepersonalsituationofthewriter,asexpressedinherprivatejournals.
Scrapbooks
In thecaseofFrolieMulhern, therearenoarchived letters inher
handwriting,givingushervoiceandtellingastory inwhichshe iscentral
and driving the action. Rather, there are scrapbooks of press cuttings:
articles, social columns, theatre reviews and photographs. Mulhern
constructed for posterity a ‘scriptive thing’ where the story, the
information, comes only from outside sources and circles around her
absence. The section on her life in this thesis begins and concludes in a
similar way, with her death detailed in formal obituaries rather than in
personal accounts. The obscure anecdote in Mooney’s autobiography
about a premonition of death delivered by an Asian woman in San
Franciscoalsoappears todealwithMulhern’sdeathata formal remove,
andcanbeseentoperformthelossfeltbyacolleagueandfriend.
Anecdotes
Formally recorded in autobiographies (such as that by Vincent
Dowling)or transmittedorally,anecdotesabound in Irish theatrehistory.
Rather than dismiss these as fables, or attempt to ‘verify’ their accuracy
(often impossible), I embrace themythic status of these scriptive things,
andwork to dislodge their emotional or historicalweight. The questions
become:whatdoesthisanecdoteexpressaboutthesubject?What isthe
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inference, the joke,pointinguporat?Whatdoes this tale tell about the
audience?Howdoesitreflecttheirunderstandingofthesubject?
Akeyexampleistheubiquitousstoryofhow,onbeingcastasRosie
Redmond in O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars, Mooney had no
knowledgeofhowaprostituteearnedmoney.Evidencesuggeststhisstory
emanated from Mooney herself; many claim it is a falsehood. But the
deepertruthmaybethatMooneyunderstoodCatholicsociety in Ireland,
andtheimportanceofstressinghervirtue.Thestoryservedtodefendher
honourandthatofherfamilyinthefaceofhostility.Inaddition,itserved
thesectionofIrishtheatre-goingsocietyofthetimethatrefusedtoaccept
O’Casey’sdepictionofDublinanditsunsavouryinhabitants.
BusinessRecords
Often deemed to be devoid of personal or artistic input, the
business correspondence and financial records of the theatre company
(suchas thecollectionofElbertWickes,Americanproducerof theAbbey
toursintheUS)performinadifferentfashiontotheevidencelistedabove.
The legal correspondence, tax records, box office figures and financial
accounts; all of the practical details of his business, including a detailed
inventoryofthecontentsofhisofficeonBoylstonStreet inBoston,stack
upintoaframeworkwithinwhichthehistoricalcharactersareswirlingso
fast that they are invisible. Such details may perform by stealth, with
financial strains hidden in columns of figures, or they can set out the
inequitybetweencompanymembers,inthecompositionofwagepackets.
All archives, then, perform as ‘scriptive things’. In innumerable
ways, they perform an absence, a disappearance. To repeat Schneider:
‘The archive performs the equation of performance with disappearance,
even as it performs the service of ‘saving’. (99) But in equating
performancewith disappearance, it follows thatwe equate performance
withloss.Theperformanceofthearchivebecomesalwaysaperformance
of loss, unless onemakes of that performance a narrative that not only
enduresbutextendsintothefuture.
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ADefenceofNarrativeinBiography
Givenmy focuson imaginativespeculation,ondancing thingsand
ephemeral fragments, itmayappearmyuseof chronologicalnarrative is
outofstepwithmythinking.Therefore,I’dliketosetoutadefenceofthe
structure.Inthestudyofhistory,narrativehasforsometimebeenviewed
asa‘fictionaldeviceusedbythehistoriantoimposeareassuringorderon
randomlyarrivingbitsofinformationaboutthedead.’(Schamaxvi)Rather
thanusenarrativetoimposeareassuringorder,Ihavesoughttofind,and
impose,apatternthatcorrespondstothelivesofthesewomen.Indeed,in
his discussion of the limits and possibilities of narrative that precedes
Citizens:AChronicleoftheFrenchRevolution,historianSimonSchamasays:
Asartificialaswrittennarrativesmightbe,theyoftencorrespondtowaysinwhichhistoricalactorsconstructevents.Thatistosay,many, if not most, public men see their conduct as in partsituated between role and models from an heroic past andexpectationsofthejudgmentofposterity.(xvi)
The ‘actors’ referred to here are the performers on the stage of
worldhistory,but the statement isequallyapplicable to theatricalactors
andactresses.ReiteratingFouéré’sbeliefaboutthestatusofactorsquoted
inmyintroduction,performersconsistentlyseetheirlivesinthislightand
construct their life story accordingly. Thewomenof theAbbeyCompany
during the 1930s performed the position, career and the social role of
‘actress in the National Theatre’. My writing seeks to emulate that
formulation;itproposesthatallaccountsofalife(includingthisone)area
performativenarrativeandarenot‘thetruth’orverifiably‘real’.
Inwritingabout‘fever’inducedbyarchivalresearch,Steedmanwas
drawnintothediscussiononvalidityofnarrativeasaform.Sheasserts:
The grammatical tense of the archive is not, then, the futureperfect, not the conventional past historic of English-speakinghistorians,noreventhepresenthistoriqueoftheFrench,butthesyntaxofthefairytale.(‘Somethingshecalledafever’1177)
Fairytale syntax, beginning always ‘Once upon a time’ and choosing to
concludeatapointwhere‘theyalllivedhappilyeverafter’,underpinsthe
factthatthehistorywespeakoforwriteabout isno longerthere(ithas
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disappearedintothepast)butalsothatitneverwas;thatistosay,itnever
wasinsuchawayasithasbeentold.
Tonarrativisethese lives is, insomesmallway,toshifttheaxisof
powerfromthetellingofIrishtheatrehistorythroughthelivesofmentoa
more balanced depiction of events: performances and backstage events
that may have impacted on those performances as experienced by the
femaleplayersinthathistory.
While Davis has insisted that history itself is a narrative form,
Backscheider insists that the best biographies deliver a ‘narrative’ of the
life trajectory. She insists on the need for ‘the transformation of instinct
intopatternsof action, into character, into style—intoan identitywith a
core of integrity’, to produce a successful and satisfactory biography.
(Backscheider 124) The term transformation implies the impositionof an
external form, the application of something that is not there. However,
otherbiographersarguethatitisessentialtofindtheidealliteraryformto
expresseach life, thus forcing thewriter togobeyond the restrictionsof
cultural models and narrative expectations. (Backscheider 103)
Transformation becomes transmutation, where the base substance (or
evidence)ispresented,ormadevisible,inanotherform.
InReflectionsonBiographyBackscheiderquotesCatherineBowen
whensheclaimsthat:‘abiographyisnotanencyclopaedia,itisthestoryof
a life’. (85) In his Six Memos for the Next Millennium, Italo Calvino
pronounced: ‘Each life is an encyclopaedia, a library, an inventory of
objects, a series of styles, and everything canbe constantly shuffled and
reorderedineverywayconceivable.’(124)Itisthisdialecticaltension,that
oftheencyclopaediaandthenarrative,theevidenceandthepattern,the
archiveandthelifethatdrivesthenarrativesofthelifestoriesI’vewritten
and forms the core of this thesis.
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Chapter2:EileenCrowe(1898-1978)andMayCraig(1889–1972)
ActualizinganAbsence:TheLifeofEileenCrowe
Eileen Crowe was true to her travelling tradition and did notappearatall,shewasonthetrainbutunseen.(GeorgeYeatsqtd.inSaddlemyer491-492)
Archival searches have yet to produce a substantial amount of
material relating to Eileen Crowe’s personal life, or any documentation
revealingherownthoughtsabouthercareer.2Thiskindofabsenceposes
significant difficulties for the theatre historian or biographer, particularly
when, as in this study, she is the onlywoman in the group to present a
lacunaofthisorder.Itbrings,forthisresearcher,asadnessforalossthat
can’t be articulated, as there is no discernible shadowofwhat has been
lost.Onherretirementin1970,Crowehadplayedonethousandandthirty
fourpartsonthestageoftheAbbeyTheatre.Shewasakeyfigure inthe
Company from the 1920s onwards, originating many of the best-known
characters in Irish drama, and her wholesome, maternal persona was a
long-establishedfeatureoftheCompanyathomeandabroad.Yetlittlehas
been written about her career as a whole, or her contribution to Irish
theatrehistory.Reviewsareplentiful,anecdotesfromothersabound;but,
inthecaseofEileenCrowe,asenseofthewomanherselfisabsent.
Suchmethodologicalproblemsareaknownentitywithinthewider
fieldsofperformancestudiesandtheatrehistory.Enmeshedherewiththe
issueoftheephemeralityofperformanceisthefactthat,‘Historically,the
figure of the actress has often beenmarked by absence and exclusion.’
(GaleandStokes1)Thischapter,andindeedthisthesisasawhole,moves
betweenthepersonalandtheperformanceinaconstant,fluidmanner.It
incorporates the material facts of Crowe’s work to show the economic
realities for Abbey actresses, and explores how these intersected with
gender roles more broadly. Before concentrating on the carefully
2ThisistrueforarchivesinDublin,therestofIrelandandAmerica,includingtheAbbeyTheatre’sowndigitalarchivehousedatNUI,Galway.
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modulatedpresentationoftheself inthelifeandcareerofEileenCrowe,
I’dliketoconsiderthewiderbackgroundandtheoreticalissuesaroundthe
provisionofcontexttoanarrativeaccountofherlife.
In ‘The Context Problem’ of 2004 (previously mentioned in my
introduction), Davis explored the process of contextualization, and how
theoriesofperformanceandfeministhistoriography intersectedwiththis
processinthestudyoftheatrehistory.Daviscompareshistoricalcontextto
an optical trick, by which writers produce a multi-dimensional effect; in
effect, where they aim to make something appear complete, where
completeness is not possible. But the process of ‘passage’, as Davis
outlines, can be used in an alternative fashion. By placing the object of
study differently, lacunae surrounding it can ‘pull [the object] into the
foreground’.(‘Context’204)
DavisdrewontheworkofItalianhistorianandproponentofmicro-
history,CarloGinzburg,whofirst focusedattentiononthehistorian’suse
of ‘rigatino’. Ginzburg said the following of this art restoration method,
whichinvolved‘hatching’incolouranddetail:
The context, seen as a space of historical possibilities, gives thehistorianthepossibilitytointegratetheevidence,oftenconsistingonly of scattered fragments, about an individual’s life. We areobviouslyfarfromajudicialperspective.(90)
‘Rigatino’ leaves its mark on the page. For future art restorers and for
viewers, itmakesthenatureofthereparationvisible; it leavesanoutline
oforstatementaboutthedecisionsmade.Withsuchatechnique,specific
evidence can be integrated into a bigger landscape. Details are used to
supplement thecontextand thecontext isaligned to fitwith thedetails.
The following section on Eileen Croweworks in this fashion. The lack of
specific archival evidence shifted from being an obstacle to being a
statementabouthowCroweledherlife.
Davis states, ‘[I]n writing theatre and performance history, we
utilizetheory,logic,surmiseandinduction.’(‘Context’204)Thisthesisasa
wholemayworkby induction, i.e., inferringageneral lawfromparticular
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instances. However, this section works by deduction: inferring the
particularfromthegeneral.Istressthatthissectionworksinthismanner
because of the limited amount of specific evidence available. On
integratingparticularevidence into thewider social context, I found that
the result suggests the life of this particular actress is most usefully
consideredwithin themodel of Irishwomanhood promoted by the Irish
FreeState.TheundocumentednatureofCrowe’scareerledmetoconsider
what social historian Caitriona Clear has termed the ‘visible but silent’
character of Irish women in the period before World War II. (49) The
existenceandsocialrealityofwomenduringthisperiodwasnotconcealed,
buttheirsocialandpoliticalpower,theirvoices,wereoccluded.
Asalreadyindicated,Croweplayedoveronethousandpartsonthe
stageoftheAbbeyTheatreduringhercareer,withJunoBoyleinO’Casey’s
Junoand thePaycock hermost frequent role. (AbbeyArchivesDatabase)
AfterplayingMaryBoylefivetimes,CrowewentontoplayJunointhirty-
seven separate productions of the O’Casey play. Thirty-five times she
appeared in separate productions of The Shadow of a Gunman, also by
O’Casey, as Minnie Powell. Other repeated roles were Peggy Scally in
George Shiels’ comedy Professor Tim (32 productions) and Marian in
LennoxRobinson’sTheFar-OffHills(31productions.)SheplayedPegeenin
The Playboy of the Western World seventeen times, between the mid-
1920s andmid-1930s.Here, I’d like to trace theparts forwhich shewas
bestknown,evenwheretheyweren’thermostcriticallysuccessful.
The lack of documentary evidence makes an exhaustive study of
Crowe’slifeandcareerimpossible.Thischapteris,instead,anexploration
oftheworkshedidinthe1920sand1930s,andhowthoseperformances
set themodel for the rest of her career. It explores her acting style and
persona, the influenceofher forebearsonthatstyleofperformance, the
keypartssheplayedashercareerdevelopedandthematerialfactsofher
labour.Byexploringboththedepictionofwomenintheplaytextsofthis
periodand themanner inwhichCrowe interpretedandperformed these
roles,wecancome toamorenuancedunderstandingof theonandoff-
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stagerolesofIrishactressesduringthisperiod.
ThischapteralsoservestoilluminateCrowe’spositionintheAbbey
TheatreCompanyasacomparisontotheotheractresses,andparticularly
totheactressMayCraig.Ofasimilarageandalsomarriedwithchildren,
Craig isan insightfulcomparisonanddetailsofhercareerextracted from
herpersonalpapersinIrishtheatrearchivesareincludedhere.Itbecomes
evident that Crowe’s work presents a particularly telling study of Irish
womanhoodonthestageoftheAbbeyTheatreandontourintheUnited
StatesduringtheIrishFreeStateperiod.
GenderandClassStructureinIrelandduringtheFreeStatePeriod
HistorianMaryE.Dalyhashighlightedthatthehistoryofwomenin
Ireland inthetwentiethcentury isunique,butalsoverysimilartothat in
other countries. All across Europe after the first World War, dominant
ideologies confined the role of women to the family. With mass
unemployment and economic stagnation, most labour movements were
ambivalentonthequestionoffemalesintheworkplacewhilefallingbirth
rates concerned all national governments, for various reasons. Between
the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the SecondWorld
War,thepartitionofIrelandandtherestorationofpublicorderwerekey
political issues for the government. The social ideologies that emanated
from the religious and political spheres during this period had long-
standingimplicationsforwomen.
In anessayentitled ‘Church, StateandWomen:TheAftermathof
Partition’,LiamO’Dowddrawsoutthereciprocalrelationshipbetweenthe
ProtestantchurchesintheNorthandtheCatholicChurchintheFreeState,
but demonstrates the ‘substantial theological differences’ between the
churchesonwomen’sroleinsociety.O’Dowdarguesthattheprominence
ofMariancults in IrishCatholicism fromthenineteenthcenturyonwards
separatedsex fromsexuality,andcontributed to theCatholic idealization
of motherhood. (13) Such theological differences created practical
differences,wherebyProtestantclergyemphasizedthespiritualcontractof
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marriageandtheindividualconscience,whiletheCatholicclergysoughtto
policethefamilyfromwithout.
Commentators,suchasMariaLuddyandMaryDaly,havewrittenof
howtheFreeStateandtheCatholicChurchshapedthefunctionandplace
ofwomen through issues relating to sexuality. As Luddy points out, ‘the
politicization of sexual behaviour had been a feature of Irish nationalism
fromthelatenineteenthcentury,’butfromthe1920s,itwasbelievedthat
the bodies of women threatened the morality of the State. (80) Moral
regulation lay in the imposition of standards of idealized conduct for
women. The imposition of these standards arguably also impacted the
Abbeyactingstyleimmeasurably.
Theextensivewritingsofsocialhistoriansandscholarsofwomen’s
studies (such as Caitriona Clear and Myrtle Hill) have proved time and
againthatattemptstodefineIrishwomanhoodduringtheearlypartofthe
century are riven with problems. Assessing the political and economic
status of Irishwomen is, however, possible by drawing on historical and
politicalfacts.Irishwomenoverthirtyyearsofageandthoseowningland
won suffrage in December 1918, with restrictions being lifted ten years
later to allowallwomenover theageof twenty-one to vote.While Irish
womenwere allowed to express their views in the polling booth earlier
than in most European states, they were forced to choose between
workingandmarriagebyanumberoflegalmeasures.
The Free State Act of 1935 gave the Minister for Industry and
Commerce powers to prohibit women from working in some industries,
and to prevent employers taking on more women than men. The
EmploymentAct, in the sameyear,extended themarriagebar toall civil
serviceposts, requiringwomenholdingstateemployment to resignupon
marriage.Whilepaidworkwasconsideredappropriate,andevenhealthy,
forsinglewomen,itdidnotreflectwellonahusbandtohaveawifeinthe
workplace.TherateofmarriedIrishwomeninpaidemploymentremained
around 6% until the 1960s. (Hill 99-100) Crowe, Craig and the other
marriedwomenoftheAbbeywereinthatminority.
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In the new Irish Free State, public order relied heavily on the
CatholicChurchandtheadoptionofEnglishCommonLawtorestoreand
maintainstability.WhileCelticBrehonlaws,whichprecededtheCommon
Law, gave women an egalitarian role in terms of marital and property
rights, English Common Law awarded them only a subordinated role to
theirhusbandwhenitwasfirstimplementedintheseventeenthcentury.
HistorianJoeLeearguesinhisessay‘WomenandtheChurchsince
the Famine’ that the socio-economic status of women reduced sharply
aftertheFamineofthe1840s,whentheemergenceofadominantclassof
strong tenant farmers transformed the class structure. (MacCurtain and
O’Corrain37) Theemergent systemof land inheritanceand the resulting
migrationofwomenhadgrave implications fortheirprospectandstatus.
By the 1920s and 1930s, while women had acquired the right to own
property,theycouldnotmakeavalidlegalcontractandtheirdomicilewas
legally regarded as that of her husband. In a society based on property
ownership, they retained little or no political power. One effect of the
idealization of family,marriage andmotherhood in both parts of Ireland
was to obscure the distribution of resourceswithin the family between
men and women. (O’Dowd 29) In the property-less working class, the
income-earning potential of womenwas of greater importance but long
working hours and family responsibilities keptmost of them from being
involvedinpoliticalactivismor influencingstatepolicies inanysignificant
way.
AsO’Dowdobserves, ‘BothChurchandState […]werecommitted
toideologicallyconsecratingthesmallproperty-owning,rural-basedsocial
system’. (29) Insuchasystem,themaleproperty-owningfarmerwasthe
centralfigureofpower.Singlewomenhadlittlestatuswhilethestatusof
marriedwomenwasideologicalratherthanmaterial.Theconservatismof
the states (both nationalist and unionist), the ideology of the Catholic
Church and the laissez-faire political ideology of the time all militated
against theparticipationofwomen inpublic life.Tom Inglishasexplored
the social grounding of loyalty to the Catholic Church and demonstrated
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thecloselinkbetweenreligiouscapitalandsocialacceptanceandrespect.
(68)He insightfullysuggeststhat it isanerrorto interpretthepositionof
womenasvictims,ashopelessorpowerless.Buttheirgendermadetheir
powerradicallydifferent. In fact,womencouldgainandholdpoweronly
byvirtueoftheirdisplayofsexualmorality.
The fact remains that the ideological separation of public and
private (familial) spheres, which was enforced by thematerial and class
conditionsof the time,hasobscuredwomen’s subordination, in termsof
classandgender,aswellasthefulldimensionsoftheirsocialrole.(33)The
roleinsocietyofanactressintheNationalTheatre,therefore,providesa
particularly complex but nonetheless illuminating case study of the
operationsofgenderandclassinIrishsocietyduringthistime.
The index of Caitriona Clear’s extensive survey Women of the
House:Women'sHouseholdWork in Ireland1922–61skipsdirectlyfrom
‘Abortion’ to ‘Advice towomen:beautyandappearance’. (274)Actresses
don’t figure inClear’sstudyandthere isanotable lackof informationon
thisparticular formof labourduring thatperiod. Inan interview in2012,
writerandeditorValMulkerns(whoattendedtheAbbeyfromthe1930s)
referred toMcCormick and Crowe by theirmarried names, ‘the Judges’.
She remarked on how the Judges’ two children (a boy and a girl) were
never seenat the theatre.Crowe,more thananyof theotherwomen in
mystudy, tookon thecontradictorypositionsofprofessionalactressand
mother. She somehow combined these roles to come to exemplify the
respectableandhumblemotherprizedbytheIrishFreeState.
ThePrivateLifeofEileenCrowe
‘Iamnotadancer.Iamnotasinger.Iamnotanything,’Crowetold
a journalist from theBoston Evening Transcript in 1933. (Scrapbooks NLI
Mss25,511-23)Shespokeeffusivelyabouttheworkofheractorhusband,
F.J.McCormick(alsoamemberoftheAbbeyCompany),butplayeddown
herowncareer.F.J.McCormickwasthestagenameofPeterJudge.Until
hisdeathin1947,husbandandwifeoftenappearedonthestageinDublin
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andontourasacouple,beforegoinghometogethertotheirtwochildren
intheirsuburbanhomeonPalmerstownRoadinRathmines.
Crowewas a privatewoman,who strove to conceal the stress of
motherhood in her public work as an actress. It is known she had two
children, a boy and a girl, but extensive searches failed to find any
documentation in the public domain recording when she gave birth, or
how she and her husband arranged childcare while they worked and
toured. There are no clues as to how she balanced professional and
domestic life; shekept suchdetailsprivate. (Craig’s familyarrangements,
conversely, were easy to source.) As quoted above, Crowe’s traditional
approachtotouringwastoavoidallunnecessarypublicityandbetherebut
unseen.When theactorsgathered forphotographsand rowdy farewells,
sheoftenkeptherselfandherprivatelifeconcealed.
Background
CrowetrainedattheAbbeySchoolofActingandLennoxRobinson
wasenamouredbyhertalentsatherauditionfortheCompany.Robinson
later claimed that, ‘Five minutes’ audition from Eileen Crowe was
sufficient.’(CurtainUp114)AswellascastingherasNorainHenrikIbsen’s
A Doll’s House, he cast her in many leading reals in his drawing room
comedies. These plays include The Far-Off Hills (1928), Drama at
Inish(1933),Church Street (1934), andKillycreggs in Twilight(1937). (Her
appearancesinRobinson’scomediesarediscussedseparately.)
In 1923 the Dublin Drama League presented a play titled The
Kingdom of God by Gregorio Martinez-Sierra at the Abbey Theatre. The
playhadbeentranslatedfromtheSpanishbyHelenandHarleyGranville-
BarkerandwasproducedbyArthurShields.InNovemberofthefollowing
year, Crowe revived her central role of Sister Gracia with the Abbey
CompanyinaproductionofthesameplaydirectedbyM.J.Dolan.
Thisquietdramatracesthethreestagesinthelifeofagirlfroma
prominentfamilywhoentersareligiousorderattheageofnineteen.She
serves old men in an asylum, unmarried mothers in a home and finally
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abandonedchildreninanorphanage.Despitethepleasofherfamilyanda
marriageproposal fromadoctor, sheholds fast toherCatholic faithand
devotiontoservitude.ThecharacterofSisterGraciastoodoutinthecast
from1923,withEveningHeraldcriticF.J.O’Donnellnotingon22October:
Thegreatergloryof theactingbelongs toMissEileenCrowe.AsSister Gracia she gave a perfect interpretation of the mentaloscillationsofayoungreligieuse.(‘KingdomofGod’)
Onemight surmise that these were oscillations Crowe personally
understood.Byherownadmission,shewasamoody,dissatisfiedteenager.
Shejoinedaconventasapostulantin1922,onlytoleavefourmonthslater.
Taking to thestage, sheclaimed,easedher temperament.Gradually, she
becamethe‘demure’womanknowntoDublinaudiences.(HigginsNLIMss
27,883(7))Thischaste,religiousandhomelynaturewasastrongfeatureof
Crowe’scareerandwasthepersonashelaterchosetobuildhertheatrical
reputationupon.Yet,earlyinhercareercertaincastingchoicesallowedfor
thepossibleemergenceofadifferentkindofactress.Themannerinwhich
Marriage,motherhoodandmorality
InDecember1925JosephHollowayreportedinhisdiary:
WehadaveryromanticmarriageoftwoplayersattheAbbeyonWednesday last at Dalkey, when FJMcCormick (Peter Judge, togivehimhisrightname)wedEileenCrowe.Noneofthecompanyknew of the coming event until the evening before when theywereinvitedtotheweddingthenextmorning.(HoganandO’Neill248)As sociologist Tom Inglis has pointed out, the key difference
betweenIrishCatholicsandotherWesternEuropeanCatholicsofthistime
was‘thegeneralacceptanceoftheChurchasthelegislatorandarbiterof
morality.’(138)Inglisoutlinesthelinkbetweenreligiouscapitalandsocial
acceptance and respect in Ireland, particularly forwomen. Education for
girls (formal and informal) prioritized the development of modesty and
virtue.Forwomentomaintainmoralpower,thesefeatureswereessential,
particularlyaftermarriage.Inglisfurtherexplains:
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Once a woman got married and gave up her dowry (economiccapital)andheroccupation(politicalcapital),herabilitytoattainother forms of capital became dependent on being well-respected,civil,andmoral.(72)
One of Crowe’smost repeated roles was that of Peggy Scally in George
Shiels’match-making comedyProfessor Tim.She appeared in the part in
thirty-twoproductions.AccordingtoShiels’text,Peggyis‘anattractivegirl
ofabout twenty-six.’ (67)As theplayopens, she is sittingaloneathome
‘doinglaundry-workatthetable.’(Shiels67)Whiletheplayis,accordingto
ChristopherMurray’sintroduction,‘boundupwithShiels’lastinginterestin
theIrishlandquestion’,itcentresonthelovingrelationshipbetweenPeggy
andherneighbourHughO’Cahan.(Shiels xvii) Theplotdemonstrates the
economicsofIrishmarriageatthistime.
O’Cahanhas fallen intodebt, andhis family estate is about tobe
repossessed. Because of this, Peggy’s mother has insisted she end her
relationship with O’Cahan and marry Joseph Kilroy. As the head of the
family’sfinances,MrsScallyisstrategicinaffairsoftheheart;herhusband
always acquiesces to her demands. Kilroy is the son of local landowners
andthisunionwillallowforawealthyallianceoffarmsandfamilies.
The action of Professor Tim traces the arrival of Mrs Scally’s
waywardbrotherTim,theauctionofO’Cahan’shome‘RushHill’,andthe
Scallys’attempts toconvince theKilroys thatTim isanacademicofgood
socialstatus.EventsunravelwhenMrsScallywantsthecoupletomarryas
soonaspossible,butMrsKilroywants theacademicat thewedding.The
resolution of affairs is summarized by Murray in his introduction:
‘[ProfessorTim]buysRushHillhimselfandgivesthekeystoHughO’Cahan
to enable him tomarry Peggy after all.’ (Shiels xvii) However, the scene
bearasubtleyetimportantdifferencetothissummary.Timhandsthekeys
toPeggy,grantingownershiptohisniece.Thefollowingdialogueensues:
PEGGY: CanIdowiththesethingswhateverIlike,uncle?[…]PEGGY: CanIgivethemtoHugh?[…]PEGGY: (hands them toO'CAHAN) You said you'd come
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back home, Hugh, didn't you? (No reply) Youwereagoodprophet:withoutgoingaway,you'recomingback....Now,saysomething.(Shiels127)
Peggyisgiventhekeysbutchoosestogiveherhusband-to-beownership.
Crucially,thisisnotsubordination.Theconversationcontinues:
PROFESSOR: [toO’Cahan]With Peggy theundisputedboss oftheshow.Youhearthat,Peggy?
PEGGY: I do, uncle. I hope Hugh hears it too. I want nomoredouble-banksorstonewalls...[…]
O'CAHAN: Before all present, Peggy, I hand you the whipandthereins.(Shiels128)
On one hand, this resolution, for all its theatrical play, echoes the social
reality for Irish women in the Free State period. But, to take a more
nuanced view, the drama’s conclusion presents a social fantasy that
maskedtheoppressiverealityforwomen.Clearexplains,‘Thewomanwas
therealhead[ofthefamily],butshehadtoindulgeherman'scomparative
powerlessness by giving him certain privileges and freedoms.’ (184)
Despitetheirlackofeconomicresources,womenwereperceivedtosetthe
tone in moral and social matters in the home. They were the decision-
makers and leaders in planning the future of all family members. Shiels
showsthistobethecaseforMrsScally,andthen,onreceiptofherown
home,Peggytakesup‘thereins’ofherhusband.Later, Iwilldiscusshow
Crowe’seconomicprivilegesoutweighedherhusband’sbutsheacquiesced
tohissuperiority,inaneatmirroringofPeggyandO’Cahan’sunion.
In the Irish context, generally ‘marriage and motherhood put an
endtofinancialindependenceandto“going”(independentmovementand
activity).’(Clear184)WithinthecompanythattravelledtotheUSin1934,
there were two married women: Crowe and Bazie Shields (nee Magee,
knownasMac).Shieldsreliedheavilyonfamilytohelpraiseheronlyson,
Adam,whilesheperformedandtravelled.Bythe1937tour,ArthurShields
was in a relationship with young actress Aideen O’Connor and Magee
stayedathometocareforherchild.(ShieldsT13/A/512)Therewasalsoa
widowwithfivechildrenonthattour:MayCraig.Craig’ssistermovedinto
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herhomefollowingthedeathofCraig’shusband,tohelpraisethechildren.
Craignever stoppedworkingand threeofherchildrenappeared in small
parts on the Abbey stage before they reached their teenage years. The
otherwomentravellingweresingle:MaureenDelany;RiaMooney;Frolie
Mulhern andAideenO’Connor.Abbeydirector F.R.Higgins describes the
first dinner aboard the Samaria as the Company left for New York in
September1937.Abuglecalled themtodress,andat7.30pmtheywere
seatedbyasteward;therewasoneattendantforeverytwotables.Higgins
setsoutthetableplan:
Boss, Paddy and I sat at one table, Delaney, Crowe, Craig,McCormack at a table next to us and thenMooney, O’Connor,Mulhern—furtherdown...(NLIMss27,883(7))
Management(Higgins;ArthurShieldsandPJCarolan)wereseparatedfrom
themarried Judges,who satwith thewidowMayCraig and themature,
unmarried Maureen Delaney. The single women: Mulhern, Mooney and
O’Connorwerelastinthepeckingorder.
All of these women had lifestyles that were, by Irish standards,
unorthodox. Yet there were degrees of respectability, and this loomed
largeonCrowe’s listofpriorities.Herpositionat the centre tablemeant
something toher.Crowe,unlike themajorityof Irishwomen,nevergave
upheroccupation,butthenecessitytoappearinsocietyascivilandmoral
remainedcrucial toher.Thismoral responsibility formedthekeystoneof
her career, while other actresses chose to prioritise their own personal
happinessortheircraft.
CathleenniHoulihan
In July 1927, Crowe took over the now-iconic role of Cathleen or
‘theSeanBheanBocht’,fromSaraAllgood,whohadleftforHollywood.At
the premiere of this one-act play in 1902, the rolewas played byMaud
Gonne,thenPresidentofInghinidhenahÉireannandtheVice-Presidentof
theIrishNationalTheatreSociety(INTS).In1902,Gonnewasattheheight
of her fame in Ireland as a political campaigner. She was known as an
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ardent nationalist and a beautiful woman, who brought to every
appearance an erotic charge. The history of the role is necessary to an
assessmentofCrowe’slaterinterpretationandothercareerchoices.
SetinMayoin1798(theyearofamajorrepublicanrebellion),the
playwaswrittenbyYeats in collaborationwith LadyGregory. It sets two
narrativesof Irishpeasantwomanhoodinconflict:MrsGillanerepresents
therealist,maternalorder.Intoherfamilyhomecomesapooroldwoman
(CathleenniHoulihan)whohasnoworldlygoods,but retainsherdignity
and belief in a united Ireland free of English rule. As the eponymous
heroine, Cathleen appeals to her children to offer their lives to Ireland.
Accountsofthefirstnightrevealthattheaudiencestruggledtounderstand
the shift inmode from realist peasant play to allegory. This shiftwas, in
fact, made more complex by Gonne’s appearance; arriving late and in
costume, she dramatically swept through the audience to take her cue.
MaryTrotterconsidersthisperformanceandstatesthat‘Gonne'sabilityto
play on her political identity as nationalist activist and founder of
Inghinidhe na hEireann […] made her performance one of the most
remembered in Irish theater history.’ (95) Cathleen ni Houlihan had a
propagandistfunction.Shewasapoliticalsymbolandafigurativerole,as
well as being a dramatic character. Once understood as a parable and
nationalistcalltoarms,theplaybecamebothpopularandcontroversial.
Scholars such as Trotter and Antoinette Quinn have written
convincinglyoftheinterplaybetweenthenewIrishtheatremovementand
Inghinidhe na hÉireann (daughters of Erin),with regard to the staging of
Irish women. (Quinn 39) They explain that the inscription of femininity
withinthenationalistmovementwascontestedfromthestart.(Quinn40)
Sean Ryder has also written of how ‘cultural nationalism produced an
idealised version of national identity which identified subjectivity
exclusivelywithmasculinity.’(210)IthaslongbeenobservedthatrealIrish
womenareovershadowedby thenationalist iconofCathleen in theplay
(Quinn47).AyearafterthestagingofCathleenniHoulihan,Inghinidhena
hEireann broke from the Irish National Theatre Society and the split
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betweenthetwobodiesremainedsteadfast.However,theimprintofthat
particularmodeoffemininityshapedtheplayanditscharacterindelibly.
ADoll’sHouse
Andbesides –he's soproudofbeing aman– it'dbe sopainfulandhumiliatingforhimtoknowthatheowedanythingtome.It'dcompletely wreck our relationship. This life we have builttogetherwouldnolongerexist.(Ibsen36)
In the first act of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer warns
Krogstad,‘Ifyouspeakimpertinentlyofmyhusband,Ishallshowyouthe
door.’(46)Fromthere,herlifebecomesincreasinglycomplicated,untilshe
bangs the door on middle-class marriage to seek personal actualization
elsewhere. In1923, LennoxRobinsondirected the firstAbbeyproduction
of Ibsen’s play, in a version by English writer R. Farquharson Sharp.3As
Nora, the central character and infantilized ‘doll’, Robinson cast twenty-
five-year-old Crowe. Indeed, Robert Hogan has claimed that, ‘This
[productionofADoll’sHouse]was largely a showcase for EileenCrowe.’
(BurnhamandHogan143)
OnitspremiereinEnglandin1889,ADoll’sHousesentshockwaves
through English society for its exploration of the status of women
generally;buttheplayhadseriousconsequencesforactressesinparticular.
Ibsen was the first playwright to affect a shift in the perceptions of the
EnglishVictorianactress.VictorianscholarGailMarshallasserts,‘Ibsenwas
alsoadramatistwhochangedactresses'perceptionsofthemselvesandof
theirownwork.’(142) Marshallelucidates,inrelationtoADoll’sHouse:
What is at stake is clearly the whole theatrical illusion of theactress's doll-like status, an illusion in the sustaining of whichcriticsandaudiencewerealikecomplicit.(139)
Furthermore,Marshallwrites,inrelationtothecharacterofNoraHelmer:
[A]ctress and role are conjoined in a dynamic which can evenseemtoeffectaphysicaltransformationoftheactress.(139)
3 ThiswasnotthefirstIrishstaging.EdwardMartynhadpreviouslystagedtheplayinthePlayersClubin1903.SeeRitschel80.
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Inhisowntheatrework,Ibsenregularlycollaboratedwithactresses,
allowingthemtoengagewiththetextualaspectsoftheworkandthus,for
women,toexceedtheirroleaspurelyavisualspectacleforthefirsttime.
In his plays, Ibsen created roles that were not dependent on physical,
statuesque appearance. These physical attributes Marshall terms the
‘qualifications’forVictorianactressestogainsuccessinthe1880s.(141)At
theAbbey,Shiels’presentationofmarriageandgender roles inProfessor
Tim,asoutlinedabove,remainedmorecomprehensibletoanIrishcastand
audience.ButitisinthelightoftheseshiftsontheEnglishstagethatone
must consider Nora’s first appearance on the Abbey stage, and her
portrayalbyCrowe.
Crowehadalreadyplayedinanumberofproductionsonthemain
stagebutthepartofNorawashermostsignificantroletodate.The Irish
Independent thought it a ‘remarkable, if not very interesting, play’ that
demonstrated the harm caused by the ‘moral depravity, duplicity, and
secretintriguingofacleverandresourcefulwife’.(‘IbsenPlay’4)Crowe,it
wassaid, showed ‘muchability’ in ‘a ratherdifficultpart.’ (‘IbsenPlay’4)
TheIrishTimescriticconsideredherperformancetoshow‘genuinefeeling.’
(‘AbbeyTheatre’4)
OfplayingthecharacterofNora,Crowerecalledonlytheterrorand
awkwardness of her dance with the tambourine, which she accidentally
flung at the head of W. B. Yeats, who was sitting in the front row.
(Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,489-523) The ‘hysteria’ she experienced on her
firstnight,theactressreasoned,helpedhercharacterization,particularlyin
her tarantella dance. She said, ‘Yet that very hysteria helped; it was in
character.’(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,489-523)
The termCrowe chose to describeNora’s character in this scene,
‘hysteria’, is telling.Themedicalconnotationssuggest thatsheconcurred
with the view that women’s ‘hysteria’ was an illness. In her study of
feminismandcomedy,ReginaBarrecahaswrittenoffemalehysteria:‘She
has seen the boundaries created in order to delineate the real from the
imaginary’, but Barreca notes that the hysterical woman ‘refuses to
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acknowledge what others construct as reality.’ (16) Crowe presented a
womanthatwouldnotacknowledgetherealityofherplaceasawomanin
thehousehold,asagainstherimaginativerealm.Thedancebecomes,then,
asymptomofadisorderratherthananinstantofpersonalliberation.
AccordingtoChristopherMurray,‘YeatswasopenlyhostiletoIbsen
andthemodernmovement inrealism.’(23-36)W.B.YeatshatedADoll's
House when he saw it in 1889 in London and resented the modern
educatedspeechthateliminatedstylisticfeatures.YetheadmiredCrowe’s
interpretationofthepart:hesaidsheplaysit‘young’,andthatindoingso
she‘transformstheplay’.(BurnhamandHogan143)
A young, naïve and hysterical Nora belied the threat of the
assertionof femalepower. IfNoradisplaysnothingbutchildish tantrums
that canbecastigatedandshutdownby ‘rational’male figures, then it’s
notfemaleliberationbutashamthatcanberidiculedanddismissed.Also,
iftheperformanceisstylistic,thenitmovesawayfromanykindofrealism
that could be construed as a social message. Rather than stressing the
validity and truth of Irishwomen’s oppression, Crowe’s interpretation of
Noraasinfantilisedandhystericalcolludedwiththemisogynyofthestate
andthetheatre’sdirectorate.
NoraofInTheShadowoftheGlen
ItisnocoincidencethatSynge’sfirstplayIntheShadowoftheGlen
alsohas a central female character calledNora. Its premiere,withMaire
NicShiubhlaighinthecentralroleofNoraBurke,tookplacein1903,mere
months after Martyn’s production of A Doll’s House. (Ritschel 80)With
identicalthemesof lovelessmarriageandfemaleindependence, itcanbe
readasadirectresponsetoIbsen’swork.
NelsonO’CeallaighRitschel argues thatwith In the Shadowof the
Glen ‘Synge advocated a social change for Ireland that exposed the
conservative,paternalisticattitudesof thosenationalistswhoobjectedto
hiswork.’ (85) Ritschel examines the critical and popular reaction to the
play in 1903 and asserts that, ‘Synge's Nora counters, even negates, the
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19th century Colleen tradition.’(88) Synge rootedNora (andmanyof his
other female characters) in pagan traditions, with pre-christian beliefs,
superstitionsandacelebrationofthenaturalworld.HealsomadeNoraa
strong, reflective woman who escapes the tyranny of her husband, in a
manneraCatholicwomancouldnot.WhenNoraleavesherhomewiththe
Tramp,thereisasensethatNoraisnotenteringanotherunionwithaman,
butissurrenderingherselftothenaturalworld:itsdangersanditsrewards.
TheTrampurgeshertoleavesaying,‘it'snotmyblatheryou'llbehearing
only,butyou'llbehearingtheheronscrying[…]butit'sfinesongsyou'llbe
hearingwhenthesungoesup…’(Synge94)
Muchof the criticaloutcryhaddissipatedby the timeCrowe first
playedthepartofNoraBurkeinDecember1925.Shewasthenlessthana
month married to fellow actor Peter Judge. (Hogan and O’Neill 248)
Crowe’smarriage toMcCormick arguably played a significant part in the
success of her career because audiences grew attached to watching
husbandandwifeperformtogether.Despitetheiruseofdifferentnames,
the relationship was well known and often publicized. In this way,
audiences felt an intimacy with the ‘real-life’ couple. They became
somethingofthe‘postercouple’oftheAbbeyPlayers,presentingadevout
Catholicunionwithaglamorousedge.Robinsoncontinuallyfavouredthem
andforthe1931tourtotheUS,BarryFitzgeraldnotedwithchagrinhow
the couple ‘had been heavily starred in the preliminary notices and
handbills.’ (O'Casey Rose 151) Fitzgerald adds that the other players,
himself included, thought it unfair; but, he adds, ‘we have been secretly
comforted by the fact that McCormick has failed to live up to the
reputationmadeinDublin.’(O'CaseyRose151)
Thecouplepresentedasequallydevotedtothestageandtoeach
other, living‘a lifetogetherofutterbliss.’ (DeBúrca114-115)Whenthey
appearedinNewYorkoverChristmasin1934,itwasreportedbytheNew
YorkWorld Telegraph that Crowe ‘kept open house today in herWhitby
Hotelapartmentwithhusband’, likeakindlymaternal figuredrawingher
theatrefamilyaroundher.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,489-25,523)Writingin
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the Dublin Historical Record in 1989, Seámus de Búrca insisted: ‘If this
couplehadbeenEnglishorAmerican,theywouldhavebeenasfamousas
AlfredLuntandLynnFontaine,say.’(114-115)DeBúrcaalsoclaimedthat
afterMcCormick’sdeathin1947,Crowemadeonlyoneappearanceinthe
Abbey because ‘she died from a broken heart.’ (114-115) In fact, the
widow regularlyappearedon themain stageand in thePeacockTheatre
between 1947 and 1970, when she was over seventy years of age. De
Búrca holds to the narrative of the devoted Irish wife, unable to work
withoutherhusbandbyherside.
MinniePowellandMrsHendersoninTheShadowofaGunman
Although she did not appear in the 1923 premiere of Seán
O’Casey’sTheShadowofaGunman,Crowetookover thepartofMinnie
PowellinApril1924andcontinuedtoplayitinAbbeyTheatreproductions
for fifteen years. Again, it’s important here to consider the nature of
femalecharactersbeingpresented.
Minnie is a twenty-three-year-old Dublin woman, sharing a
tenementwithpoetDonalDavoren.Davoren,who’sapproximately thirty
yearsold,isthoughtbyhisneighbourstobeanIRAgunmanontherunand
he is enjoying the notoriety this rumour brings him.Minnie has a ‘well-
shaped figure’ and is ‘charmingly dressed’ when she calls to chat and
flatterhim.(O’Casey89) Itbecomesapparentthatshe isawarm-hearted
girl with a romantic interest in Davoren. Other characters in the play
dismissherasignorant;Seámuscallshera‘bitchthatthinksofnothin’but
jazzdances,fox-trots,picturetheatresan’dress.’(O’Casey109)Attheend
of the first act, Minnie is just a ‘flapper’. However, O’Casey’s female
charactersarerarelystraightforwardandinthesecondact,Minniethrows
offshallowconcernstorevealherbravery.Shehidesacaseofexplosives
tosaveDavorenandisarrestedwhenit’sdiscovered.Heractofdevotion
andloveforDavorenisconflatedwithromanticbeliefinnationalideals.
MayCraigfirstappearedinTheShadowofaGunmanintheminor
roleofMrsGrigson‘oneofthecave-dwellersofDublin,livingasshedoes
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in a tenementkitchen.’ (O’Casey113)However,Craigbecameknown for
playing Mrs Henderson. This kindly soul assures Davoren that she
understandsandrememberswhatit’sliketobeinlove.MrsHendersonis:
amassivewoman in everyway;massive head, arms, and body;massive voice and massive amount of self-confidence. She is amountainofgoodnature.(O’Casey96)
Mrs Henderson is also taken away by the Black and Tans, although it is
Minnie that is killed.Minnie is carried off, ‘shouting bravely, but a little
hysterically,“UptheRepublic!”’(O’Casey126)LikeNora’sdance,Powell’s
singing in O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman demands hysteria. Again,
Crowe portrayed a passionate female as hysterical. Minnie is shot and
killedinanattempttoescapeherarrest.
O’Casey’sheroinecanbereadasasardonicreflectiononCathleen
niHoulihan,thepersonificationofIrelandfirstpresentedin1902.Insetting
the character of Cathleen alongside O’Casey’s Minnie Powell, one can
observesubtleshifts ingenderpolitics in Irelandbetweentheturnofthe
centuryandtheCivilWarof1922-23.Asawomanandanactress,Crowe
was pitched between the dangerous figure of the flapper and the
respectable orthodoxy of a Catholicmother pledged to her country. She
wasattheepicenteroftheseshiftsingenderpolitics.
Crowe trained and first appeared at the Abbey Theatre in the
shadowof republicanactivists suchasMaudGonneandHelenaMoloney
(another member of Inghinidhe who acted at the Abbey). Without the
powertochoosetherolessheplayed,shenonethelessretainedtheability
to choose her interpretation and influence how the female figure was
communicated to her audience. She was poised between the political
demonstratorsofthepast,whousedthestageasapoliticalplatformand
presentediconsratherthanwomen,andtheIrishactressesofthefuture,
whowerebeginningtousepsychologicaltechniquesandtoemphasisethe
distinctionbetween their personal lives and thoseof the characters they
portrayed.
MinniePowell’srepublicanism(inTheShadowofaGunman)isjust
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as ardent as Cathleen ni Houlihan’s, but it is farmore problematic in its
motivationand ideals.AftertheCivilWar, Irishwomanhoodcouldnotbe
as clearly demarcated as the figures of Mrs Gillane and Cathleen in
Cathleen ni Houlihan. Where Cathleen represented pure and noble
femininity,MrsGillane stood for selflessmaternal striving toprotectand
provide.ThecharacterofMinniePowellproblematisedthiseasydistinction.
O’Caseyshowedthatwomencouldembracetheirsexualitybuttheimpact
ontheirfatecouldbelife-threatening,metaphoricallyandotherwise.
CrowecametotheroleofCathleenniHoulihanafterappearingas
MinniePowell;sheknewthecontemporarycomplexitybeforethehistoric
myth.ThereisvirtuallynonewspapercoverageofCrowe’sperformanceas
Cathleen;muchofthecriticismfocusedonTheEmperorJones,whichwas
presentedthesamenight.ThismayreflectthatIrishaudienceshadgrown
wearyof theplay,or showthatCrowe failed todistinguishherself in the
part.The IrishTimesnotedthatCrowe ‘putnew life’ in thepart,but this
comment can be read as a statement of fact rather than a qualitative
assessmentofherinterpretation.(‘TheEmperorJones’)
In a study of what she terms the problem plays of the urban
repertoireintheAbbeyTheatre,ElizabethMannionclaims:
[T]heCathleenniHoulihantropeundergoesdramaticalterationsas she travels toward Dublin, the center of the revivalistmovement. The closer Cathleen gets to the environment thatelevated her to a stage-based, tangible figure, the more sheimplodes.(72)
It may also be that the reality of life for Irish women became more
distanced from the idealsofCathleenniHoulihan, and that the ‘tangible
figure’ of the Irish actress after the civilwar led to the implosion of the
dramatictrope.(Mannion72)Crowe,onecouldargue,hadanopportunity
tore-configurethisemblematicfigureaftersuchanimplosion.Thechoices
Crowemade in style and interpretation had the potential to impact the
representationofwomenonthestageoftheNationalTheatreforyearsto
come. She had a similar opportunity in 1923, with the figure of Nora
Helmer, but A Doll’s House was, for her and for the Abbey, a radical
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departure that didn’t yet fit into the narrative of the theatre. Thepublic
personae and reputations of Gonne and others that appeared in Irish
classicsprovidedCrowewithastyletoreject,ortoemulate.Herchoicesin
thedepictionofthiswifeandmother,andtheirwiderimpact,werecrucial.
ActingPersonaandStyleofPerformance
It’sclearfromhisautobiographythatRobinsonadoredCrowe,but
heractingwasn’tunanimouslypraised. (Robinson114)Holloway thought
her ‘fine inmanyparts’. (HoganandO’Neill 229)Newspaper criticswere
lesseffusive,oftendismissingherasaminorpartoftheensemble.When
the Company performed The Playboy of theWesternWorld in Belfast in
1934, Maureen Delaney was deemed ‘excellent’, May Craig ‘gave a
splendidperformance’,whileCrowewas‘good’.(‘AbbeyPlayersinBelfast’)
OnherappearanceinShaw’sCandidain1935,Hollowaydescribedhowshe
‘mothered her husband and the poet in the gentlest andmost feminine
way.’ (Hogan and O’Neill 49) The consensus from critics and Holloway’s
recordsappearstobethatCrowecharmedincomediesandhadadelicate
presence when presiding over a dinner table, but rarely rose to the
challengeofgreattragedy.
Physical appearance is the stock-in-trade of actors and of female
performersinparticular.Crowewassmallanddelicate,withgentlecurves
and dark curls. She presented a stark contrast to the statuesque Gonne
(whomeasuredoversixfoot)ortheplump,plainAllgood.Inphotosfrom
the 1930s, Crowe appears little older than the youngest actresses and is
often dwarfed by the men. There was an innocuous element to her
physicalpresencethatshecapitalisedonatvariouspointsinhercareer.
ReportsofCrowe’sperformancesdeemedhertobe‘amateurishin
movementandgesture’andcritics‘thoughthermusicalvoicemonotonous
–afaultwhichifanything,wastoincreaseovertheyears.’(Burnhamand
Hogan 92-3) Playwright and board member Brinsley MacNamara told
Holloway,‘ThereisagreatdiversityofopinionaboutMissCrowe'sacting;
someravedabout it,whileotherscan't seeanymerit in itatall.’ (Hogan
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andO’Neill 229)MacNamaraheld to the view thatRobinson's sobriquet,
‘Genius’,spoiledher.Hollowayrecordedtheirconversation:
‘She had a great facility for learning parts without letting theirmeaning sink intoher,’ [Mac] thinks, ‘thatwas fatal toherworkbeing ever great, and also her face was very expressionless.’(HoganandO’Neill229)
It may be that these suggestions of ‘monotonous’ and
‘expressionless’ are indicative of Crowe’s training in theAbbey School at
theturnofthecentury.WorkingwiththelyricalandpoeticdramaofYeats,
she practiced the still stature and melodious voice work then prized.
Writing on the performative imaging of Irish women in Cathleen in
Houlihan, Nelson Ritschel has suggested that, ‘the Fay [brothers] acting
style helped the text to create a fantasy image that a nationalistically
leaningaudiencewasabletoembrace.’(Ritschel90)Heexplainshowthis
representational style emphasized language and rhythm and was more
suitedtotheportrayalofmythic figuresor ‘types’. Itdidn’ttranslate into
urbancomediesandplaysclosertorealism.
Aspreviouslynoted,MaireNicShiubhlaigh,NorainInTheShadow
of the Glen, recalled how in rehearsals for the 1903 premiere Frank Fay
toldher:‘BethemouthpieceofNoraBurke,ratherthanNoraBurke.’(qtd
inRitschel90)Fay’sadvicesuggeststhatactresseswerecautionedagainst
embodying thesewomen, or indeedworkingwith them as psychological
characters.Instead,theywereaskedtoportrayafigureortype.
Crowemayhaveunconsciouslydefinedherselfagainsttheassertive,
outspoken politicians of Inghindhe na hEireann, but in establishing a
creativedistancebetweenherselfand thepart, she retaineda featureof
theirperformances.Shemaintainedtheirmodeofperforming:embodying
arespectablewomanwhoonlyeverpresentedtheactionsofindependent-
mindedfemalesintheprotectedspaceofthestage.Ashercareerandcraft
developed,shesuitedhermodeofperformanceandherpublicpersonato
thedemandsofthetime,fittingintothenarrativeofCatholicIreland.
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SeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars
ChristopherMorashhas claimed, ‘Irishpolitics in the1920swasa
continuationbyothermeansoftheIrishCivilWar.’(AHistory163)Thecity
hadnotfullythrownoffthehushedterroroftheCivilWarwhenrehearsals
forO’Casey’splayThePloughandtheStarsstartedinJanuary1926.Inthe
actors’ account of the first production, the fracas in the theatre and the
threats of physical attacks and kidnapping, there is the atmosphere of
latentviolencefromthattraumaticperiod.Chapter5willdiscusshowRia
Mooneytracestherootofher‘professional’careertothisseismicmoment,
butothersinthecompanystruggledtoseparatetheirpersonal livesfrom
thepartstheywereaskedtoplay.Onlyafewmonthsmarried,thedevout
Judges quickly sided with Lennox Robinson against O’Casey. They were
perturbed more by the language and the blasphemous elements in the
script than by the anti-nationalist sentiment that others found so
objectionable.
In initial readings,CroweplayedMrsGogan,a residentof the top
floor of the tenement housewhere Jack andNora Clitheroe have set up
home. (HoganandBurnham285)MrsGoganhas lostherhusband toTB
and isnursinga consumptivedaughter,Mollser, aswell as thebaby that
she carries around in her arms. There is an elegance in O’Casey’s
description in thescriptofThePloughandtheStarsof the forty-year-old
woman: ‘Her heart is aflame with curiosity’. (137) But Mrs Gogan is an
uncouthcharwomanwhomocksNora’s idealsandaspirations. Insteadof
beingcaughtup inmaternalduties,MrsGoganprefers todistractherself
withgossip.Sheisknownasabusybodyandisoftentobefoundinthepub,
squabblingwithothers.Herlanguageiscoarseandoftenribald,anditwas
thisaspectofthecharacterthatCroweobjectedtomost.
According to the account of Gabriel Fallon, who played Captain
Brennan, the actress refused to say, ‘any kid, livin’ or dead, that Ginnie
Goganhadsince [hermarriage]wasgotbetween th’bordhersof th’Ten
Commandments.’ (89)Her objection, it appears,was to the allusion that
therewere childrennot born between such religious borders.When the
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actors confronted O’Casey with their objections in early January, Crowe
was staunch in her criticism of the language. O’Casey found this
objectionablebecause,ashepointedoutinalettertoRobinson:
Miss Crowe’s hesitationover part of the dialogueofMrsGoganseemstometobeinconsistentwhenIremembershewaseagerto play the central figure in ‘Nannie’s Night Out’, which was aslow(Godhelpus)and,possiblylower,thanthepartofMrsGogan.(HoganandBurnham285)
The premiere of O’Casey’s play Nannie’s Night Out had been held in
September1924;CrowelostoutontheleadingroletoSaraAllgood.
Yeats thought the actors’ objection to the dialogue inThe Plough
and the Stars ‘an aggravating comedy behind the scenes’, and when
Robinson asked Yeats for advice, they agreed that Crowewas not to be
told about O’Casey’s thoughts. Instead, the actresswas to be ‘given her
choiceofshirkingthislineorgivingupthepart.’(HoganandBurnham286)
Crowetooksomehourstothinkitoverandconsultherpriest.Thedecision
was taken to replace her with May Craig as Mrs Gogan. Or, as some
commentatorsdescribe,Crowe‘suggestedchangingpartswithMissCraig.’
(Hogan and Burnham 286) The level of power the actress wielded,
implicitly or explicitly, is ambiguous. Eliminating the loyal company
memberandRobinson’sprotégéwasnotanoption.Instead,O’Caseywas
tasked with penning a character more appropriate to the actress. The
result: the ‘womanfromRathmines,’adelightfullydiscordantnote in the
play.
InthethirdactofThePlough,a‘fashionablydressed,middle-aged,
stoutwoman’wandersintothechaosthathasbrokenoutinthecitycentre,
desperate to findherwayback tohermiddle-classsuburb.(O’Casey189)
ShetellsFluther,‘I’msodifferentfromothers…ThemomentIhearashot,
mylegsgivewayunderme–Icawn’tsit,I’mparalysed.’(O’Casey189)The
men are indifferent; she wanders off again. The character’s name (or,
rather,title)maybeareferencetoa1923comedybyM.Brennanentitled
The YoungMan from Rathmines. O’Casey gave Crowe the respectability
she demanded in this cameo role, but arguably also wrote a part that
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insultedhercowardiceandabilities.Heusedtheactressforhisownends:
todemonstrateadifferentsideofDublinandenlargehisdramaticcanvas.
Crowe acquiesced. There was no adjustment to her wage for the role
change.Shecontinuedto takehome£10aweek;MayCraigearned£4a
weekforplayingtheroleofMrsGogan.(BoundVolume4384:4)
Although self-effacing in public, certain records Crowe couldn’t
redact reveal a different side to her personality, and show a woman
unafraid tomakedemandsand fight forwhat shebelievedherdue. This
facet of her personality is hinted at in O’Casey’s comments about her
eagernesstoplayNannie,butisclearlysetoutinarchivedminutesofthe
boardmeetings. In February 1936, a boardmeetingwas held upstairs in
theAbbey,withErnestBlytheinthechairandFrankO’Connor,Higginsand
Dr.RichardHayesinattendance.Aftersomefinancialandpracticalissues,
itwasexplainedthatCrowewasappealingthecastinginThePlough,asshe
nolongerhadthepartofNora.Theminutesfromthemeetingrecorded:
On the basis of information at their disposal the Board hadselectedMissRichardsforthepartofNoraClitheroe,asshewasconsideredbetterthanMissCrowe.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)
Ifbehindthescenes,therewassomedebateaboutCrowe’sactingtalent,
theactressstillarrangedahearingfromtheboardandpresentedherselfto
puthercase.Shethentemporarilywithdrewtoallowprivatediscussionon
thematter.Minutesfor14Februaryweretypedup:
MrHiggins said it appeared thatMissRichardsused the theatrewhen it suitedher and that under circumstances such as that itwasunfairtotheestablishedplayersthatworkshouldbegiventoothers. It also appeared thatMiss Richardswas anxious to playthe part owing to the fact that a casting director of a filmcompanywaslikelytoseetheplayduringtheweek,andthatshehadcanvassedwiththisinview.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)
TheSecretaryrecorded:
After some discussion it was decided on the motion of MrO'ConnorsecondedbyMrHigginsthatMissCroweberestoredtothepart. ItwasthenexplainedtoMissCrowethatshehadbeenrestoredtothepartbecauseMissRichardshadcanvassedfor it,andcanvassingbyPlayerswasnotallowed.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)
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There is noevidence thatRichards canvassed toplayNora, although she
had been lauded for her performance in the premiere. Rather, Crowe
appearstohaveknownofthecastingdirector’svisitandwasnotprepared
tomissachancesousedherinfluence.Herdirectappealtotheboardwas
successful and shewas recast,without anymentionofheropposition to
theplayadecadeearlier.Richards’responseisnotrecorded;‘MissCrowe
thankedtheBoardandwithdrew.’(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)
This incident is extraordinarynot just for itsoutcome,but for the
manner in which the board justify the decision and commit it to the
historical record. There is no evidence that Richards campaigned for the
part, but there’s a suggestion that the board felt her ambition and
confidenceasignofpotentialinsurrection.TheyprizeCrowe’sloyaltyand
devotion to the theatre (an ‘established player’), as well as her chaste
public persona. They may also have feared that in refusing Crowe’s
demandstheyriskedlosingherhusband,F.J.McCormick.Theextentofthe
Abbey’sinvestmentinthecouplebecameclearinnegotiationsforthefilm
of The Plough and the Stars.All of these possibilities are set out in the
minutebooks.Crowe’sage,personaandassumedcachetgavehernotjust
asenseofsuperioritybutapowerthatmanagementwouldnotchallenge.
TheHollywoodFilmofThePloughandtheStars
Crowe’sdeterminationtoberecast in the1936productionofThe
Ploughand the Starsdid reapbenefits. In February of that year, a letter
fromaLondonagentofRKO(Radio-Keith-Orpheum)Pictures,MissReissa,
was read aloud at a boardmeeting. (RKOPictureswas anAmerican film
productionanddistributioncompany.)MissReissahadcometoDublinand
discussedtermswiththeAbbeyCompanyfortheirtravellingtoHollywood
toappearinafilmversionofO’Casey’splay.Thesalariesofferedwere:Mr
Fitzgerald US$ 750; Mr McCormick and Miss Crowe at a joint salary of
US$900;MrShieldsUS$500.Alltheseamountswereperweekoffilming,
withalloftheactorsguaranteedsixweeksworkandtheirreturnpassages
byboatpaid.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)Inaddition,RKOofferedafeeto
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the theatre of US$ 750, for the use of the theatre’s name and as
compensationfortheplayers’absence.WalterStarkiewasthechairofthe
meeting, but Robinson dissented. He insisted that at least five thousand
dollarsshouldberequested incompensation. (FrazierHollywoodIrish82)
Eventually,Huntnegotiatedwiththeactors,whoagreedthat10%oftheir
salarieswouldgototheAbbeyforlossoftheirservices.
ThejointweeklysalaryofFJMcCormickandhiswifeforthisperiod
offilmingwouldtodaybeworthapproximatelyUS$15,000or€14,000.It
was a huge financial boon for temporary work. The following month,
O’CaseysentalettertoJohnFord.Headvised:
Ishouldn’trecommendyoutochooseMissCroweforthepartof‘BessieBurgess.’ Shewouldn't look thepart, and inmyopinion,couldn'tpossiblyputthefeelingandearnestnessinthepartthatitneeds.Oneoftheactressesinthe[A]bbeyisaMissCraigwhosename seems not to be have been mentioned. I feel sure shewouldplaythisbetterthanMissCrowe,ormakeafineMrsGogan.[...]Idon'tseeMissCroweasasuccessinthispart.(O’CaseyLilyMss)
It’s not clear whether O’Casey’s opinion of her acting was truthful, or
whetherhesimplywishedtoremainloyaltotheactorsthathadsupported
himduring the initial fracas. Itmayhavebeensomethingofboth. Inany
case,despitetheplaywright’sadvice,FordkeptCroweintheroleofBessie
Burgess,andcastUnaO’ConnorasMrsGogan.
In theautumn, theplayers returned toDublinandhad some free
timebeforeactingresumedattheAbbey.HollowaypaidavisittoCrowe’s
homeinRathmines.There,hehadteainthegardenwiththeactressand
hersister.CrowewasnotenamouredofHollywood,dislikingthewomen’s
extravagant habits. Holloway described her account of the lifestyle and,
althoughlengthy,itdeservesquotinginfull:
EileenspokeofJohnFord,theproducerofthefilm,andhisgreatkindness to them, and of the hospitality of Digges and hischarming, gracious wife, and of Una O'Connor and her greatkindness to them. ‘But, ohmy! How she talksofherself andofhersuccesses.Sheneverceases.Ithasbecomeanobsessionwithher. She also spends a great deal ofmoney on dresses,’ Eileenadded. […]Eileenshowedmethe ‘stills’ for the film,ThePloughand the Stars. She spokeof theups anddownsof filmplayers’
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livesandmentionedthatmanywhotookpartinthecrowdswerestarsofformertimes.Thefilmfameofheroesandheroineswasvery brief indeed. Those who played character parts were allright;theyheldonformanyyears.Allsaveoneortwoofthefilmstarswerenice to them.Shewas taken toa firstnightof a filmwhenallthestarsattended,andthewholeplacewasaflamewithexcitement. It was Una O'Connor took them. She afterwardsheardthatticketswere27/6each.(HoganandO’NeillVolume260)
Unliketheotheractresses,Crowewasnot takenwiththeenticementsof
Hollywoodandthesalariesofferedtheretoaccompanythelavishlifestyle.
Sheremainedacutelyconsciousoffinancialmatters.
AtChristmasthatyear, thecensor’soffice inDublinheldaprivate
screeningof themovie for theAbbeyactors involved.Hollowayrecorded
generaldisappointment,withtheconsensusbeingthatitwasasuccessful,
ifsentimental,filmbutitdidn’tcapturethecharactersofO’Casey’swriting.
(HoganandO’NeillVolume263)
Adrian Frazier, who analyzes the details of the film and how it
contrasts with the play, notes, ‘If McCormick shows off the best of the
Abbey style, [Barbara] Stanwyck’s performance [as Nora Clitheroe]
demonstrateswhatHollywoodhadandtheIrishtheatredidnot:theself-
conscious controlled erotics of star-power.’ (Hollywood Irish 87) Crowe
neverdisplayedsucheroticism.Sheconsistentlyunderplayedhersexuality,
unless using her femininity to emphasise a Catholic purity. Putting her
foray intoHollywoodmoviesbehindher,Crowereturnedtorehearsalsat
the Abbey, where her virtuous persona ensured her popularity not just
withtheboardbutalsowithmanyoftheaudienceofthetime.
TheComediesofLennoxRobinson:TheFar-OffHillsandChurchStreet
Robinson’s affection for Crowe is inextricably linked to her
contribution to his playwriting career. A summary of the pertinent plots
and Crowe’s role in a number of Robinson’s hugely popular comedies
revealtheplaywright’sconceptofdrama,anddemonstrateshowCrowe’s
stagepersonacontributedtohisparticularnotionoftheatricalmagic.
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Forthe1928premiereofRobinson’sdomesticcomedyTheFar-Off
Hills,Croweplayedthepartof thesensibleeldestdaughter in theClancy
family,Marian.(McCormickwascastasherailingfather.)Marian’sdressis
‘markedlyplainanddark’,andshehasbeenprevented fromfulfillingher
dreamand joining the conventby familyobligations: hermother’s death
lefther responsible forher invalid fatherandyoungersiblings. (Robinson
TheFar-OffHills1)Crowecontinuedtoplaythepartof in31subsequent
productions(withthe last in1943).4TheyouthfulanticsofPetandDucky
(playedbyO’ConnorandMulhern) in thisplayaredetailed inChapters3
and4.And,asRobinson’sbiographerobserves:
thoughMarianappears tobe thecentral figure,her sisters stealthe limelight from her, especially in the bedroom scene of thesecond act, the first of its kind on the Abbey stage, when theydominate the play as they conspire to encourage their father'swedding.(O’Neill148)
Marianchastiseshersisters for reading ‘romanticalnovels’and talkingof
nothing butmarriage. (Robinson 52)However,when her father’s second
marriage to neighbour Susie Tynan is confirmedMarian takes a husband
forherself.Herresponsibleactionsandmoralrectitudemakeheradullbut
importantcharacter,notleastinhowshecanseparatereal-lifefromfiction.
In the opening lines of The Far-Off Hills, Marian is ‘directing
operations’,ashersisterstidytheroomfortheirfather.(Robinson1)This
stage direction is a telling description of Crowe’s role, in and outside of
Robinson’s dramas. Robinson continually played with notions of ‘reality’
and ‘theatre’, sending up the acting profession as often as he mined
parochialvillagelifefordrama.
ChurchStreet,from1934,wasoneofhismostexperimentalworks.
At the centre of this drama is frustrated writer Hugh (played by Arthur
Shields)whoiscoaxedbacktocreativeproductionbyAuntMoll(playedby
Crowe).Theplay is set in thedrawingroomof theNationalBank,Knock.
4Whilethesewerenotstrictly‘revivals’oftheproduction,itwasafeatureoftheAbbeytointerfereaslittleaspossiblewithsuchclassicandpopularhits.Castingchangesmayhavebeenrequired,butlittleelsewouldbealtered.
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Robinson described Moll in Church Street as ‘a little old woman, over
seventy,plainlybutnoteccentricallydressed.’(261)Sheisoftenforgotten
andignored;sheasksforlittlebuthasmuchwisdom.Molladvises:
[T]here’scomedyandtragedytrailingtheirskirtsthroughthemudofChurchStreetifyou’donlytheeyestoseethem.(Robinson262)
SheurgesHughtoobservethosearoundhim,andtousehisimagination:
Ofcourseyou’dhavetoselect,choosewhatyou’dtakeandwhatyou’dleaveaside.[…]You’dhaveto–sortofshapeyourmaterial,justalittle,averylittlewouldbeenough.(Robinson269)
Molldoesn’tdictate;shethoughtfullyadvisesand,later,admonishesHugh:
ButGodAlmighty,boy,that’syourjob.[…]Asadramatist.Toputsomeshape,somestageshape,onreallife.(Robinson270)
In the first half of the twentieth century, the founding and
managingdirectorsoftheAbbeyTheatredefinedtheirartisticaestheticin
oppositiontoconventionalrealism,andyetsuchrealismwasaforcethat
couldnotbeeradicated.AsMorashandRichardsexplain:
What evolved on the Abbey stage, then, was a curious kind ofhybrid realism, one of whose defining features was its explicit(and often vehement) renunciation of any connection to theconceptual foundations of realism (much less naturalism) asmodern,urbanforms.(MappingIrishTheatre49)
Syngeopenlyopposedrealism,whileRobinsonwasaproponentof
this formwithout directly advocatingmodernism.As ChristopherMurray
observesinhisintroductiontotheeditedcollection:‘oneoftheeffectsof
Robinson’s method is to force on his audience a fresh consideration of
whatrealityis.’(Robinson49)Theplaywrightproposesaversionofreality,
or truth, but is always teasing and playing with notions of the type of
reality an audience expects. His hybrid realism or stage ‘shape’ is
somethingunique;itisnottobeconfusedwiththeshapeofsocialreality
inIreland.(Robinson269)
ForMorashandRichards,Robinson’snotionofputtingstageshape
on real life echoes the French Marxist Henri Lefebvre’s notion of
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‘representational space’, a theory explored in the Irish context by the
authors of Mapping Irish Theatre. (7) Completing the triad of space,
Lefebvrepositsalongsideperceived(spatialpractice)andconceivedspace
(spaceofrepresentation),thisrepresentationalspace.Coded,oftenheavy
with symbolism and metonymy, representational space can realize the
social imaginary within a separate sphere. It has a force that is only
unleashed when the perceived space of the spectators and the
representedspaceofthewriterandperformerscometogether. Itcanbe
passively experienced by an audience and does not directly, or overtly,
impactonperceivedspaceorsocialreality.
Insuchaliminalspaceonthestage,aspacethatmirroredbutwas
entirely separate from ‘reality’, women could gain and yield power that
wasnot ‘truthful’ in the Irishcontext.Forexample,Crowe’sperformance
ofNoraHelmer,then,wasanimaginativeandentertainingconstructforan
audiencetoobserveandcommenton.Thearchivaltracesandevidenceof
her performance suggest that shedid not embody a liberatedwoman in
the play’s closingmoments, but represented a young, hystericalwoman.
Therefore the performance never posed an actual threat to social order.
Similarly,inChurchStreetandTheFar-OffHillsCrowestoodasasymbolof
the boundary between ‘theatre’ and ‘real’ and how one could negotiate
theknownworldandthespectreofgreenerhills.Spectatorscouldobserve
herbehaviour,commentonanddiscusshermotivationsandthepossible
outcomes of her action, at a safe distance. But this illusion of ‘safety’
conceals that such explorations are heavily coded with long-standing
beliefs about Irish women, femininity, and how it could or should be
expressed. This style of acting from the 1930s can be examined in the
contextof the trainingprovided for actors at theAbbeyTheatreand the
methodsusedattheAbbeyTheatresinceitsinception.
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ActingMethodsandTrainingattheAbbeyTheatre
IntheearlydecadesoftheNationalTheatre,FrankandWilliamFay
trained the Abbey actors in deportment and elocution. To discover a
‘characteristically Irish’ style of performance, Fay encouragedhis charges
(includingSaraAllgoodandMáireNicShiubhlaigh)toemulateFrenchstars
suchasBenoît-ConstantCoquelin (Coquelin theElder).5Derived fromthe
French Conservatoire and André Antoine’s company, the Théâtre Libre,
their stylepromoted restraintandkept the focuson the languageof the
text.(Frazier59)LiketheAbbeyTheatre,theThéâtreLibreoriginatedasa
companyof idealistic amateurs. In their acting style, they set themselves
againstthemelodramaticand‘busy’styleofperformingthenprevalenton
theEnglishstage.
Inhiswritingsonthetheoryofacting,ConstantinStanislavskyalso
usedFay’sexampleof thegreatCoquelin theElder.Stanislavskyadopted
the term Coquelin himself used for his art: ‘representation’. (Carnicke
2865) The theatre of ‘representation’ occupies the penultimate rung in
Stanislavsky’s hierarchy of acting styles. Such theatre places the actor at
the creative nexus of theatrical production, and thus values the actor as
muchasStanislavskydoes,althoughthereareparticular issues. (Carnicke
2883)Inthismodeofperforming,theactorstrivestorevealtheinnerlife
of the character and to communicate genuine emotion, by selecting
specific details. Stanislavsky says of the characters created by
representationalactors:
The spectator immediately sees that these are not just ordinarypeoplewhomwemeet in life, butpersonages,whomwe see inpaintingsandaboutwhomwereadinbooks.(Carnicke2924)
Thus,theyare‘types’;theactors’performancesarereproducibleworksof
art. Suchwork can give rise to great heights of virtuosity. However, this
modealsocreatestheriskthat thepersonalityandcharismaof theactor
maydetractfromtheperformance.Inextremecases,thelevelofemphasis
onthepersonoftheactor(or‘star’)mayentirelyobscurethecharacter.
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Inrepresentation,Carnickeexplains,‘theactorjugglesbotha“first
self” (the artist) and a “second self” (the canvas); in acting, the first self
shapes the second.’ (2873) In the Irish context of the 1930s, this
‘representation’ of typeswhile retaining thepresenceof theperformer’s
ownpersonality on stagewas crucial tomaintaining respectability in the
eyes of society.With ‘representation’, the distinction between actor and
character is maintained by the performer and acknowledged by the
audiencethroughout.Thisacceptancebytheaudienceofthetwo‘selves’
waskeytothetheatricalexperienceofvisitingtheAbbey inthe1930s. It
wasfosteredbythefamiliaritybetweentheaudiencesandtheperformers,
much like they were watching people they knew personally perform
privately in their ownhome. Suchamodeofworking allowedwomen in
particular an opportunity to present certain behaviour deemed
unacceptable off stage, without any besmirching of their personal
reputation. Thus, the acting style of ‘representation’ gained particular
importanceforwomenperformingonstageintherepressiveatmosphere
of the Free State. When younger actresses, notably Ria Mooney,
experimentedwithmorepsychologicalmodesofworking and immersion
intocharacter,thishadconsequencesfortheirreputation.
This notion of a theatrical ‘representational’ space for women to
emotefully,to‘play’withideasofchoiceandexperimentwithliberation,
without ever embracing it or posing a threat to social order, is most
usefully explored through a specific example. The work of one of
Robinson’s protégés, Teresa Deevy, serves to exemplify this dynamic
particularlywell.
5MáireNicShiubhlaighqtd.inFallon12.
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TeresaDeevyandKatieRoche
You'renottakingpartintheatricalsnow.
(DeevyKatieRoche63)
GivenCrowe’scareerdemandshitherto,itisworthconsideringthat
whenDeevy’s full-length playKatie Rochewas programmed, Crowemay
havecanvasedfortheleadrole.RiaMooneyhadplayedmanyofDeevy’s
heroines previously, but this time shewas passed over by Robinson and
castastheagingspinsterAmeliaGregg.Crowewascastastheyoungbride,
playingoppositeherreal-lifehusband(McCormick)asStanislausGregg.
AtthesameboardmeetingatwhichEileenCrowewasgrantedthe
role of Nora Clitheroe, the directors noted that playwright TeresaDeevy
was not happy that the production of Katie Roche had been postponed
untilafterLent.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)Deevy(whoseplaysarerich
withdetailofCatholicobservances)feltthatthisperiodofabstinenceand
penancewasnotagoodtimetoopen.Theboardoverruledhercomplaints
andkepttotheiroriginalschedule.
GivenapreviousdisappointingexperienceatthefirstnightofThe
King of Spain’s Daughter, Deevy was anxious about this full-length
production.Ratherthanwaituntilthepremiere,shetravelledtoDublinin
March 1936 to spend a few days in rehearsalwith the Abbey Company.
There, she was struck by the industry and friendliness of the cast, and
although she lamented that Robinsonwas not producing it, she thought
HughHuntveryprofessional.Whenshesawtheproduction,sheconfided
toFlorenceHackett:
I liked theirway of doing ‘Katie Roche’. […]McCormick - as thehusband-wassplendid.AndtheywereallsoeagertohaveitjustasIhadwantedit.(DeevyTCDMss10722/15)
AstheviolenthusbandStanislausGregg,McCormickhadherfullapproval.
There is no record of her feelings on Crowe’s performance, and no
indicationthattheplaywrightfeltthelossofMooneyinthecentralrole.
Deevy’stextisrootedinhercontemporarysociety,wheredomestic
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arrangements were subject to certain ideological pressures. While
exploring these pressures, the production was clear in its statement on
socialmores. Unlike Ibsen’s Nora, Katie is a product of disadvantage: of
illegitimacyandpoverty.Theproductofaneroticdalliance,Katiehaswild
bloodinherveinsandisafreespirit.Herillegitimatestatusalsomarksher
asadangerousthreattothecommunitystatusquo.Workingasadomestic
servanthassustainedher,andthussheisexpectedtoviewtheproposalof
marriage from a respectable hard-workingman as both liberation and a
reward. Cathy Leeney has observed, ‘Deevy dramatizes marriage, very
often, as a possibility for transformation, through the other.’ (162)
However, while Leeney argues this transformation is an allegory for
political change related to Ireland’s colonial position, themessageof the
playcanbereadmoresimply.
Katie Roche explores the same themes as The King of Spain’s
Daughterinprotractedform.IttracesKatie’slifefromconsiderationofthe
idea of marriage, to the reality of an alliance with Stanislaus Gregg and
finally to her realization that she has traded one form of servitude for
another.She isencircledbyabusivemen,fromtheviolentReubentothe
quietpersecutionofMichaelMaguireandthecondescensionofStan.
The second act of Katie Roche opens with the couple in married
bliss,sittingbyaroaringfireandadmiringStan’swork.Katietellshim,‘Iam
theproudwomanthisnight.Iknownowforsureyou’regreat.’(Deevy44)
She is his ‘littlewife’who consistently seeks his approbation. (Deevy 45)
ButwhenKatie sharesadrinkwithMichaeland insists itwasa romantic
gestureStanwarnsheraboutherbehaviourwiththeadmonition, ‘You're
nottakingpartintheatricalsnow.’(Deevy63)Hernotionsofromanceand
personalfulfillmentarebanishedtotherealmoftheatrics.Suchdisplaysof
emotionareshowntobelonginthefantasticalspaceofthestage;theyare
notpartofrespectableIrishfemininity.
Deevyshowsthenewwifestrugglewithsociety’sexpectations,as
wellaswithherownhopesanddesiresformarriage.Buttheplay’sending,
whileechoingthetriumphantdepartureofIbsen’sNora, isa‘whitewash’,
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inthewordsoftheatredirector,JudyFriel.(‘RehearsingKatieRoche’117-
125)Thespiritof independence, imaginationandresilienceKatiedisplays
atearlierpointsisquashedandtheplaywrightdoesacompleteturnaround.
With thesupportof thestoic spinsterAmelia,Katieopts forcompromise
and submission. Thus, the same actress that walked out of marriage
thirteen years earlier inADoll’s House resigns herself to the power and
condescension of her husband and accepts she must ‘make it grand’.
(Deevy113)
Crowewasthirty-eightyearsofagewhensheplayedthe‘notquite
twenty’heroineofKatieRoche. (Deevy8)Shehadplayednumerous lead
roles, but critics had commented on her lack of power and ‘inability to
dominate’onthestage. (CraigUCDMssLA28/219) In thespringof1937,
Croweappeared in JunoandThePaycockat theArtsTheatre,Cambridge
where the criticwas complimentary about the cast, but remarked: ‘Miss
Crowe acted well, but without sufficient power.’ (Gownsman CraigUCD
Mss LA28/219) Her small, delicate physicality made for a naïve and
unthreatening Katie, occasionally vivacious or sullen. With such an
interpretation, Katie is never dangerous; her lurches for power and
independence are histrionic performances of a type that belong in
melodrama.
Critics attending the New York production in late 1937 show a
perceptivereadingoftheplayandofCrowe’sperformance.RichardWatts
Junior, in his columnThe Theaters, quickly recognized that the character
was meant to be ‘a sort of Irish Hedda Gabler’. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss
25,511-23) But he asserted that ‘[Deevy] is never able to present her
knowledgeofthewomaninthedramaticterms’andcastigatedtheplayfor
‘vagueness, obscurity andableak kindofdullness.’ (ScrapbooksNLIMss.
25,511-23) Watts admitted that Crowe ‘brings to the part the lovely,
haunting voice that is so effective in Irish poetic plays,’ but went on to
assertthat,tohisregret,‘psychologicalcharacterizationisnotoneofMiss
Crowe'sgreatestgifts.’(ScrapbooksNLIMss.25,511-23)
Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times described how as Katie
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Roche,Crowe‘actstheoutlineofapartwithoutthephysicaloremotional
energyof a headlong young lady’. (‘ThePlay’ 17) In fact, Crowe rejected
psychologicalcharacterizationtogivean‘outline’,orinFay’sterms,tobea
‘mouthpiece.’ Crowe suggested rather than embodied the emotional
energy of a rebellious woman. She demonstrated how such behaviour
might look,andtheplayshowedhow itwouldbebeatendown. In these
productions,Deevy’splaywasnotacelebrationoffemaleliberation;itwas
amoralanddidactictaleforIrishwomen.
Iwill argue in chapter five that RiaMooney strove to inhabit the
romantic idealism of Deevy’s heroines and also knew the reality of the
harshtreatmentofsingleIrishwomen.Thistime,whenKatieRocheended,
a real-life husband and wife took their bows together, presenting
themselvesasthefictionalreunitedcouple.Asarguedhere,EileenCrowe
neverinhabitedhercharacters.ShewasasymboloftheloyalCatholicIrish
wifestandingalongsideherhusbandasKatieRoche,andtheembodiment
ofthatpositionasMrsJudge,orEileenCrowetheactress.
ThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld
In1937,W.B.YeatsputRiaMooneyintothecentralroleofPegeen
Mike in J.M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. This surprised
many;notleastCrowe,whohadbeenplayingthepartsince1925.(Shewas
initiallycastbyLennoxRobinson.)Crowe’sperformanceofthepartwasin
markedcontrasttootherdepictionsofthesheebeen-owner’sdaughter.In
NewYorkin1937,MooneywasillandCrowetemporarilyreprisedherrole.
One(unknown)newspaperdescribedherperformance:
Miss Eileen Crowe was a capable and homely Pegeen, but shespoke all her passages of sentiment in a maudlin over-pitchedtone of voice; this certainly brought out the weakness in thecharacter, the sentimentality that invested her Playboy with ahalooffalseromance,thatinfuriatedherwhenshediscoveredhisdeceit,andthat finallymadehercryout foramanwhohadnotexactly justified her affection. ‘O my grief...’ […] Miss Croweoverdidthesepassages,andhertonewasslightlyoutofcontrol.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
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As the enduring nature of the play has demonstrated, Synge’s female
characters are complex. According to the newspaper quoted, however,
Crowe’s interpretation focusedonPegeen’sweaknesses, her sentimental
and homely qualities. Her small frame belied the idea of a ‘fine, hardy’
womanthatcouldwrestlesheep.Therewasarealsenseofdangerather
being left alone in the shebeenover night. (Synge 102) These choices to
underscorePegeen’svulnerabilitiesareasvalidasanyinterpretationofthe
role,butaretellingofCrowe’ssensibilities.
It isnotablethatCrowewascast intherolefortheAmericantour
thatbeganin1934.PriortotheCompany’sdeparturethatyear,therewas
controversyovertheinclusionofSynge’splayintherepertoirebecauseof
protests from IrishAmericans about its propriety. This datedback to the
controversyinAmericain1910-11,whencertainactorswerearrested,and
to the consequent fears of the Irish government that such sentiments
mightbere-ignited.AsLionelPilkingtonhasdescribed,matterscametoa
head in 1933when the government decided the Abbey’s American tour
‘wastobedenouncedforitshumiliatingrepresentationsofIreland.’(115)
After a period of tension, the government capitulated but the
repertoireanddetailsof followingtoursdisplayanewsensitivity to Irish-
American relations by the board of directors. By choosing a homely and
sentimentalPegeen,withadeferentialpresence, thedirectorspositioned
Synge’s Playboy as a historical, mythical piece with little potential for
offence.By1937,withsuccessassured,itwastimetore-envisiontherole.
Inthiskeycastingdecision,YeatsallowedMooneytakearadicallydifferent
interpretationfromCrowe’straditionalperformanceofanIrishcolleen.
FinancialMatters
With the proposed introduction by the Irish government of the
Children’s Allowance in 1943 came a robust debate about paying this
money (for each third and subsequent child) directly tomothers. But an
awarenessof the responsibilitiesbornebywomendidn’t translate into a
political acknowledgment of their role. Fears that such payments would
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isolatefathersandleadtothenationalizationofmothersandchildrenwon
out.Thefather’splaceasheadoftheIrishfamilyunitwasunderlinedwhen
the paymentswere awarded to him. This decision is significant precisely
because,asCaitrionaCleardeducedfromherwidespreadinvestigations,‘it
isnotablethat inavarietyof locationsandhouseholdeconomies[...] the
womanwasseenasthepersonwhocontrolledvitalresources.’(187)
Therewasaclearcontradictionbetweenthesocial realityandthe
nationalideal,whichonemustbearinmindwhenconsideringthelivesof
individualwomen.Piecing together the fragmentsofCrowe’s life,money
recursasapre-occupation,bothwithinandoutsideofhermarriage.The
materialfactsofhercareerofferausefulcasestudytoshowtheeconomic
realitiesforAbbeyactresses,andhowtheseintersectedwithgenderroles
moregenerally.
In1925,CrowewashiredbyLadyGregoryatasalaryof£10aweek.
(Murphy13)Herhusband,F.J.McCormick,Crowediscovered,wasearning
£5aweek. Inone interview,sherecordedherdisgustatdiscoveringthat
her earnings were higher than her husband, echoing Nora Helmer’s
sentiments about the humiliation experienced by her husband. (Mikhail
182)AccordingtoactorPatLaffan,asJudgelaydyinginaDublinhospital
years later,manager ErnestBlythe insisted that hiswagesbe reduced to
sick pay. His wife intercepted the envelopes and prised them open,
insertingthedifferencetoprotectherhusbanddiscoveringhispaypacket
wasreduced.Crowecouldneveraccepttheroleofmajorwage-earner in
thefamily;shebelievedthiswasaroleforthemaleheadofthehousehold
andthoughtherhusband’stalentswereworthmorethanherown.
AsurveyofthefinancialrecordsoftheAbbeyTheatrefrom1923to
1927showsthatthedifferentialinwagesextendedthroughthecompany.
(BoundVolume4384:4)Theaccountsshowthat in1923,F.J.McCormick
wasearning£415daweek,MayCraig£3aweekandEileenCrowe£2a
week. In comparison, Sara Allgood was taking home £12 10d. These
salaries seem commensurate with the actors’ years of service and
experience.(BoundVolume4384:4)InJuly1924,whenCrowewascastin
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GeorgeShiels’TheRetrievers,herweeklywagewas increased to£4. The
salaries of McCormick and Craig didn’t change. In August 1925, Crowe
earned£5aweekforappearinginPlayboyoftheWesternWorldasPegeen
Mikeandbytheendofthemonth,herwagesweredoubled.Shewasnow
earning the same salary as the Abbey’s star Sara Allgood, £10 a week.
McCormick was earning £5 10d and Craig was taking home £3 a week.
(BoundVolume4384:4)
Evenafter thedebacleoverThePloughand the Stars in February
1926,Croweearned£10aweekforherbriefappearanceas ‘theWoman
fromRathmines’.Craigtookonthe largerroleofMrsGoganwithawage
increaseofonly£1,to£4aweek.McCormickwasstillon£510d.(Bound
Volume4384:4)Theremayhavebeenaninterventionduringthatyear,for
bythetimeCroweplayedNoraHelmerinADoll’sHouseinDecember1926
herwageswerereducedto£710d.Asheron-stagehusband,McCormick
was finally earningmore: £8 aweek. (BoundVolume4384: 4)While she
played an independent woman on stage, the typical earning pattern for
Irishgenderroleswaseventuallyrestoredintheirreal-lifemarriage.
Crowe’spreoccupationwithearningcontinuedafterherhusband’s
death,andshecarefullynegotiatedfeesforoccasionalfilmwork.Manyof
the Abbey Company sought leave to appear in films as the business of
making films in Ireland expanded; this was far more lucrative if
undemandingwork. AtelegraminthepapersofJohnFord,dated6June
1951,includesthefollowingmessage:
ATREQUESTOURCLIENTEILEENCROWESINCEYESTERDAYHAVEREPEATEDLY TRIED WITHOUT SUCCESS TO CONTACT YOU TODISCUSS MISS CROWES SALARY TELEPHONE GROSVENOR 3080.(ParkertoFordLilyMss)
Theoutcomeofthenegotiationsisnotrecorded,butForddidspeakwith
Croweand the followingyear sheappeared inhis filmTheQuietManas
vicar’swife,MrsElizabethPlayfair.
Crowewasalsoinvolvedwithpaynegotiationsforradiobroadcasts
oftheAbbeyTheatrerepertoiremadefromRadioEireann.In1954,Equity
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(the Irish actors’ union) approached Blythe to discuss arrangements for
remuneration. The players requested a flat payment of £20 each, which
Blytheconsideredexcessiveandheelectedinsteadtodividethegroupof
actorsby insistingthatallplayers (regardlessof thesizeofpart) received
£10. According to BarryMonahan, the first to objectwere Eileen Crowe
and Harry Brogan, because they ‘as senior members of the company,
wouldhavepreferredpaymentproportionatetoweeklysalary.’(Monahan
184)Withinweeks,thenotionofflatpaymentswasdroppedbytheunion.
By the early 1950s, Crowe and Craig (along with actors Michael
Dolan,EricGormanandHarryBrogan)hadexperiencedmanychanges in
the Abbey. They were now surrounded by a whole host of young
newcomers. Craig’s presence and her generosity still impressed. Actor
Vincent Dowling recalled appearing with her and Michael Dolan and
describedthem:
Alwaysthesame,yetalwaysfresh;theminimumofmovement;asif for the first time; never taking away from the other actor.(Dowling198)
The older generation clung to some of their traditional ways. As one
example,VincentDowlingandothersledacampaigntoalloweachactorto
see the whole script. But Dowling soon discovered that the ‘old guard’
were re-typing their scripts to include only their own part or ‘side’.
(Dowling 158) There was increasing dissatisfaction over conditions and
salary levels, and a Players’ Council was established to negotiate with
management.(Dowling162)
Asa vocalmemberof thenewly-establishedcouncil,Dowlingwas
awareoftheenduringissueofthedifferentialinpaytermsbetweenCraig
and Crowe. When elder Company members refused to give their salary
detailsfornegotiationswithEquityandthetheatremanagement,Dowling
arranged a ‘private ballot box’ where they could anonymously provide
their years of service and terms of pay. Itwas an exercise in politeness;
giventhesizeofthecompany,detailscouldbeeasilymatchedtoplayers.
Dowling’smemoryisthatCrowewasearningtwelvepoundsweeklywhile
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Craigwasearningsevenpounds.6(Dowling163)Atasubsequentmeeting,
BlythedismissedtheirargumentstatingthatCraigwas‘reallyretired’and
givingher‘smallpartsfromtimetotimewascharity’.(Dowling245)
Itmightbeexpectedthatasmaturewomenwithawealthofshared
experience, Craig and Crowe would be friends, or at least allies in their
opinions and demands. However, all accounts suggest that Craig and
Crowedidnotgetalong.On tour, theyhadseparatedressing roomsand
didn’tspeaktoeachotherunlessonstage.(Laffan)Themostlikelycauseof
rancouristhedisparityinearnings.Dowlingrecalls:
MayCraig,after47yearswiththeCompany,hadsevenpoundsaweek.EileenCrowehadmaybetwelve.Whilesherichlydeservedtobeinthetopechelon,itwasbecauseshewasthewidowofthegreat‘F.J.’thatBlythedeignedtoputherthere.(Dowling163)
Inhismemoryofthematerialfactsofherlife,DowlingrevealsthatCrowe’s
talentandhersocialroleaswifeandthenwidowtoadistinguishedactor
remainedentangled.
CraighadjoinedthecompanyoveradecadebeforeCroweandhad
performed as many lead roles. There’s no suggestion that she lacked
moneyor sufferedanydeprivationas a result of thispaydiscrepancy. In
fact,itmayhavebeenfeltthatCraig’sinheritancefromherhusbandmeant
shedidn’tneedtoearn.But thedisparity insultedherprofessional talent
and likely led to a rift. Both women were character actresses, and had
gainedtheirearlyexperienceworkingwithactorstaughtdirectlybySynge
and Yeats. Yet, while they retained the Catholic faith, on closer
examinationtheirvaluesarenotablydistinct.
6Laterinthesamechapter(244)Dowlingsaysthat,tohisrecollection,EileenCrowewasearningnineteenpounds,nottwelve.
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MayCraig–Background
In notes on her own life prepared for a lecture or other public
discussion,MayCraigrecalledthepoemAMemorybyBritishpoetL.A.G.
Strong.(‘Reminiscence’CraigUCDLA28/238)Theopeninglinesare:
AMemorybyl.A.G.Strong
WhenIwasashighasthat,Isawapoetinhishat.IthinkthepoetmusthavesmiledAtsuchasolemn,gazingchild.
ChoosingthisdittytocaptureherchildhoodencounterwithSynge
suggests a creative mind with a sense of humour, which Craig showed
herselftohavethroughoutherworkinglife.Shewas,likeCrowe,adevout
Catholic who followed the Church’s teachings and observances. Lennox
Robinson notes in his memoir how Craig told him that he was in her
prayers,afterhelosthisjobwiththeCarnegieLibrary.(CurtainUp136)It’s
notclearwhethershewasprayingforhiscareer,orforhissoul.(Robinson
had written a tale about a girl falling pregnant and been sacked for
publicationofthestory,whichwasdeemedsalacious.)Craigwasdiscreet
enough to ensure her meaning was opaque. In addition to her faith,
repeated challenges in her life made Craig a stoic and compassionate
presenceintheAbbeyCompany.
Itwasapriest (namedEugeneMcCarthy) that introducedCraig to
thetwodominatinglovesofherlife:theAbbeyTheatreandherhusband.
Whenshewasbarelyeighteen, thepriestand family friendhadcalled to
the house to seeMrs Craig.May arrived home from school, and Father
McCarthyaskedifshewouldtakeasilentroleinaplaybeingstagedatthe
Abbey Theatre. The teenager accompaniedhim the followingmorning at
11am,whereshewatchedarehearsalofThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld
fromthestalls.
Overcome by the strangeness and beauty, Craig started to cry
silently towards the end of the performance. J.M. Syngewas also in the
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auditorium,watching, andhe took the sorrow in hermournful eyes as a
compliment. She was soon on stage in the silent role of Honor Blake, a
‘little laying pullet’ in her hands,with instructions not to look out at the
audienceortouseherhandstoomuch.(Synge117)Itwouldbenineyears
before she appeared on the Abbey stage again although she attended
acting classes. In October 1916 (when Craig was twenty-seven) a
prominentactresswasunabletofulfillanengagement inGeorgeBernard
Shaw’sArmsandtheMan.Asshewasfamiliarwiththepart fromscenes
learnt in the Abbey School, Craig was asked to step in. Thus, her acting
careerbegan.
Thatsameyear,CraigwasintheoriginalcastofLennoxRobinson’s
TheWhiteHeadedBoyasJaneGeoghegan.Shewouldcontinuetoplaythis
part for 34 subsequent productions.7One of the sixGeoghegan children,
Jane in The White Headed Boy is a ‘nice quiet girl’, long promised to
DonoghBrosnan. (Robinson67)Liketheothersisters,shepanderstoher
brother Denis and ‘knows how to humour him’ but beneath the patient
façade is a growingdissatisfaction that gradually reveals itself. (Robinson
76)Theplaywrightnotesinthedirectionsatonepoint,‘Youwouldn’tthink
JANE could be so bitter.’ (Robinson 78) Jane demands that there are
changes, asserting that she can’t wait forever for marriage. Craig was
already establishing herself as an actress with subtle, but expressive
features,capableofusingmodulatedrestrainttoempowerheremotional
climaxes.
Itwas inthehouseofFatherEugeneMcCarthythatCraigshewas
introduced to Vincent Power-Fardy, who had been born in America, of
Wexford-bornparents.His fatherwasa journalistwhoworked inAlbany,
butfollowingtheearlydeathsofbothparentsheandhistwosisterswere
sentbacktoIreland.Whilehissisterswerebroughtupbyamaternalaunt,
VincentwasoldenoughtojoinCraigGardnerandheembarkedonacareer
as an accountant and auditor, with specific responsibilities for the Irish
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Sweepstakes. Alongwith his financial qualifications, he tried his hand at
playwriting. Craig’s papers lovingly preserve three programmes for
productions of his plays in the Empire Theatre in Belfast. In 1930,while
rehearsingforMrsGroganandtheFerret,Craigjotteddownonthebackof
her script bus times from D’Olier Street and addresses. (Craig UCD
LA28/226) Between rehearsals, she was busy making arrangements and
looking for a house; she and Power-Fardy were now married with a
growingfamily.
Craig continued to perform until 1968, playing in a total of 915
productionswiththeAbbeyCompany.Thisdoesnotincludeherfilmwork,
nordoes itaccountforanymaternity leavewhileshehadfivechildrenin
quicksuccession.Reviewingthemeta-datafromtheAbbeyTheatreDigital
Archive, it becomes apparent that she was a character actress, often
playingsignificantroleswithoutappearinginleadingparts.(AbbeyTheatre
Database)SheappearedinCathleenNiHoulihan,forinstance,innineteen
productionsbutonlyplayed theeponymousheroineonce.Thiswasona
Sundayevening inFebruary1941, fora specialmemorialperformanceof
worksbyW.B.Yeats.InThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld,withwhichshe
beganhercareerasHonorBlake,Craigappearedasoneofthevillagegirls
twenty-six times,without ever playingWidowQuin or PegeenMike.Her
mostfrequentroleswereasMrsScallyinShiels’ProfessorTim,Janeinthe
Robinson’sTheWhiteHeadedBoy(34times)andElleninRobinson’sother
popular comedyTheFar-OffHills (32 times). Thepart taken fromCrowe,
Mrs Gogan in The Plough and the Stars, she played 31 times. In 25
productionsofO’Casey’sShadowofaGunmansheplayedMrsHenderson.
Craig displayed an impressive range, from Irish servants to old
English ladies. The Irish Times noted her blossoming in 1930 when she
appearedasex-schoolmistress,MrsScally,inProfessorTim:
Oneactresswhoisveryoftenmiscastoroverlooked,MissCraig,isheretheperfectdomineeringwife.Foralongperiodinthethirdact she gives growing anger a force that it has rarely seen on
7Asnotedpreviously,thesewerenotstrictly‘revivals’oftheproduction,buttheAbbeyTheatretendedtointerfereaslittleaspossiblewithclassicorpopularhits.
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stage.(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)
The San Francisco News deemed her a ‘Lady of All Ages’ in April
1935forherskills.(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)ManyoftheAmericancritics
were struck by howmuch younger and more glamorous she looked off
stage,whenshehadremovedtheheavygreasepaintandkohlwrinkles.An
audience inCork inOctober1935were ‘thrilled throughand through’by
her ‘sheer humanness and realism’; this being a striking comparison to
Crowe’slyricismandlackofpsychologicalcharacterization.(CraigUCDMss
LA28/116)
TheWordsUpontheWindowPane,W.B.Yeats’one-actplayabout
asupernaturalséanceinanIrishboardinghouse,premieredinNovember
1930 with both Craig and Crowe in the cast. Craig was the Dublin-born
mediumthathasbeenlivinginLondonbutreturnstospreadthespiritual
movementinIreland.Sheisdescribedas‘Apoorwomanwiththesoulof
an apostle.’ (Yeats 156) Crowe was Mrs Mallet, the widow that comes
seekingtoconnectwithherhusbandfromtheotherworld.Theplayisfull
ofsubtlesuggestionsofthemercenaryobjectivesofspiritualmediumsand
other skeptical visitors. The climax comes with Mrs Henderson’s
‘possession’ by a number of spirits as her visitors observe with bated
breath. These include Lulu, a six-year-old girl, alongwith Jonathan Swift,
andtwoofhisromanticinterests,VanessaandStella.
As Mrs Henderson, the actress must shift deftly between the
characters,voicingtheirarguments,whilethemediumremains‘asleep’in
her chair. After the séance, sceptic John Corbet tells her she is an
‘accomplishedactressandscholar’.(Yeats170)Heinsiststhat,althoughhe
remains to be convinced of supernatural powers, ‘I have been deeply
movedbywhat I haveheard.’ (Yeats170) In case theaudiencehadany
questionsabouttheveracityofher‘performance’,Yeatsleavesthemwith
theimageofMrsHendersonstrugglingtocomebacktorealityandprepare
someteaforherself.Aloneonthestage,MayCraigmoved‘aimlesslyabout
thestageandthen,lettingthesaucerfallandbreak,speaksinSwift’svoice.
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“PerishthedayonwhichIwasborn!”’(Yeats172)
It’sapowerfulendingandthepartofMrsHendersondemandsof
an actress a stately presence and ferocious intensity. Reviewing the first
productionfortheIrishIndependenton18November,D.S.saidthatitwas
a‘wonderfulpersonaltriumph’forCraig.Hecontinued:‘Herplayingofthis
part is a remarkably fine piece of restrained, emotional acting.’ (‘The
Words’)Asoneof thefewoccasionsonwhichCraigheldthecentral role
onstage,shedisplayedherversatilityandmajesticpresence.Itwasarole
she repeated in eleven productions over the years, in the USA and at
home.
In1931,CraigspentherfirstChristmasawayfromheryoungfamily
and for much of the following decade, she travelled with the Abbey
Company to theUSeachyear fromSeptember to July.UnlikeCroweand
McCormick,whowerereliantontheirtouringincometoraisetheirfamily,
Craig had a comfortable lifestyle due to her husband’s position. Yet her
careeronthestageremainedcrucialtoher.Whileshewasaway,Power-
FardywasinDublinwiththechildren.Shewasshockedandhurttoreadin
the US papers while travelling on the train between venues that the
journalists had learnt that she had lost a sixth child during pregnancy.
(‘Reminiscence’CraigUCDMss LA28/240)However, she talkedopenly to
USnewspapersaboutbalancinganactingcareerandfamilylife.Shesaid:
The Irish actress never has to face the problem of a home or acareer ... We don't worry which one comes first, because theyblendtogether…Thereisnoconsciousplacingofeitherhomeorcareerabovetheother...(BostonCraigUCDMssLA28)
Craig spoke in general terms, but it could be argued her circumstances
were unique. Her adoration for her husband is evident as she describes
how,‘Heunderstandsmyinterestinmyprofessionalworkandencourages
meinit.’(SteiglerCraigUCDMssLA28/219/1)InDetroit,shesaid:
I consider [my husband’s] wishes before anything else. If youdon't consider each other and if you don't love each otherenough, marriage is left holding the bag. … My husband neverforceshiswillonme.Heconsidersmecapableofmakingupmyownmindandheisadarling.Knowwhy?He'sanAmerican!
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(WarfelCraigUCDMssLA28/231)
Craig enjoyed travelling, bringing presents home to her children,
alongwithtalesof‘cherryblossomtimeinWashington’andpartieswhere
shemet the US President andMrs Roosevelt; George Gershwin and the
author of themusicalPorgy and Bess,DuBose Heyward. (‘Reminiscence’
CraigUCDMssLA28/240)Hernotesaboutonepartyread:
Millionaire had big plantation and invited players out to it on aSunday. Lake in grounds.Moonanenormousorange in the sky.Colouredworkerscameandsatcarryingtorchessingingspirituals.An unforgettable experience. (‘Reminiscence’ Craig UCD MssLA28/240)Craig was grateful to be married to an American man, who
accepted their unconventional arrangement. Less than fourmonths after
speakingpublicallyofher ‘darling’husband,Craig foundherselfawidow.
With startling intensity,Craig’sprofessional andpersonal lifeoverlapped,
andeventshadthepotentialtotestherdevotiontothetheatre.
TheWidow–MargaretGillanbyBrinsleyMacNamara
In thesummerof1933,MayCraigplayedthe title role inBrinsley
MacNamara’s new playMargaret Gillan.As the curtain rose, shewas in
place, seatedbehinda table ladenwithpaper.Thestagedirectionsshow
thatGillan’sparlourispart-home,part-office,part-extensionoftheshopat
the end of the unseen corridor stage left. It is well-furnished, if old-
fashioned and tending towards shabby. A large portrait of Mr Gillan
(recently deceased) is prominent among the other family pictures. The
stagedirectionsread:
MargaretGillanislookingoversomeaccountbooksspreadoutonthe table before her. On the table too are various papers andsheavesofbillsonwirefiles.She isbusyandapparentlyworriedby her calculations. She is still a handsome woman of aboutthirty-seven.(MacNamara9)
Craigwasforty-four,butshewasstillahandsomewoman.Inphotos,she
standsaheadtallerthanCrowe;sheshowedoffherheight,standingwith
shouldersbackandchinhigh.Sheworeherdarkhair tightaroundround
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cheeks and her eyes were blue and ‘sad in repose’. (Craig UCD Mss
LA28/219) There were a dozen curtain calls at one performance of
MargaretGillan.(‘AbbeyTheatre’)
Therewas,perhaps,nomore fitting leading ladytoplay thegrief-
strickenMargaret who has been struck by tragedy. Craig’s husband had
been laid to rest on the 30th June, less than three weeks before the
opening night. At forty-one, Power-Fardy died at his home on Clonliffe
Road, onDublin’s northside. (‘Auditor Laid’ CraigUCDMss LA 219/4)He
hadtakenillathisdeskthatmorning,twoweeksaftergreetinghiswifeat
theboatonherreturnfromaUStour.(‘ActingWith’)BrinsleyMacNamara
attended the funeral, along with many of the company. (‘Auditor Laid’
Craig UCD Mss LA 219/4) They stood in the church and shared their
condolences with May and the five Power-Fardy children: Reggie,
Raymond, Edna, Vera and Una. The production of Margaret Gillan
proceededasplanned.
Late in the first act, Mrs Gillan is joined by her long-time
housekeeper, Ellen Ledwidge. MacNamara describes her as ‘about the
sameageasMargaret,butlooksolder.’(17)MrsGillanwantstoorderher
to ‘hurry up something nice for tea this evening,’ but Ellen likes to give
advice. (17) Ellen was played by Eileen Crowe, whowas ten years older
than Craig and not used to playing lesser roles. The character has a
practical,slightlycondescendingmannertowardsherboss.Shesays:
Ah, itwas a pity, a great pity the time before,when you didn'tmarryJohnBriody,buttookPeterGillan,andhesuchalotolderthanyoutoo.(MacNamara17)
MrsGillanwantsnoneofherprattle,butEllencontinues:Likeachildyouwere,forIsawitall.AndIsawitallafter.AndI'mseeing it still. The way a thing like that goes on and on.(MacNamara17)
These doyennes of the Abbey Company during the 1930s shared many
experiences, personally and professionally, yet there is no evidence they
supported each other off stage. They were radically different in
performancestyleandinapproachtoatheatricalcareer.
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After her husband’s death, Craig bought a house in Booterstown
andher sisterMadge came to livewithher tohelp raise the children so
that Craig could continue with the Abbey Company. In the heap of
yellowing papers that University College Dublin are guarding in their
archives,thereisadescriptionoftheforty-four-year-oldwidowattendinga
firstnightattheGateTheatrelessthanayearafterherhusband’sdeath,
accompanied by her sixteen-year-old son. The social columnist for the
Dublin Evening Mail describes him as ‘very manly’, standing erect and
gallantlybyhismother,intheplaceofhisfather.(CraigUCDMssLA219/1)
Puttinggriefbehindherandkeepingherchildrenclose,Craigcontinuedto
perform.
The Evening Mail encountered Reggie again in September 1936,
whenCraigtookadvantageofamildSundayafternoontothrowagarden
party.Sheservedcocktails,mixedtoaspecialrecipeshehadpickedupin
America,andherdaughtershandedaroundplatesof ‘dainties’. Inoneof
the drawing rooms, music was playing while members of the Abbey
Companymixedwiththeguestsofhonour,visitingAmericanfriends,inthe
garden. (Craig UCDMss LA 219/1) It was an elegant and sociable affair,
muchbefittingitshost.Craigrefusedtobeseenasthetragicwidow,orthe
struggling actress andmother. She continually presented herself to Irish
society(andtheworld)asadignified,glamorousperformeroffthestage,
tobeadmiredandrespected.
MotherandMartyr:CroweandCraiginO’Casey’sJunoandthePaycock
As previously described, the concluding scene of Deevy’s Katie
RocheechoesNora Helmer’s departure from hermarriage at the end of
Ibsen’sADoll’sHouse.ItwasnottheonlyIrishplayintheAbbeyrepertoire
to replicate the final notes (albeit in a different tone) of the Norwegian
modernist drama. In his 1924 play Juno and the Paycock, Sean O’Casey
created the quintessential mother of Irish drama: Mrs Boyle. In this
installmentofhisDublintrilogy,O’Caseyusedthecomplicatedideologyof
the mythic Roman goddess Juno to explore Irish femininity and
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motherhoodwithinthecontextofthenationstateinpost-1916Ireland.As
both Crowe and Craig began to age and to take over the roles of Irish
mothers, it isuseful toconsiderthematernalmodelsontheAbbeystage
from the late 1920s and to ask how these particular actresses re-
configuredtherolesoverthefollowingdecades.
Withinter-relatedrolesinfertilityandwar,thegoddessJunowasa
symbolofstrength inchildbirth,marriageandnationalwar.Transplanted
tothetumultuousyearsoftheIrishcivilwar,O’Casey’sJunoisatoughIrish
mother,fightingforherfamily’ssurvival.Attheopeningoftheplay,Juno
describes her lot: ‘I killin’ meself workin’, an’ he sthruttin’ about from
mornin’tillnightlikeapaycock.’(O’Casey10)Attheendoftheplay,sheis
worn down by poverty and grief, but chooses an independent life. She
instructsherdaughter, ‘Letyour father furrage forhimselfnow; […]we’ll
worktogetherforthesakeofthebaby.’(O’Casey71)Theironyofthisfinal
scene,incontrasttoIbsen’s,isthatthefecklessCaptainBoylehasnoidea
thathiswifehasleftwithherdaughter,tobringuphergrandchildwithout
anymalefigures.
Inthecastforthefirstproduction,SaraAllgoodpresidedoverthe
familywhileEileenCroweplayedtheroleofMaryBoyle, Juno’sdaughter
whobecomespregnantoutofwedlock.ButbyMarch1926,Allgoodhad
left forHollywoodandasthepresidingmatriarchofthecompany,Crowe
tookovertherole.Shewouldplaythepartin37productions,withherlast
appearance as Juno in 1957 taking place at the Queen’s Theatre on
HawkinsStreet,duringtheAbbeyCompany’ssojournthereafterthefirein
thetheatre.(Atthattime,PhilipO’Flynnplayedherhusbandandshewas
directedbyRiaMooney.)
Commentators have largely agreed that motherhood ‘constitutes
themostsignificantelementinJuno’scharacterization’,althoughscholars
differ on how they read and interpret the material in regard to her
representationofmotherhood.(Keaton85-97)BerniceSchrankseesJuno’s
‘doctrineoffreewill’astheantithesisofBoyle’s‘deterministicworldview’
andargues that thesedialecticalpolaritiesstructure theplay,making ita
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performanceaboutJuno’sprivatetriumphunderoppression.(Schrank439
–454)Others, includingKrause,believe Juno isO’Casey’sexampleof the
universalmother,arealisticandcompassionatewoman.(68-99)
Rather than choose to deify or to destroy the character, Maria
Keaton examines the script and Mrs Boyle’s character development to
revealthe‘formationofatypeofmatriarchalideology’.(86)Inherreading,
Juno isneithergoddessnorvillain. She isadissentingvoice thatexposes
thehollownatureofnationalismandisan‘agentinherowneducation’as
shecomestoanunderstandingofhowtofacethefuture.(Keaton87)
If Juno’s children and husband are caught up in the intellectual
ideasofnationalismandthelabourmovement,herconcernsarepractical
andfinancial.Throughouttheaction,shefeedsherhusbandandurgestea
onherson.Earlyon,sheremarkstoMary:
Yis; an' when I go into oul' Murphy's tomorrow, an' he gets toknowthat,insteado'payin'all,I'mgoin'toborrymore,what'llhesaywhen I tell himaprinciple's aprinciple?What'llwedo if herefusestogiveusanymoreontick?(O’Casey8)
Juno’sconcernforherfamily’swelfareisadmirable,yetitblindshertothe
experiences of those outside the family unit. Her callous remarks about
MrsTancred’slossofherson,forexample,(‘Inwan’way,shedeservesall
shegot’)jarwithherprotectivenessforherownoffspring.(O’Casey47)
The tragedy of O’Casey’s play is that, for all her stoicism and
commonsense,Junocannotsaveherfamilyfromruin.Shefailstostopher
husband’s profligate ways and when their inheritance transpires to be
invalid,theyareplungedagainintopoverty.HersonJohnny’sbetrayalofa
neighbourleadshimtoadeaththatisnotheroic,butisovershadowedby
shameofhisbehaviour. Junofailstomeetthenational idealofamother
whomaintainsmoralorderandfinancialstability,despiteherefforts.
O’Casey never allows easy interpretation of the motives and
emotions of his characters and all of the female parts in Juno and the
Paycockarecomplexanddemandingofactresses.Comingaftertheadored
starSaraAllgood,Crowehadaparticularbattletowinoveraudiences. In
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November1927LadyGregoryattendedaperformanceandnoted,‘AtJuno
lasteveningawonderfulhouseanditwentaswellaseverinspiteofMiss
Crowe,apoorsubstituteforSally.’(MurphyJournals217)Thesubstitution
did not bother the general public: Gregory went to seven performances
thatweek, and recorded ‘crammed houses’ for Junowith ‘last night the
longest queue I have ever seen there, a pity somany had to be turned
away.’(MurphyJournals217)
At the same time, critics again often drew attention to Crowe’s
dainty presence and one in particular found that her portrayal of the
battle-worn mother destroyed the impact of the final scene with a
desertedBoyleandJoxer.Ofthe1937productioninCambridge,thiscritic
describedhow: ‘Theastonishing lastdrunk scene [… ]missed fire in the
presentproductionowingtoMissCrowe’sinabilitytomakehermonologue
convincing.’(Gownsman Craig UCD Mss LA28/219-3) The other women
weremore successful, in his eyes. He said of AideenO’Connor, asMary
Boyle:‘Thecharacterbecomesmorecomplexinthecourseoftheplay,and
Miss O'Connor showed a full understanding of every aspect of it.’
(GownsmanCraigUCDMssLA28/219-3)
In the figure of neighbor Mrs Tancred, O’Casey depicts Irish
motherhood in a different guise. Juno is working and striving for her
childrenfromtheopeningmoments;fromherfirstentry,MrsTancredisa
figure of grief, broken by the loss of her child. She enters ‘a very old
woman–obviouslyshakenbythedeathofherson’andcontinuestorelive
thesceneofhisdeath.(O’Casey45)Craigfrequentlyplayedthispartanda
critic said she ‘made theepisodeofMrsTancredverymovingand spoke
beautifully.’(GownsmanCraigUCDMssLA28/219-3)
Iftheyinitiallycomeintoconflictovertheirsons’involvementinthe
civilwar,ultimatelytheplayforgesabondbetweenbothofthesemothers,
showingthatanessentialhumanitycanunitewomen.Anoteofhoperises
fromJuno’srepetitionofMrsTancred’sprayer,andhersubsequentescape
with her daughter, determined to raiseMary’s childwith ‘twomothers’.
(O’Casey71)Offstage,thecontrastingpersonalitiesofthesetworeal-life
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mothers never allowed for such easy union. On stage, the polarities of
mature femininity they embodied and presented to the Irish public
enrichedandenlivenedtheAbbeyTheatreCompanyfordecades.
Crowe and Craig devoted their lives to the Irish stage. They
continued to perform through pregnancies, bereavements, their own
illnessandthatoftheirchildren,perhapsforfinancialreasonsaswellasfor
their own fulfillment. They gained from theirwork resilience, strengthof
character andmind that saw themboth intoold age. Craig continued to
performuntil1968;shediedfouryearslater.Croweperformedforthelast
timeonthestageofthePeacockin1970anddiedin1978.
MayCraigcameto theAbbeyTheatreasa sensitive, seriouschild
andmatured into a stately presence on the stage, a glamorous if tragic
figurethatwaslovedonthestreetsofDublinasmuchasshewasadmired
on the stage. Crowewas at the epicenter of shifts in the staging of Irish
femininityonthenationalstage.Hercareerbroughtherfromtheportrayal
ofmodernwomanNoraHelmer toSynge’s lonelyNoraandeventually to
thepartofNoraClitheroeinThePloughandtheStars.Onecommentator
hasobservedhow,O’Casey’sNorais‘weakandfacesbacktotheprevious
century's helpless Colleens.’ (Ritschel 163) Crowewas familiar with such
colleensandhowtheyhadbeenrepresentedonthe Irishstagesince the
turn of the century. She experimented with Ibsen’s ‘new women’ but
ultimately succumbed to the ideological pressure (or chose) topresent a
particularlyIrishformoffemininitythatwaschaste,obedientanddiscrete.
WhenshedemandedtheroleofNoraClitheroein1936,Crowewas
choosing to present aweak,melodramatic heroine in furtherance of her
owncareerandmaterialgain.Thisisacuriouslyparadoxicalpositionfora
womantooccupy,whileit’sentirelycomprehensibleasapragmaticchoice
for a working actress. Furthermore, the material facts recorded in the
archiveprovethattheAbbeyTheatre,withitscontentiouspositioninthe
apparatus of the Irish Free State, valued the chaste, demure wife and
mother figuremore highly than the ambitious young artist (Richards) or
therichversatilityofanaccomplishedcharacteractress(suchasMayCraig).
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Conclusion
The development of any artistic career is the product of many
factors:training,dedication,chanceandambitionbutit isalsomarkedby
personalideals.It’sdifficulttomeasuretheextenttowhichthecareersof
Eileen Crowe andMay Craigwere ultimately shaped by institutional and
societalpressure,buttheiridealsbroughtthemtowheretheywereatthe
end of the 1950s. They were by then actresses of esteem performing
regularly, but they were also respectable womenwith orthodoxmiddle-
classfamiliesandfinancialstability.
Inthefollowingchapters,Iwilldetailthelifestoriesofthreeother
womenwhoemergedfromthesametraditionattheAbbey,buttookvery
different routes. In theconclusion, Iwill returnto issuesof longevityand
success.However,it’snotusefultodirectlycomparethesewomen.Rather,
toconsiderallfiveofthelifestoriesasonenarrativeisbothfascinatingand
necessary to a full understanding of the status and position of an Irish
actressintheNationalTheatreofthe1930s.
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Chapter3:AideenO’Connor(1913–1950)
Introduction
Asstatedbefore,thisthesisbuildsontheworkofGaleandStokes
in The Cambridge Companion to the Actress, in aiming to expose ‘the
construction of the actress’. (2) The chapters examine the factors that
come tobearon thepersonal idealsof anyactress: familial, societal and
industrypressuresthatmustbenegotiatedendlesslytomakeacareerasa
performer. If Crowe’s biography demonstrates the development of a
respectableIrishperformer,AideenO’Connor’slifeshowsasingle-minded
devotion to acting, but also illustrates how off-stage behaviour came to
determinethefateofcertainIrishactresses.
A photograph of Aideen (Una Mary) O’Connor was taken in the
greenroomoftheAbbeyTheatrebeforeshewentontothemainstagefor
thefirsttimein1933.(ShieldsT13/B/130)Inthepicture,shebarelyraises
hereyestothecamera,asshesinksintothecornerofaflowerycouch.Her
hairispinnedbacktorevealanelfinfaceandonthewallbehindherhead
isaphotographoftheAbbeyPlayersonarecentAmericantour.Inherlap,
her right hand grips the fingers of her left; both hands hover above the
swathes of gingham that make up the too-large costume. To my eyes,
there’sadetermination inher faceaswell asananxiety. Shehas theair
not of someone who doesn’t want to be there, but of someone who is
terrifiedbecauseshesobadlywantstobethere.
O’Connorhadgreyeyes,abuttonnoseandhairof‘acoppercolour
…amassoftinyringlets’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Shewasfivefoot
twoandahalf inchestallandofslightbuild(weighingapproximately106
pounds). (ShieldsT13/A/469) ShewasaCatholic girl, livingathomewith
her fatherandworkingasasecretaryatPolikoffs’clothing factoryduring
the day. OnWednesday 6th September 1933 she turned twenty and the
followingMonday,shemadeher firstprofessionalappearance inBrinsley
MacNamara’sMargaretGillan.ShewasreplacingtheactressKittyCurling,
whomshehadseenperformasEstherGillanonemonthearlier.
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‘UnaMary’wasawareoftheactressUnaO’Connor,borninBelfast
and a member of the Abbey Company from 1912. The latter left for
Hollywood in the 1920s, but her name remained known in Dublin. To
differentiateherself,UnaMarychosethenameAideen.Thenamecomes
fromIrishlegendsofFionnMcCoolandmeans‘fire’.Ithasconnotationsof
jealousy and passion. For a few years, she would be Una at home in
RanelaghandAideeninthetheatre.Gradually,Unawaslostentirely.
MacNamara’s play centres on the relationship between amother
and a daughter: a recently widowedwoman is dismayedwhen the only
man she ever loved asks for her daughter’s hand inmarriage. The script
was familiar to O’Connor from classes and performances in the Abbey
School.Margaret Gillan is a play full of repressed passions, showing a
woman struggling with aging, with financial and practical realities, along
withthedeathofherowndreamsandaburningjealousyofherdaughter’s
youth and beauty. May Craig played the title role. Tentatively entering
Margaret’sGillansittingroomlateinthefirstact,AideenO’Connorraised
herheadandasked, ‘Didyouwantme,mother?’ (MacNamara12) In the
tellingofanylifestory,amotherisagoodplacetobegin.
FamilyBackground
I traced the letters on the screen of the Irish Census of 1911
(publicallyavailableontheInternet)withmyfinger.IcomparedtheFswith
theCs,onein‘O’Connor’andtheotherin‘RomanCatholic’,denotingthe
religion of the household. The genealogist from the National Library
believes that the name on the Enumerator’s Form is ‘Flora Crowley
O’Connor’.Ileantowards‘ClaraCrowleyO’Connor’.It’snotpossibletobe
definite. But in this tracing, this guessing, I am again aware that I am
inventing someone in ‘Clara’, or obliterating somebody by the name of
‘Flora’. Such conundrums and decisions are an intrinsic part of archival
research. I cannot be certain of thiswoman’s name, but there are other
documentedfactsthatcanbepiecedtogether.
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MrsFlora-ClaraCrowleyO’Connorwastwenty-twoyearsoldwhen
the Census Collector called to the door of 56 Hollybank Avenue on the
south side of Dublin city. He canvassed the entire ‘Avenue’, which is a
grand title for theneat cul de sacof terraced, red-brickedhouses in this
long-establishedsuburb.Number56wasconsidereda largehouse (three
bedroomsandanoutsideprivy)foracouplewithasingledomesticservant.
Another Catholic family lived on one side; on the other side were
Methodists. (Census1911)Thegirl, fromCorkCity,hadbeenmarried for
less than a year to Vincent De Paul O’Connor, who worked at the
Mercantile Office in Dublin Port. It was April 1911. It was spring. IfMrs
O’Connorwasalreadyexpectingherfirstdaughter,Eileen,thispregnancy
wasn’t recorded. The Census heralded the start of something: the
O’Connorfamilyproper.
At 9.40am on the 26th August 1913 the trams stopped running,
leavingidlethefiftymilesoftrackthatlinkedthecentreofDublinwiththe
suburbs of Clontarf, Rathmines, Blackrock and Kingstown (now Dun
Laoghaire). (Yeates 1) The absence of trams and bells announcing their
arrivalleftthestreetsquiet.Fourdayslater,riotingbrokeoutinRingsend
(aworking-classareaclosetotheport)andthedisturbancesspreadrapidly
tootherworking-classdistricts.An industrialdisputeoverworkers’ rights
tounionizebegantounravelandsomeofthecity’semployersthreatened
alockout.
On the first Saturday of September, the Irish Catholic newspaper
describedeventsonthestreetsofthecapitalas‘Dublin'sPeril,’sayingthat
‘most self-respecting and educated men and women’ were ‘heartily
ashamed’ of the rioting anddisputes spillingout fromvarious industries.
(Yeates 131)Many believed an unbridled class war was on the verge of
breaking out. At the same time, according to Padraig Yeates, Irish
nationalists(suchasVincentO’Connor)opposedtheLockoutandtheinflux
of goods from overseas it would encourage. (‘The Dublin’ 31-36) The
weatherwasmildforautumnandthecityre-assumedarelaxed,weekend
airasthethreatofviolenceremainedataremove.ASundayIndependent
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journalistobservedthat‘theusualharmonyandgoodhumourprevailedin
every quarter, the police were not obtrusively visible in any quarter.’
(Yeates134-6)
That same Saturday, 6th September, VincentO’Connor learnt that
his secondchildwasanotherdaughter.Anyparentwould fear for sucha
child, born into a city threatening to descend into lawlessness. From his
deskinDublinPort,hecouldseethemenonthedockscollectingtounload
the ships arriving with food supplies and (as the crisis developed) boats
leaving for Liverpoolwhere childrenwere promised Catholic homeswith
food and schooling. Later, official documents would claim that Mr
O’ConnorwastheSuperintendentoftheMercantileMarineOffice.(Shields
T13/A/465)Itisanunlikelytitle,giventhathewasanIrishCatholicworking
in the civil service at a time when promotions or leadership roles were
denied tomanyofhis faith.Hewasa lower-middle-classman striving to
raise a young family in a city under siege from industrial disputes, from
povertyandfromendemicdiseases.
AideenO’Connorwasborninthemidstofthe1913Lockout.Bythe
endofthelastquarterof1913,infantmortalitywouldhaverisenbyalmost
50%.(Yeates‘TheDublin’31-36)Flora-Clarawouldhaveanotherdaughter
within two years but she didn’t survive to see her children grow. It’s
tempting to say that O’Connor was born with the defiant energy of the
Lockout in the air; themalevolent despair that found its way into every
nook of the city in the dark winter of 1913 shaped her personality. It’s
temptingtosaythis,butit’satheoryIcan’tproveorsupportwithevidence.
Asmuchas I’d likethe ideaof thisshaping forceto linger in thereader’s
mind,itwassimplyamoment:inthelifeofthecityandforO’Connor.
TheLockoutdidhappenbut thecitymovedon,with thewidower
Vincent O’Connor bringing up his daughters as middle-class respectable
womenalone.Hewas an Irish speaker, but in theDominicanConvent in
Donnybrook where she attended school, his daughter learnt to speak
French,toplaytennisandtocomposeelegantbusinessletters.Intheearly
1930s,WilliamFayoftheAbbeyTheatrewastakingafternoonsawayfrom
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Marlborough Street to coach young convent girls around Dublin in
elocutionandShakespeare.(Finlay97)IfheincludedMuckrossCollegeon
his weekly rounds, O’Connor came under his watchful eye. She liked
attention,thismiddlechildwhoconsideredherselftheplainsister.(Shields
T13/A/436)ShefoundoutabouttheeveningclassesintheAbbey,evenas
theMuckrossnunseducatedherforajobinanofficewithprospectsanda
steadywage.Polikoffs’FactorywasanachievementforO’Connor,ajobin
the office above the factory floor where men and women stitched and
sewed all day. But she already had her eye on a different life, and was
taking the tram into the city a few evenings a week to be tutored by
LennoxRobinsonandM.J.DolaninclassesattheAbbeyTheatre.
Dolankeptoneofhisadjudicators’sheets:atypedsheetofnames
on which they made handwritten notes as they auditioned scores of
hopefulperformers for theAbbeySchoolofActingonthePeacockstage.
O’Connor’s notes are not recorded but otherswere consideredwith the
followingobservations:
MissRoseO'SheaIdon'tthinkso:weakanduninteresting.EleanorO'ConnellAnxious&nervous.Notbadvoiceinreading.Recitation:Gesturebadandnotsogoodinreading:-enunciation.NoraO'NealeMadesenseofwhatshewasreading.Robust:goodstrongvoice.Clearenunciation(often)DramaticsenseRecit[ation]:flexibilityandwordpaintinggood.Faceexpression.(AdjudicationsNLIMss22,556)
There ismuchemphasisonvoiceandrecitation,onthestrengthofvoice
and enunciation. Little else is revealed about the qualities they required
fromstudents.
In April 1933, O’Connor received her certificate in acting from
Robinsonatasmallgraduationceremony.(ShieldsT13/A/445)Athomeon
Hollybank Avenue, her sister Eileen was already taking the position of
motherfigure,ofmoralandreligiousguardian.Onemorning,VincentPaul
O’Connornoticedapostcardaddressedtohismiddledaughterinthepost.
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Hewaspresented inwritingwitha formal indicationofherhardwork in
theeveningclasses.Hecouldsimplyturnitovertoseethetypedrequest
for‘Una’tocalltothetheatreassoonaspossibletoseeMrArthurShields.
Hewrote‘Gon-eiríant-áidhleat.Daidí,’inpencilacrossthecard,towish
her luck in Irish. (Shields T13/A/446) Soon after that meeting O’Connor
begantoprepareforherfirstprofessionalappearance.
Her siblings,EileenandMaeveO’Connor,were ‘notAbbey-goers’.
(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))Therewasonefriendandmentorwhocelebrated
O’Connor’severyperformance,althoughshecouldrarelytraveltoDublin.
Sr. Mary Monica Hanrahan (whose real name was Martha) was born in
CorkCityandjoinedtheSistersofMercyconventinCobhsixmonthsafter
O’Connor was born. (Cosgrave) Hanrahan was then eighteen and it’s
possibleshewasafriendorrelativeofMrsO’Connor(alsofromCorkcity),
who stayed in touchwith the childrenofherdead friend. Living close to
O’Connor’sfamily inthecentreofCobhandteachingatthelocalprimary
school,HanrahantookprideinO’Connor’sworkandgrowingfame.
According to an email from the Congregational Archivist for the
Sisters of Mercy, Marianne Cosgrave, this ‘handsome’ woman was
‘cultured,graciousandladylike.’Shespokewitha‘fineaccent’andtaught
speechanddrama toallher students.(Cosgrave)Aswell as the standard
elocution and verse-speaking lessons, Mary Monica encouraged her
students to produce their own plays, tableaux and sketches. (Cosgrave)
However she felt aboutO’Connor’s future decisions, SisterMaryMonica
lovedherlikeamother.
Afterasix-nightrunofMargaretGillan,O’Connorreturnedtowork
atPolikoffs’factoryandattendedrehearsalsinthetheatreintheevenings.
Two weeks later, she had a small part in The Plough and the Stars as
Mollser,afifteen-year-oldteenagerwholookslittlemorethantenbecause
consumptionhas‘shrivelledherup.Sheispitifullyworn,walksfeebly,and
frequently coughs’. (O’Casey 179) She subsequently played Delia, the
young sweetheart of Denis, the doctor-to-be, in Robinson’s hit The
WhiteheadedBoy.Withlittlestagetime,O’Connorhadtheopportunityto
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watchtheothers,toreadplaysclosely,andtolearntechniqueandhabits
nottaughtinanactingclass.
AttheendofherfirstyearwiththeAbbeyCompany,O’Connorwas
cast asHelena in Robinson’s comedy about a theatre company visiting a
smallIrishvillageentitledDramaAtInish.Afteritsuproariousfirstnightat
thetheatretheyearbefore,Robinsonmadeaspeechexplainingtheplay:
Iwantedtoconfoundthecritics. It's reallyanabsurdplaybasedonanimpossiblesituation.Thecriticswouldhavedescribeditassuch,soyouseeIamsayingitbeforethem.(O’Neill149)
There’sanoteofself-pityanddesperationbeneaththeeloquence.
Robinson’s alcoholism had reached dire conditions. Playwright Teresa
Deevy,thenaprotégéofRobinson,saidathistimethatshe‘feltlikecrying
when[she]sawhim’becausehewas‘verybad’.(DeevyTCDMss10722/5)
Robinson was growing rapidly thinner, more morose, and increasingly
unreliable.Muchof thecastknewthisplaywell,andcouldcopewithhis
erratic attendance at rehearsals. Arthur Shieldswas designatedAssistant
Directortohelpthecastlearnthemeta-theatricaljokes.
Unlikethe ingénuepartsshehadplayedtodate,Helena inDrama
at Inish was a soubrette, a ‘neat little servant’ unused to the ways of
theatricalpeople.(Robinson201)Inthefirstact,shevoicestheshockofan
Irishgirlatthesleepingarrangementsforthecoupleleadingthetheatrical
troupe.Lizzieexplainsthatshe’skeepingadoubleroomforMrdelaMare
andMissConstantia;thesalaciousideaalarmsherservant:
Helena: (shocked)Mr---andMissConstantia!Glory,miss!Lizzie: It'squiteall right,Helena.Actresses theyare -- I
mean,she'sanactressandsoishe--Imean,he'san actor and so is -- well, anyhow, they’remanandwife these years and years.O’Hara or somenamelikethatIbelievetheyarereally.
Helena: Isee,Miss.(Robinson202)
The servant obediently swallows her shock at theways of theatrical life.
She took it all in, saying little but learning the secrets of the clandestine
arrangements,muchasO’Connorwasdoingbackstage.
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Despite her apparent naivety, Helena in Drama At Inish has a
troubling secret: a baby that she gave birth to out of wedlock and that
subsequentlydied.StillsfromtheproductionshowafrenziedHelena,her
armsaroundtheneckofastartledman.Herfaceisn’tvisible;thecontext
forthephysicalsituationisnotcleartothoseunfamiliarwiththeplot.The
manisthehonest,good-lookingMichael,the‘Boots’ inthehotel;hewas
played by the Assistant Director, Arthur Shields. Helena’s problems are
neatly resolvedwhen she disappears off to the church for awedding to
fellow servant,Michael. Respectability was restored as O’Connor tucked
her arm into the tall, reedy figure with the sensitive face and gentle
manner. O’Connor was already fond of the kind and fatherly figure of
Shields,whoenjoyedhertalentasheofferedadviceandthebenefitofhis
experience.Theybowedandleftthestagetogether.
ForO’Connor, thenegotiationofhersocialandtheatrical lifewith
her job inPolikoffs’andas thedaughterofaCatholicwidowerwouldbe
harder to resolve than Helena’s wedding resolves the plot of Drama at
Inish.Butalready,herstronganddeterminedpersonalitywasshapingthe
lifethatshewanted.
TheAmericanTourof1934-1935
The same month that O’Connor played Helena, whispers began
backstage about an upcoming tour of America and themembers of the
Company to be included. O’Connor wanted the adventure, but was
practical-minded enough to consider the impact of leaving Ireland. She
negotiated conditions with the Abbey management, or was assisted in
doingso,andherweeklywagewasincreasedto£310swhensheresolved
togiveupherjobtogoonthetour.(ShieldsT13/A/117)Theveteranactor
William O’Gorman agreed to Mr O’Connor’s request that he be an
unofficial ‘chaperone’toO’Connoronhertravels,regularlysendingnotes
backtoconfirmthathisdaughterwas‘ashappyaswhenshewasathome
andunchanged’.(ShieldsT13/A/117)Shehadsetinmotionherdreamsof
lifeasafull-timeactress.
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It was publicly announced that the Abbey was transporting
‘fourteenplayers,threestagehandswiththenecessaryscenery,costumes
andproperty’ to theUnited States andCanada. (Shields T13/A/106(1))A
pressreleasefromFredW.Jordangivenon17August1934statedthatthis
would be ‘one of the largest theatrical tours on record’. (Shields
T13/A/108(1))AsassistantproduceroftheAbbeyCompany,ArthurShields
was in charge of the company, while the American producer Mr Elbert
Wickes was granted ‘personal charge’ throughout the tour. (Shields
T13/A/108(1)) After arriving in Boston in October 1934, the company
wouldspendNovemberinCanadianandeasterncitiesincludingMontreal,
Toronto, Ohio and Detroit before appearing on Broadway. The return
journey took them to San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and St. Paul
beforefinishinginBostoninearlyJune1935.
O’Connor joined the company in Westland Row train station in
Dublin,wheretheytookthetraintoBelfastandthenaboattoLiverpool.
Their liner, theScythia, sailed fromthere,withonehundredandseventy
sevenpassengersonboard.FrolieMulhernandAideenO’Connor,already
firmfriends,becameaffectionatelyknownas‘thebabies’ofthecompany.
(ShieldsT13/A/437)Manyofthecompanyalreadyknewthisjourneywith
itsboredomandoccasionalboutsofseasickness.ForO’Connor, itwasall
new: the glamourofdressing fordinner in theevening, thedancing, the
drinking and the sun bathing on deck. At dinner, the actors spotted the
British toffeemagnate,SirHaroldMackintosh,andhiswife. (‘Scythia’13)
Galesheldbackdockingforanentiredaybuttheyeventuallymanagedto
dockinEastBostonasdarknessfellonanautumnevening.(‘Scythia’13)
The Cincinnati Post mentioned on 15 December 1934 that while
therewasa‘crusadeagainstsalaciousstageplayslaunchedbytheCatholic
Church in New York’, the Abbey Players were one of only four theatre
companiestobeputona ‘white list’bytheChurch. (ScrapbooksNLIMss
25,511-23) This ‘white list’ confirmed they provided respectable
entertainment and the endorsement bolstered both the prestige of the
company and audience numbers. Recalling their tour two years earlier
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when ‘through the fog of that ominous period the actors from Dublin
playedon’,TheSundayTribuneinChicagoinDecember1934declaredthe
Abbey Company to be ‘heroes of [the] bank panic period’ and urged
theatre-goersnottomissachancetoseeaperformance.(ScrapbooksNLI
Mss25,511-23)
As for any touring theatre group, resilience was a feature of the
company,andO’Connorwasgettinga trueexperienceof the touring life
and its demands. Therewere long anduncomfortable train journeys and
sometimesdisappointinghouses aswell as enthusiastic reviews. In some
cities,notablytheCassTheatreinDetroit,theaudienceswere‘regrettably
small’. (ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)TheirvisittotheHarrisTheatre in
Chicagowasmore successful,with the run extended from twoweeks to
three.PlayingminorrolessuchastheyounggirlHonorBlakeinSynge’sThe
Playboyof theWesternWorld,O’Connorbegan tohoneher acting craft.
Whiledoingso,shewasalsolearningtheartofpresentingherselfoffstage.
AgainstthematuretalentandsophisticationofmanyoftheAbbey
players,O’Connorsparkledlikea‘childofnature’straightfromthemistof
Yeats’CelticIreland.(ShieldsT13/A/437)Orrather,thenewspaperarticles
suggestthisCelticcolleenrolewasimposedonherbytheAmericanpress
who described her this way and, noting its publicity value, O’Connor
embraced it. (ShieldsT13/A/437)Aphotographerconvincedher to sit for
anartexhibition,andhetookphotographsofherincharacterwithouteven
‘a bit of lipstick’. (Shields T13/A/437) She complained to her sisters of
wearinessfromthedemand‘tobe“nice”and“sweet”toeveryoneImeet.’
(Shields T13/A/437) Yet she obligingly told journalists stories of fairies in
thebogsofConnemaraand:
shetalkedreverentlyofWilliamButlerYeats…anddescribedhimasa SOhandsomegentlemanwith snowwhitehair,one lockofhairwhichisalwaysdrippingoverhisforehead…(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
On 22 January 1935, the Detroit Times featured a head-and-
shoulders shot of O’Connor with the caption: ‘Hollywood already has its
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collectiveeyeonthisnewandbright-eyedcolleenfromtheAbbeyPlayers’.
(Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511-23) Judy O’Grady, social columnist of the
Detroit News, caught her sweet and innocent persona eloquently in the
same month. After having tea with the Company, O’Grady wrote of
O’Connoron24thJanuary:
HerblueeyessparkledasshetalkedoftheAmericanimpressions… she wore a sparkling afternoon frock that exactly matchedthose dancing eyes, too, she talked of tea in Ireland which iscomposed of homemade cake and heavily buttered scones(pronounced scons) … she talked of how Irish girls walked somuchmorethanweAmericans,butadmittedthattherewasn’tacityinIrelandwhereonecouldn’tberightoutinthecountryafterwalkingfortenminutes…(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
Early in the new year, theDetroit Press deemedO’Connor, along
with Frolie Mulhern, to be ‘mere novices’ alongside the rest of the
establishedcompany.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Someofthepapers
recalled Kate Curling, the Abbey actress who had left the Company and
IrelandtomarryanAmericanbusinessman;yetO’Connorwasbeginningto
makeanimpression.Whiletheylackedtheexperienceoftheotheractors,
theChicagoHeraldpronouncedboth she and FrolieMulhern to be ‘pert
andcapable’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
SincetheirarrivalinNewYorkinNovember,O’ConnorandMulhern
had been playing frolicking teenagers in Robinson’s comedy The Far-Off
Hillstothedelightofaudiences.BythetimetheyarrivedinSanFrancisco
in the spring, they had added American touches to the set of the girls’
bedroomthatopenedthesecondact. In the ‘simple,pretty room’where
the twobedsare ‘sideby side, theirends towards theaudience’ there is
therefractionofthehotelbedroomsO’ConnorandMulhernsharedwhile
on tour. (Robinson 33) On the walls of the set, posters of American
heartthrob RamonNavarro now hung alongside the holy pictures. (Craig
UCDMssLA28/116)Thegirlsweremadeupinshadow,rougeandlipstick,
which they preferred to bring from Ireland. (Craig UCD Mss LA28/116)
Ducky,playedbyO’Connor,wastheseventeen-year-oldeldersisterwhois
reading in bed while sixteen-year-old Pet (Mulhern) brushes her hair by
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candlelight.Amidgirlygossip,theyaresecretlytryingtoplottheirfather’s
secondmarriage.
‘Allthissillywait-till-you’re-askedbusiness,’DuckygrumblesinThe
Far-Off Hills about women awaiting an engagement, while Pet bemoans
theshapeofhernose.(Robinson33)Eventually,Petblowsoutthecandle,
kicksoffherslippersandmakesforbed.Duckyisquicktoask,‘Haveyou
said your prayers?’ Pet tartly responds, ‘Mind your own business.’
(Robinson34)Asthesisterssettledowntosleep,whisperingtoeachother
inthedarknessandrecallingtheeventsoftheday,thereisanoutbreakof
gigglesandtheycannotconceal their laughter.Thestagedirectionsread:
‘They both laugh until the beds shake.’ (Robinson 35) A similar sense of
youthfulexuberancemarkedMulhernandO’Connor’s friendshipon their
first American tour. Newspapers of the period contain not only play
reviewsbutgossipcolumnspackedwithdescriptionsofcocktailpartiesand
dinnersbeingheldinhonouroftheIrishplayers.
WhileherchaperoneO’Gormanmayhaveseenheras‘unchanged’,
the press attention and the glamour clearly began to alter O’Connor’s
perception of all that she could achieve in her stage career. (Shields
T13/A/436) She wrote home to ‘My Dear Daddy’, and joked, ‘It will be
funnytogohomeandsettledownastheleastgood-lookingofthefamily’.
(ShieldsT13/A/436)Theletterstoherfatherarepoliteandinnocent;sheis
thechildofnatureandthegirloftheCeltictwilightthatwasadarlingto
the US press. To her sisters, O’Connor revealed more of the private
changesinthisnaïveCatholicgirl.
Bythespringof1935,theCompanyhadarrivedontheWestCoast
to glorious sunshine. O’Connor believed that she had grown taller, and
gainedsevenpounds,althoughsheretained‘apaleface’with ‘hollows in
the cheeks’ from all the hard work. (Shields T13/A/437) When not
performing, shopping and socializing took much of her attention and
energy. Despite the innocence of her press interviews, shewasmeeting
anddatingAmericanmen.Afteradalliancewitha‘concertandradio’tenor
called Alban Knox in Chicago, she met a divorced man called Bob. This
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mysterious man, with an unknown surname, was the first serious
relationship of her life. Bob planned to visit Dublin for the horse show,
aftershereturnedtoDublin.Shewasrelievedthathersistersdidn'tabhor
theideaofhim,saying‘I’mgladyoubothdon'thaveafitattheideaofa
divorcedman,itcheersmeup.’(ShieldsT13/A/437)
O’Connorwasalsobeingexposedtomodernideasaboutfemininity,
in various guises.As she commiseratedwithelder sister Eileen,whowas
sufferingfrommenstrualpains,shescornedIrishideasandadvisedher:
I’vegivenupthatsillyold-fashionedideaandbath[e]thesameasusual,it’smuchmorehygienicandallthe[docto]r’sheretellyouto. [Y]ou feelmuch better too after a bath with plenty of bathsaltsandaruboverwithEaudeCologne,justyoutryit.(ShieldsT13/A/437)
Some of the actors arranged to see a production by Eva Le
GallienneduringtheirstayinChicago.O’Connorwas‘crazyabouther’and
correspondedwiththeactress/directorbriefly,entertainingtheideathatif
she were sacked by the Abbey Theatre she would approach Miss Le
Galliennefora job.(ShieldsT13/A/437)LeGallienne’sworkprofferedthe
role model of an independent professional career for a woman in the
theatre.O’Connor’s suggestion that she couldeasily be ‘sacked’ suggests
sheknewthatherpositionwiththeAbbeywasprecarious,oratleastwas
dependentonherbehaving inaparticular,obedientmanner.Thiswasto
proveprescientintheyearstocome.
Forallhersophistication,O’Connorremaineddevotedtohersisters,
leavingherself ‘financiallyembarrassed’byspendingherearningsongifts
for them and clothes for herself in Los Angeles. She sent letters packed
withtheminutiaeofHollywood–whichactorhadsaidwhat toher,how
shyMaureenO’Harawas,thecolourofthe‘bathingsuit’shehadbought.
(ShieldsT13/A/437)InMarch1935,shewrotehomefromSanFrancisco:
This city is glorious. I am typing this at an open window ofmybedroom,Froliehas just left the room likeayounghurricane tohaveherhairdone,andwhenshecomesbackwearegoingtodoa bit of shopping, a movie and dinner somewhere before theshow.(ShieldsT13/A/437)
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The‘babies’werebecomingaccustomedtothelifeofaprofessional
actress, albeitwith the family support from the rest of theCompany.As
wellasthefriendlychaperoningofO’Gorman,ArthurShieldsandhiswife
Bazie (known asMac) acted in loco parentis to the young charges.Mac
fussed over them when they were sick; she dosed O’Connor with
painkillers for period cramps and gave advice on future contracts and
salaries. But for the most part, Mulhern and O’Connor were firm allies,
shoppinganddancing,discussingworkandtheirdreamsforthefuture.
AtheropenwindowintheSirFrancisDrakeHotel,O’Connormade
adecisionaboutthetrajectoryofher life.RanelaghandPolikoffs’ factory
belonged to a dull and distant world. Yet, she had also turned down
opportunities in the Hollywood film industry. What she wanted was
nothingmore than for theAbbeyCompany to keepheronpermanently.
She declared, ‘I shall stick to the stage for good or evil now’. (Shields
T13/A/437)IfUnaMary,self-consciousnoviceandingénue,leftforherfirst
professional tour that September, it was Aideen O’Connor, ambitious
younglady,thatdisembarkedfromthetraininWestlandRowinJune1935.
BetweentheTours
O’ConnorspentthemonthsafterherreturnfromtheUnitedStates
writingtohernewfriendsinChicagoandgettingusedtolifeasafull-time
actress.Thetheatreclosedfortheusualsummerbreakandforadditional
renovations,butArthurShieldswasbusycastingeighteenactorsforanew
play and finding places to rehearse while the theatre was inaccessible.
ThereisnorecordthatherAmericanbeauBobdidarriveinDublinforthe
horseshowinAugust.Anoceanlaybetweenthemandhemayhavecited
businessreasons,orO’Connorlostinterestandtoldhimnottocome;but
thisisspeculation.Inanycase,theearlyweeksofAugustwerepackedwith
workandshehadlittletimetomournhisabsence.
ThemaineventsofHorseShowWeekwereheldduringthedayin
theRoyalDublinSociety,alargegreenspaceonDublin’ssouthside.Abbey
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management annually arranged social outings for the Company, bringing
the actors and boardmembers towatch the equestrian events. (Higgins
NLI Mss 27,897(2)) If the days were full of porter and laughter, the
eveningsofHorseShowWeekbroughttheCompanypromptlybacktothe
theatre. The events of the week attracted wealthy, often sophisticated
visitorstoDublin,andtheRDSwascloseenoughtoraiseattendanceatthe
theatreintheevening.Therepertoirewasalwayscarefullychosenforthe
influx, and in 1935 the board of directors decided to use the event to
coincidewiththepremiereofTheSilverTassiebySeanO’Casey.
Early on Monday 12 August 1935, ‘HOUSE FULL’ notices were
displayed on the exterior of the theatre. The first-night invited audience
wouldincludetheAmerican,FrenchandGermanministerswiththeirwives,
ConsulforSwedenandtheNetherlands,theEarlandCountessofLongford,
Senator and Mrs Blythe, as well as a host of literary and theatrical
celebrities.(ShieldsT13/A/560)Theplaywrighthimselfdidnotattend.
Seven years after the Abbey Theatre had rejected his script,
O’CaseyandYeatshadmanagedatentativereconciliation.Findinghimself
ill in London, Yeats invited O’Casey to visit him for dinner, where they
seemedtoovercometheirdifferencesonTheSilverTassie.Theycontinued
to correspond by letter, and at some point Yeats asked O’Casey for
permission to stagehis 1934playWithin TheGates.AtO’Casey’s urging,
Yeats got permission to present both plays, although it seemed his only
interest was inWithin The Gates, and this play was put into rehearsal
immediately.However,BrinsleyMacNamara,nowadirectorandadevout
Roman Catholic, took exception to Within The Gates and stopped
rehearsals.He was nomore in favour of The Silver Tassie, but failed to
prevent its opening the new season.8The Protestant Arthur Shields was
askedtodirect.Hehadtheadvantageofbeingabletodiscusstheplaywith
hisbrother,BarryFitzgerald,whohadaleadroleintheLondonpremiere.
8 Therearevariousversionsofeventsatthistime.ThisreflectstheaccountbyChristopherMurrayinhisbiographySeanO’Casey:WriteratWork.242
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Thiscontroversyovertheplayelectrifiedtheatmosphereforthose
arriving at the theatre thatnight, andmade for ahighdegreeof anxiety
backstage.O’ConnorhadhadherfirsttasteofsuccessandfameintheUS,
but such scandal was a new experience.Michael Scott’s newly-designed
theatrelobbyandmodernizedauditorium,asdescribedinthenewspaper
columns,added to the senseofanticipation.Theblackandgoldhallway,
whereportraitsofthetheatre’sstarshadhunginsemi-darkness,hadbeen
replaced. Now there was a bright, spacious lobby where the celebrities
could more comfortably mingle. In the auditorium, there were new
cushionedseatsandtheorchestra,underthedirectionofDr.Larchet,was
warming up to play. As permission had been granted by the directorate
afteryearsofasmokingban,manyoftheaudiencecouldenjoythenovelty
ofsmokingthroughouttheperformance.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
O’ConnorhadactedforArthurShieldsonnumerousoccasions,but
hercastingasJessieTaiteinthisproductionsuggestshewasbeginningto
look at her in a different light. The part, though minor, represented a
significantchangefromtheyoungingénueshehadplayedontheAmerican
tours. Jessie is theyoungwoman in lovewithHarryHeegan,a successful
footballer and handsome hero, at the opening of the play. Later, when
Harry returnsmaimed fromWorldWar 1, he finds Jessie in the arms of
another man. One of the newspapers described the character as ‘a
mindlesslittleminx’.(ShieldsT13/A/560)O’Caseyintroducesthecharacter
inthescriptofTheSilverTassie:
Jessieistwenty-twoorso,responsivetoalltheanimalimpulsesoflife.Everdancingaround,inandbetweentheworld,thefleshandthe devil. She would be happy climbing with a boy among theheatheronHowthHill,andcouldplayballwithyoungmenontheswardsofthePhoenixPark.Shegivesherfavourtotheprominentandpopular.(38-39)Inoriginalnotesforthisplay,JessieTaitewas‘Sara’,andwasayear
younger, at twenty-one. (Berg V6 39) The final line of the published
description is more tame and circumspect than O’Casey’s vision of the
character.(HehadhopedSarawouldbeplayedbyShelahRichards.)Inhis
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notebooks,O’Caseyrecordedhow‘Sara’ lovedplayingwiththeboys,and
whenonecaughtherinhisarms:
she recognizes in the struggle thepleasuresof this youngman'sdesire for her. [A]nd she thrills when she sees their lightningglances at the frills and [things] she shows in the ardour of theexpression.(BergV639)
This isaconfidentwoman,hersexualitybringingpowersofmanipulation
and desire. Later in The Silver Tassie, at the local dance, two observers
describeherallure:
Simon: And Jessie’s looking as if she was tired of hermaidenhood,too.
MrsForan: Thethinthreadsholdin’herdressupsidlin’downover her shoulders, an’ her catchin’ them upagainat the tailendof thesecondbefore itwastoolate.(O’Casey95)
Onherveryfirstentrancetothestageabystandercomments,‘lookatthe
shamefulwayshe’sshowingherlegs’.(O’Casey38)Withherappearanceas
Jessie,O’Connorsteppedoutontothestageasasexualised Irishwoman,
andportrayedadangertoherrespectableCatholiccommunity.
WhileRosieRedmondpartly triggeredtheupsetabout themorals
ofThePloughandTheStars,objectionstoJessieTaiteandhermoralswere
almost lost in thegreater furoreaboutotheraspectsofTheSilverTassie.
ThecharacterofJessieisintricatelydrawn;sheisbothmorecomplexand
nuanced than Rosie. Both support themselves with their sexuality, but
Jessiedoessoincovertways.SheadoresHarryforhisathleticprowess,his
medalsandpopularity.Shehasgoodworkinthewarammunitionsfactory,
andhasbeensquirrelingawayeverypenny inhersavingsbooktosecure
her independence. She remains unperturbed by Mrs Heegan’s feelings
abouther.Whenherchildhoodsweetheartcomesbackfromthetrenches
paralysed,Jessiethrowshimoverforhisbestfriendandbetterprospects.
In O’Casey’s indictment of violence and war, the men are
irreparably damaged; the women fare better. They use both their
intelligence and femininity to forge a different life for themselves. Jessie
isn’tafraidtodisplayhersexualityandtoenjoyit.Sheearnsherfinancial
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independenceandseizeshappiness forherself,despitehowsocietyturns
onherforit.Inoneofthefinalscenesoftheplay,JessieTaitestandsher
groundbeforetheseventeencharactersataparty,feelingtheirfullscorn
butdemanding the right tomakeherowndecisions. Inplaying thispart,
O’Connor experienced the sensations of public humiliation. It was an
insight intohowlifecouldbeforaCatholicwomanintheIrishFreeState
thatdaredtocrosscertainsocietalboundaries.
Bycurtain fall thatMonday, thecastknewtheproductionwasan
abjectfailure.Thereviewerfromthe Irish Independentexpresseddistress
thatsomeofthecountry’sbestperformershadbeenforcedtotakeparts
in such an ‘epileptic fit of cleverness’. (Shields T13/A/560)The play was
pronounced a ‘vigorousmedley of lust and hatred and vulgarity’ by the
Church,adescriptionwhich,according toO’Casey, terrified theatre-goers
whohadprocuredtickets forthesold-outrunbutwouldn’tattend. (Rose
51)Many never saw it; it closed after six performances and was hastily
replaced by Shaw’s play John Bull’s Other Island. ‘M.B.’ reported that
‘Arthur’sShields’sproductionwaswithoutfault’,but itwastobethe last
playhedirectedattheAbbeyTheatre.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
FollowingTheSilverTassiedebacle,itwasbacktobusinessforthe
Abbey Company. They toured to the CorkOperaHouse inOctober 1935
staging Autumn Fire by T.C. Murray (which is set in Cork) and the old
reliableDrama at Inish. O’Connor now took on secretarial duties in the
theatrewhenshewasn’trehearsing–actingasanadministrativeassistant
tonewly-appointedmanagerHughHunt.(HollowayNLIMss1969)Thiswas
financial necessity for O’Connor as well as serving the theatre; she no
longer had a day job. Hunt appreciated her work; later events suggest
otherdirectorsobjectedtohavinganactressprivytoadministrativeaffairs.
AtthebeginningofAugust1936,HuntgaveO’Connorpermissionto
gotoLondonbrieflyforanaudition,buttheotherdirectorssubsequently
decided O’Connor’s excursion was insubordination. On 14th August, the
board‘consideredthepositionofMissA.O’Connorinrelationtotheoffice
work and decided that her services be dispensed with.’ (Minute Books
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3558)However,theirchosenreplacement(MissAnnClery)refusedtotake
thepost‘owingtothecircumstancesunderwhichMissO’Connorhadlost
the position.’ (Minute Books 3558) Frank O’Connor then demanded a
statementfromMissO’Connor,‘astoherbehaviour.’O’Connoracquiesced,
andherletterwasreadatameetingon1September1936.Init,shestated
that she went to London briefly with Hunt’s permission and under the
impression that shewasnot required the followingweek. (MinuteBooks
3558) Ostensibly, the board accepted this explanation and restoredMss
O’Connortoherposition,butby11thSeptembershehadbeenreplacedby
EricRobinson,abrotherofLennox.(MinuteBooks3558)
HigginssaidatonemeetingthatMissO’Connorwasnot‘sufficiently
efficient’ but Ann Clery’sminuted response suggests that for the board,
O’Connor’sreal felonywasdaringtoconsideracareerforherselfoutside
oftheAbbey.(MinuteBooks3558)Atthispoint,O’Connorwasfightingfor
greater recognition in the Company and the London audition was an
opportunity to show her potential. According to Laurie Shields, itwas in
1936 that Arthur Shields and O’Connor began their affair. (Shields
T13/A/512)Thus, itmayalsohavebeenthatthedirectorswereawareof
herpersonallifeand,tocompoundthis,herappearanceasJessieTaitewas
impacting her reputation. Where Eileen Crowe insisted on ‘being the
mouthpiece’, on presenting rather than embodying women viewed as
unsavoury and immoral, O’Connor was being seen to embody them, on
andoffstage.Herremovalfromthepositionwastobeherfirstexperience
ofdealingwiththeAbbeydirectorateeffectivelypunishingherforhowshe
behavedoutsideofherappearancesonthestage.
By August 1936, Holloway was recording that ‘bombshells still
continue to be exploding’. (NLI Mss 1971 342) The administration staff
werein‘amildpanic’atthere-structuringthatwastakingplace,asaresult
ofalong-standingconflictontheboardbetweenFrankO’ConnorandF.R.
Higgins.(HollowayNLIMss1971342)O’ConnorandHigginswerevyingto
succeed Yeats, and on Higgins’ appointment as managing director,
O’Connorwaseffectivelypushedoutofthetheatre.(Matthews145)
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The Company left behind the chaos for an engagement at the
Grand Opera House in Belfast. There, they showed their affection for
O’Caseybyre-stagingJunoandthePaycockandThePloughandtheStars,
along with Drama at Inish. O’Connor, however, was reconsidering her
circumstances.Shehadbeenre-castinThePloughandtheStarsasfifteen-
year-old Mollser: possibly a cautionary demotion by the directorate.
Againstthisbackground,newspapersinBelfastbrokethenewsthatAideen
O’Connor was to leave the Abbey Company to grace the London stage.
(Shields T13/A/560) With no public comment by Abbey Theatre
management,sheleftforLondonshortlyafterherreturnfromBelfast.
OntheLondonStage
On the stage of the Embassy theatre in Hampstead, London in
November1936,duringanewplayentitledTheDominantSex,acharacter
gave a heartfelt rendition of The Londonderry Air in Irish. Afterwards,
journalists speculated about the scene. One was adamant that the tune
was sung by an invisible substitute in thewings, not by the actress that
playedthepart,O’Connor.(ShieldsT13/A/560)OtherspraisedO’Connor’s
vocaltalent.
Reading through theatre reviews,one seesonly refractionsof the
real performer, much like watching actors through glasses belonging to
somebodyelse.Thisimageofthejournalistscraningtheirnecks,tryingto
get a proper sighting of this woman in the wings, is the only image
available of O’Connor at this time, a shadowy figure with a crystal-clear
voice,awomanstillexploringandrevealinghertalents,preparingtostep
outontotheworldstage.
WhenthenewspapersannouncedO’Connor’sdepartureforLondon,
themovewasnotasurprisetoher familyandcolleagues,whohadbeen
awareof the prospect. Itwas said that the playwrightMichael Eganhad
come to Dublin specifically looking for an Irish accent and had seen
O’Connorperform.After her Londonaudition,O’Connor agreedwithher
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familythatshewouldplaythepartandthenreturntoDublinforChristmas.
(ShieldsT13/A/560)
There are press cuttings, but no letters or diaries detailing her
emotions as she left for London and set up temporary home there. It’s
possiblethatO’Connoronlywantedtobroadenherhorizonswhileearning
some money. There is no evidence she saw it as a permanent move,
although her prospects at the Abbey were being diminished. Given the
datesprovidedbyLaurieShields,bynowO’Connor’saffairwithShieldshad
begun by this time. (Shields T13/A/512) Nonetheless, O’Connor left for
Londonalone,tofocusonhercraftandonherfuture.
Egan’splayTheDominantSexopenedon23November1936.Setin
astudioinChelsea,theplaycentresonabohemianartist,MauriceHolmes,
who is trying to choose a wife from a trio of female types. As Sheila,
O’Connor played the convent-educated daughter ofMr Holmes’s butler,
whoisonherfirsttriptoLondon.Onceagain,sheplaysthewide-eyedand
demurecolleen.Thereviewsoftheplayitselfaremixed,buttheyallnote
herstagepresence.OneoftheLondonpaperssaid:
MissAideenO’Connor,theyoungAbbeyactress,whosefirstpartinLondonthisis,madeeverybodyfeelhercharmandadmirehergrace and the deftness of her art. She has moreover obviouslymuchtalentthatisstilllatent.Herpersonalityiswinningandherpowerwillgrowwithhertechnique,whichisalreadyremarkableforsuchayoungactress.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
There were rumours of a West End transfer but, as promised,
O’ConnorcamehometospendChristmaswithherfamily.Shehadkeptup
todatewith friends inDublin. ReviewsofWind from theWest, inwhich
bothMulhernandShieldsappeared,made theirway toher lodgingsand
she glued them into her scrapbook, alongside her own reviews. (Shields
T13/A/560)Londonofferedopportunities,butshewasdrawnbacktothe
comfortandstabilityoftheAbbeyTheatre.ShehadalsobeencastinPaul
VincentCarroll’splay,ShadowandSubstance,duetoopeninJanuary1937.
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Audiencesandactorsalikewereclamouring to see thenewscript
by the tubby, bespectacled Carroll. Advance notices of the play declared
thatitwouldbecontroversial.CriticssaidofCarroll:
NotsinceO’Caseyhastherebeenanauthorwhogavesuchvitalcharacters to the Abbey stage andwhomoved themwith sucheffect.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
Despitethepredictionsforscandal,ShadowandSubstanceprovedahuge
andpopularhit.Theproductionwasdeemedtobe‘Themostremarkable
playproducedattheAbbeyformanyyears.’(ShieldsT13/A/560)
Shadow and Substance is set in County Louth, in the home of an
elderlycanon.CanonSkerrittfindshimselfoutofharmonywithtwoyoung
curatesandanagnosticschoolmasteroverthedeclarationsofayounggirl
whoinsistsshehasbeenvisitedbytheVirginMary.Hequestionshisown
judgmentwhen confrontedwith themystic servant, playedby a sixteen-
year-oldfromtheAbbeySchool,PhyllisRyan.Shieldstookthepivotalrole
ofCanonThomasSkerritt, andO’Connorplayedhisnieceandnamesake,
ThomasinaConcannon.
Production photographs show the tall Frenchwindows of the set
and imposing Sacred Heart ideograph over the heads of O’Connor and
Shields.Shehasherheadcockedinasmile;hisblackrobesswisharound
his feet and his face is startled as if disarmed by her attitude. (Shields
T13/B/202)O’ConnorandShieldsdevelopedaclosefriendshipwithCarroll
overthecourseofrehearsals.ForCarroll, theurbane, intellectualSkerritt
wasacalculatedattempttobringDeanJonathanSwiftbacktolifeandto
‘throwhim into themodernmental turmoil in Ireland’. (Doyle 30)While
much of the press focuses on the mesmeric performance of the young
PhyllisRyan,itwasalsoheldtobeShields’sstrongestperformanceonthe
Abbeystage.MostofthecommentsonO’Connor’sperformancefocuson
thecharacter’sbehaviour.Shewasagainsteppingintotherolesofyoung
Irishwomenandherdepictionof such figureswasbeingwatched for its
expressionofIrishfemininity.
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ThomasinaConcannonisdescribedinCarroll’stextas‘a“bunty”girl
ofabouttwenty-two’with‘fullanimalspirits,aroundfatface,alldimples
andgiven togiggling laughter’. (9-10) She tries thepatienceofheruncle
with her antics, including reading a novel entitled Love’s Purple Passion,
and then leaving it under his pillow. For Robinson, Thomasina was the
epitome of a type of Irish female increasingly seen around Dublin. This
female typewas forRobinsonan ‘unfaceableproblem’.(The IrishTheatre
209)Robinsonexplains:
the perfect type for all time of the desperate and, tome, quiteunfaceableproblemofthecountry-girlwhohasbecomewhatweintheGaelicLeaguecall‘Anglicised’,whattheWestBritonwouldequally unfairly call ‘Americanised’, what her own neighbourswould, I fancy, call simply foolish and what in actual fact isunendurablycheapened,tedious,andembarrassing…(TheIrishTheatre209)
To imbue such a role with a sense of sincerity, without becoming a
simperingfoolthatdisguststheaudience,requiredadelicatebalance.
The cast tramped through the January sleet and flurries of snow
eacheveningtoperforminShadowandSubstance.O’ConnorandMulhern
wereagainsharingadressingroom,butthistimetheyhadbeenjoinedby
newcomer Phyllis Ryan. Ryan disliked the arrangement, feeling
uncomfortable with the women’s conspiratorial whispering. She was
convinced that ‘They felt theywerebeingpushedoutby thenewarrival
andtheirattitudenaturally lackedwarmth.’ (Ryan74)O’Connorhadlittle
timeorpatiencefornicetieswithgirls;Ryanwascorrectinherassumption
thattheirroleswerethreatenedbythearrivalofayounger,moreinnocent
girl.ButO’ConnorworkedhardunderHunt’sexpertguidanceandimbued
theroleofThomasinawithavibrancythatdelightedtheaudiences.Oneof
thenewspapersprovidesapreciousdescriptionofherphysicalstyle:
Aideen O’Connor’s rendering of the canon’s niece, the onlyperson not afraid of him, was outstanding not merely for herpricelessgiggle,butfortheuseof[her]bodytosuggestagawky‘flapper’ whose mind, clothes, coiffure, and voice were all of apiecewithherpassionforbullseyes–herbestperformanceforalongtime.(ShieldsT13/A/560)
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O’Connor now had the skill and confidence to move effortlessly
fromdemureservantinDramaAtInishtoflirtatiousflapper.Thechainof
adjectivesdescribingherperformancessincetheAmericantourof1934/35
track the emergence of a particular style. The newspapers (previously
quoted) describe her as ‘pert’, talk of her ‘grace’ and of her ‘deft’
technique.Shewaspreciseinherphysicality,eachgestureconsideredand
deliberate.Despitehersmallframe,shecouldcommandastage.Herrange
wasgrowing,aswereherconfidenceandambition.O’Connorwasthriving
under thediscipline imposedbyHunt and the gentle attentionofArthur
Shields.Butdespite(orbecauseof)herexpandingrange,partsavailablefor
her in the Abbey Company were diminishing. However, there remained
somerolesintheIrishclassicsthatcouldchallengeher.
Amoreself-assuredO’ConnorfoundherselfontheboattoEngland
inFebruary1937,but this timeMulhernandShieldswere travellingwith
herastheCompanysetoutfortheCambridgeArtsFestival.Hunthadcast
herasMaryBoyleinJunoandthePaycock,whereshe’dplaythedaughter
ofJuno(EileenCrowe).Shewasreadyforthechallenge,andthereviewer
forTheCambridgeGownsmanwasimpressedbyherinterpretation,calling
it ‘freshandsensitive’.Hesaid, ‘Thecharacterbecomesmorecomplex in
thecourseoftheplay,andMissO'Connorshowedafullunderstandingof
every aspect of it.’ (Craig UCDMss LA28/219) O’Connor continued to be
deferentialtotheotheractors:‘Shedidnotletitobtrudemelodramatically
ontheotherphasesoftheaction.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/219)
If shewas courteous to her elders on stage, off stage the ‘pretty
juvenile actress’ was playing a more dangerous game. (Ryan 74)On the
Cambridge trip, it was impossible to hide her romantic relationshipwith
Shields. Given the Catholic morals of the other actors along with their
friendshipwithBazieMagee,itwasonlyamatteroftimebeforetheaffair
waspublicknowledge.
Genevieve (Bazie)Magee, who Shields hadmarried in Chelsea in
1920, was ‘quick-witted, reasoned like a man, [was] sharp-tongued and
quicktempered.’Shewas‘morementallyawarethanotherwomenofher
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day, or perhaps it was just a case of beingmore outspoken thanmost.’
(Shields T13/A/512) Magee was a reasonably talented actress, despite
havingnotraining,andwasapractical,maternalfigureduringthe1934/35
tourofAmerica.ButMageehada‘capaciousimagination’.(JohnstonTCD
Mss10066/165)PlaywrightDenisJohnstonrecalledhow,whenMageehad
visitors,shesimply‘talksandtalksandtalks’untilherownmind‘beginsto
stagger at the conclusions reached.’ (Johnston TCD Mss 10066/165)
Johnston recognized when her ‘dangerous’ behaviour began to lose her
friends. He described her as having ‘a Pirandellesque mind completely
divorcedfromanyrelationtoreality.’(JohnstonTCDMss10066/165)
Bythe1930s, thispropensityto losetouchwithrealitywastaking
over Magee’s life. A tendency to manic moods was exacerbated by her
drinkinghabit.Shewasperforminglessandless.Thecouplehadmovedto
theseasidevillageofSandymount, toahousewithagardenwhere their
son Adam played and Shields grew vegetables. Yet Shields was finding
livingwithMagee‘impossible.’(Saddlemyer460)AideenO’Connor,forher
youthandbeauty, resembledMagee inherquick temper andoutspoken
nature. She was independent and increasingly ambitious, yet nothing
preparedherforthefalloutfromthisromanticattachment.
TheAbbeygreenroom,withitspackedbookshelvesandstove,its
wornfurnitureandfriendlyghosts,hadbecomesomethingofahomeaway
fromhomeforO’Connor.Shehadtakenrefugethereoneevening in late
February1937whenthedoorswungopentorevealanirateBazieMagee
(Shields).Mageehadonce featuredasamaternalandaffectionate figure
to O’Connor. (T13/A/436) Now, Magee slapped her across the face. It
transpired that a ‘concerned’ Company member sent a letter to Magee
with the details of her husband’s affair. (Saddlemyer 460)O’Connorwas
shamedinfrontofhercolleagues;Shields’reputationwasunaffected.
Thescandaldidnotendthere,forO’Connorfledhometodiscover
that an identical letter had been sent to her father. Vincent O’Connor
pitilessly told her to leave the house and she spent two weeks in Cork
beforedaringtoreturntoRanelagh.W.B.Yeatsrefusedtotellhiswifehow
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hediscoveredallofthedetails,althoughAnneYeatsandmanyoftheother
actorshadseentheeventsthathad‘reducedMissO’Connortosuchtears.’
(Saddlemyer460)
O’Connor remained resolute in her devotion to Shields, but she
would never forgive the interfering Company member or forget the
humiliation of Magee’s attack. With fellow actress Frolie Mulhern and
AbbeyscenicdesignersAnneYeatsandTaniaMosiewitch,O’Connorfound
asmallcircleoffriendstosupporther,butthesenseofignominylingered.
TaniaMoseiwitch, a designerwho had arrived at the Abbeywith
Hunt theweeksafterTheSilverTassiedebacle,occupied thepaint room.
Thiswasat the farendof thecorridorbackstageat theAbbey, ‘past the
greenroom,pastthewardroberoom,pastthedressing-rooms.’(Treanor)If
respite was needed from the green room, O’Connor andMulhern could
comehere,toaroom‘nobiggerthanadrawingroom’andmuseoutthe
solewindowontothelanewaybehind.Itwasprivate,ifonlybecauseofthe
pungent smell of size in the air and the crowded untidiness of flats and
tools and all the paint-splattered paraphernalia of scene designers.
(Treanor) Happy to have company while she worked, Moseiwitch kept
there, ‘an aluminium kettle, a blue jug, a yellow teapot, a small pot of
raspberryjam,andacupandsaucerthatdon'tmatchonanorangetray.’
(Treanor)ItwasaplacewhereO’Connorcouldseeksupportandlaughter
outofearshotofthegreenroomandtheoffices,butshewaslearningto
becarefulwhomshetrustedwithdetailsofherpersonallife.
AnneYeatssupportedO’Connorandvisitedherfamilyhome.There,
Yeats could barely hide her horror at the state of the house, which she
describedtohermotherashaving‘filthykitchen,generaldilapidationand
breakage everywhere.’ (Saddlemyer 460) George Yeats lamented that
‘thereseemstobenofemaleofanysortincharge,’asifthiswastheroot
ofO’Connor’sproblems.(Saddlemyer460)
There is a much-told O’Connor family anecdote that before the
actressleftHollybankAvenueforgood,BazieMageearrivedtobangonthe
door of No. 56 and shout insults. O’Connor cowered upstairs, while her
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quick-witted sister Maeve talked down an inebriated Bazie, eventually
coaxing her awaywith the enticement of a drink in Ranelagh. (Christine
Shields)Thefollowingmonth,VincentO’Connor’sragehadn’tsubsidedand
O’Connor packed her bags. Shewent temporarily toHowth,whereHunt
offeredrefuge inhiscottage.Moseiwitchwasalsostayingtherebuttheir
stay was cut short when the landlady noticed that two unchaperoned
women were staying in the house and complained to the Vicar.
(Saddlemyer461)O’ConnorleftforCorkandthentoauditionintheUK.
Arthur Shields kept thin pocket diaries formost of his life, noting
appointments, rehearsal times, productiondates.Anoteon6April 1937
reads, ‘Marriage16years’. (ShieldsT13/A/372(1))On the followingpage,
dated12thofApril,isthenote,‘Aideenhome’.(ShieldsT13/A/372(1))9The
nextfewmonthspassedintantrumsanddespair,inrowsandtears.
For O’Connor, her promotion into female roles demonstrating a
more overt and liberated sexuality had coalesced dangerously with
developments in her personal life. She no longer wanted to be playing
naïveteenagegirlsbutherreputationoff-stagehadbeentarnishedand,in
Dublinsociety,thisaffectedtheadultpartsshewasofferedaswellasher
other duties in the theatre.Officially at least, the affairwith Shieldswas
nowended.ThiswastheonlycourseofactionthatwouldallowO’Connor
totraveltotheUSwiththeAbbeyCompanyagaininSeptember1937.
TheAmericanTourof1937/38
O’Connor,MooneyandMulhernarewalkingthedeckslikeRussianpeasantswithkerchiefsovertheirheads.Delaneyissittingreadingwithsunglasses.CraigandCroweareintheircabins,nottoowell.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
ThewindwaspickingupovertheAtlantic,andthemembersofthe
travelling Abbey Company were doing their best to avoid nausea. They
spent the afternoonwatching the horse racing,withwoodenhorses and
mockbookies, on thedeck, and thendressed for a ‘carnival’ dinner. The
9 Diaryreferstorealname,‘Una’.Allreferencesherealteredto‘Aideen’forclarity.
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tableswerestrewnwithballoons,buglesandlutes.Thewomenworethe
headdresses of Indian chiefs. (Higgins NLI Mss 27,883(7)) O’Connor,
MulhernandMooneysattogetherforthemeal,separatefromtheelders
ofthecompanyandperhapsrelievedtobeawayfromthestiffmannersof
HigginsandthesmalltalkofMaureenDelanyandEileenCrowe.Together,
the youngwomen drank and ate, and dancedwhen themeal was over.
(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
The adulterous relationship between Shields and O’Connor was
officially over, after the public shaming of O’Connor. On board the ship,
Shields used the gym, the library and he played cards with Higgins.
O’Connor shared a cabin withMulhern.When storms whipped up, they
huddled in their beds. One particularly choppy night, Mooney and F.R.
Higginscalledtoseethem,posingas‘DoctorHigginsandNurseMooney’.
(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))Mulhernwas‘staringasifhereyeswouldnext
come up’ and O’Connor had ‘gone [as] white’ as May Higgins’ pet cat.
(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))ItwasbecomingapparenttoO’Connorthatthe
bond between Mooney and Higgins was more than professional. The
carnivalnightsandlongdaysofwalkingthedecks(withmomentsofshark
spotting) became tiresome for theCompany.Allwere glad at theendof
Septemberwhen calm conditions created theperfect afternoon for their
4pmarrivalintotheportofNewYork.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
The tour began on Broadway. Higgins commanded two rooms on
thetwelfthstoreyoftheEdisonHotel,justoffTimesSquareonWest47th
street. O’Connor and the otherswere escorted by bellboys to rooms on
anotherfloor.Thebedroomsweresmallandsomeofthemdark.Eachhad
a mahogany desk and a bathroom with an American-style ‘tub’. Sash
windowsopenedontothestreetandthenoiseoftraffic,crowdsoftourists
andtheoccasionalwailofasirencreatedaconstantbasslineofnoise.At
thetopoftwenty-twostoreyswasaroofgarden,withabreathtakingview
of thesurroundingskyscrapersandriver. (HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))The
hotelwasdecoratedinArtDecostyle,reminiscentofRadioCityMusicHall,
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withangularlines,gold,deepredsandbluesrunningthroughthelobbyto
therestaurant,whereguestswereescortedupshallowstepstotheirseats.
Hostedandfetedbylocalsocialites,thewomentooktodiningout
aftertheshowanddancinguntiltheearlyhours.Giddily,O’Connorwrote
tohersistersofhowtheyperformedonSaturdaynightandthendancedall
night. On leaving the nightclub, she andMulhern realised there was no
senseingoinghomebeforetheSundaysermonandtheywentstraightto
four am mass. (Shields T13/A/428) O’Connor was enamoured with one
particular dance: the ‘Big Apple’. She found it ‘really intricate and quite
mad’.(ShieldsT13/A/428)The‘BigApple’crazehadsweptacrossthecity.
The dancesO’Connor learnt inNew Yorkwere strikingly different
fromtheposturesshehadbeentaughtattheAbbeyschool.The‘BigApple’
wasinnovativebecauseitwasforblacksandwhites,menandwomen,to
dance together. The dance involved hand-holding in friendly circles,
imitatingfarmanimalsandmovinginmoresultryways.A‘Caller’cuedthe
moves just before they began. The steps ranged from the sophisticated
and sexual to the totallyabsurd. Itwasmost famouslyperformedby the
LindyHoppers,buteverybodyeverywherewasencouraged to join in.On
the dance floor of theseNew York nightclubs, theAbbey actresseswere
cosmopolitan women, holding hands and keeping time with a world of
people from diverse backgrounds. The significance of their presence in
suchplacesisonlyfullyunderstoodinthecontextofIreland’ssocialhistory
ofthe1930s.
DanceHallsandLiminality
By the 1930s, the number of Irish women emigrating was at its
greatest for decades; the women far outnumbered the male emigrants.
There were a myriad of causes: lack of marriage opportunities, lack of
employmentopportunities,horrendouslivingconditions,endemicdiseases
andpoverty.Thesepracticalsocialproblemswerematchedbysomething
the Catholic Church viewed as treacherous. In the Catholic Bulletin in
October1936,onecommentatorwroteof:
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thegeneralwaveofimmorality[…]whichseemsalreadytohavequenchedinsomanysoulseverysenseofmodestyanddignity,conscienceandresponsibility.(BulletinVolXXVI)Thechiefsourcesofsuchimmoralitywerethedarkness,motorcars
anddancing.Notalldancing,butparticular formsofdancing. InaLenten
Pastoralin1924,CardinalLoguemadeaspeechsaying:‘Irishdancesdonot
makedegenerates.’ (Smyth51-54)Traditional Irishceilídanceshadstrict,
rigidpostures,whichmaintaineddecorumandkeptthegendersfarapart.
Unlike thebarbarous, sultrymovementsbroughtonby jazzmusic. In the
CatholicBulletinMcGlinchyexplained:
Manyofthemodernkindsofdancearesuchaswouldoffendthemoral senseof a decentpagan. Theydeliberately pander to thelower instincts,andareproximateoccasionsof sinsof the flesh.(BulletinVolXXIV)
Itgoesfurther:If the circumstances mean […] the form of dance is likely toarouse passion and lead to sin, it iswrong….Oh, for a generalrevival of our grand old Irish dances! Dances and dancing ascarried on at the present time are, generally speaking, adangerousoccasionofsinfortheyoung.(BulletinVolXXIV)
TerrifiedcommunitiestooktothestreetsbeforethesecondWorldWarto
outlawthepaganmusic theyassociatedwithasavagenature.TheGaelic
League,championingtheIrishlanguageandmusic,wereattheforefrontof
the campaign. At themain anti-jazz rally in County Leitrim, a letter was
readoutfromCardinalMcRory,wherehedidhisbesttodistancehimself
fromtheevilactivity:‘Iknownothingaboutjazzdancing.’Althoughhedid
understandthattheywere‘suggestiveanddemoralizing.’(Smyth51-54)
In1935ThePublicDanceHallsActmadeitimpossibleforadanceto
be held in Irelandwithout the sanction of the clergy, the police and the
judiciary. Inasurveyof thisparticular legislation in1938,aDublinSenior
Justicespokeofhowa‘nervousandoverwroughtgeneration’bornduring
theGreatWarhadaninsatiablecraving‘tomultiplymeansofexcitement.’
(‘Survey’ 4) Suchwanton craving led to thepopularityof bettinghouses,
picture houses and public dancing. In response to the pressure from the
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Churchandfromthepublic,legislationwasenactedtoensurethelicensing,
supervisionandcontrolofdancehalls.
WhentheAbbeyactressesarrivedinNewYorkandlearnttodance
theBigApple,theyweretransgressingsocialboundariesclearlyestablished
at home. In America, they found their rhythm and joined in, as equals.
They were included, even if their moves were ridiculous. They could be
sexualbeings,withoutbeingdangerousorevil. Like theBigApple ‘Caller’
cueingthemoves,anythingcouldhappennext.Whathadcomebeforeand
was to happen next was irrelevant; it was about the ‘now’. They were
neitherherenorthere,outoftimeandoutofplace.Dancingofferednotso
mucha ‘release’,nora ‘liberation’, fromtheir lives(although itmayhave
beenthattoo)but,mostofall,itwasaliminalspace.
Indescribingitas‘liminal’,IaminvokingVictorTurner'sconceptof
liminality,whichhasbeendescribedbyShannonJacksonas‘anin-between
statewithin ritual structures inwhich individuals and groups temporarily
lacked definition and inscription.’(Jackson 161) The liminal has been
theorizedasanaporiawithinacceptedpatternsofbehaviour.ForTurner,
liminalitycanbe‘partlydescribedasastageofreflection.’ (Mahdi14)He
asserted that betwixt and between as the participants were, a liminal
breakallowedthemtoexperiencea‘subjunctivemood’inwhichtheymay
expressdesires,hypotheses,suppositions,possibilities:itmayormightbe
so.ThedanceflooroftheNewYorknightclubswasaspaceofpossibilities
fortheseIrishwomen.Theycouldexpressandexploreafemininity,atype
ofphysicalityandanassertionoftheirsexuality,notpermissibleinIreland.
In thewider fieldofperformance studies, ‘liminality’hasarguably
been overused as a means of describing performance and theatre that
providesspaceoutofquotidianlifeandsocialrealitytoexploreandeven
transgress established boundaries. For the Abbey Theatre actresses, the
performance space of the national theatrewas never truly ‘liminal’. As I
haveexploredfullyinChapter2,inrelationtothecareerofEileenCrowe,
there the stage spacewas heavily coded in Irish social terms. The dance
floors of the New York night clubs they attended, however, arguably
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provided liminal spaces for personal expression and for reflection.
O’Connor,andsomeofhercolleagues,begantoexpandtheirsenseofself
aswomenandtheirambitionsasperformers.
TheUSTourContinues
O’Connorwasn’tcastintheplayopeningthetour,KatieRoche.The
failureandremovalofDeevy’splayfromtherepertorywasnolosstoher;
itshastyreplacementbroughtO’ConnorontotheBroadwaystagesooner
than expected. But by the endofNovember 1937,O’Connorwasweary,
runningshortofmoneyandtryingtosettleintosomekindofroutine.She
took aweek of early nights (avoiding night clubs) and spent time in her
room writing home to catch up on her sister’s wedding plans. The rain
outsidewashorrendous,butherhotel roomwassohot fromthecentral
heatingthatshesleptwithnocoverson.(ShieldsT13/A/439)
AtChristmas,O’Connorsenthersistersstockings.Norwerefriends
athomeforgotten:abookonVanGogh(includingthirtyplatesofhiswork)
by Walter Pach was dispatched back to Anne Yeats, an expensive gift.
(Saddlemyer 511)O’Connor preferred being on the road: itwas cheaper
andmorefunthanlongstaysinonecity.(ShieldsT13/A/439)Besides,New
YorkwasonlythefirsttasteofthewondersthatAmericacouldbring.
Businessarrangementsforthetourwerebeingmadeandunmade
on another floor of the hotel. Shortly after they arrived in Chicago, the
actorslearntthatGrisman(theinitialproducer)waspullingout,leavingthe
WestCoaststageoftheirtourindangerofbeingabandoned.Theywereall
stayingintheHotelSherman,asixteen-hundredroomhotellocatedinthe
centreofthetheatredistrict.Italsohousedavibrantnightclubfamousfor
its jazzmusic and a restaurant called The College Inn.While the players
continuedtoperform,HigginsflewbacktoNewYorktoenternegotiations
withanotherproducerandtheactorswereonedgefor twodays.Unless
thebusinessissueswereresolved,theywouldbesenthomewithoutdelay.
When a telegram from Higgins announced that they should prepare to
leave for San Francisco, the Company celebrated all night. (Saddlemyer
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544)Management of the tour on theWest Coast had been taken up by
AmericanproducerElbertWickes.
IntheUS,itwasnowobservedthat,‘TheAbbeyTheatreplayersare
as standardas thenationallyadvertisedbrandsof cigarette’. (Scrapbooks
NLI Mss 25,511-23) While the actors were feted and fed off stage by
audiences, the critics were wearying of the performance style. The
Company now played to meet expectations. Audiences were allowed to
dictate shows from the repertory, and actors, in their individual
performances,wentoutoftheirwaytopleaseintheanticipatedmanner.
(Grene and Morash 44) Popular success had come, some felt, at the
expenseofartisticideals.
HeadinghisarticlefiledfromPittsburghErinGoBlah,GeorgeJean
Nathan attacked the histrionic acting style he sawon stage. Actorswere
playinglinespurelyforcomedyandconsciouslyplayingthe‘Irishness’the
audiencescametolaughat.NathanrememberedhowtheAbbeyTheatre
hadoncebeenoneof the finestactingorganizations in theworld; itwas
nowa‘caricatureofitsformerself.’(GreneandMorash44)Irishelements
of the scripts were ‘accentuated in theatrical delivery or consciously
stylisedforthembytheIrishperformers.’(Monahan100)
O’Connor, as the female ingénue, watched as other Company
members mugged at and bantered with the audience, often reducing
serious plays to farce. Performing each night became a riotous and
hilariousgame,agamethatcouldcontinueafterwardsinthegreenroom
orinthenightclub.Thecarefulpitchingoftragicdialogueanddeftphysical
characterization thatO’Connorhaddeveloped inLondonandunderHunt
was being eroded by the ‘improvised self-mocking, meta-theatrical,
exaggeratedperformance style.’ (Monahan100)Her craftwasalsobeing
erodedbyexhaustion.
OntheirfinalSaturdaynightintheGrandOperaHouseinChicago,
theCompanyplayedThePlayboyoftheWesternWorldwithTheRisingof
the Moon before packing up the sets, props, costumes and their own
belongingstogostraighttothetrainstation.Thetrainwasheldforthem,
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and they collapsed into sleep once they’d settled into their sleeper
carriages.TheyarrivedinSaintLouisforabriefstintthenextdayat7.30am.
ItwasaSunday,buttheywereperformingthatnight.(ShieldsT13/A/441)
St. Louis was dreary and damp. The performances were poorly
attended and there were flurries of snow to contend with. A doctor
prescribedliverextractforO’Connor’sstomachanddismissedthedoctors
in New York, who had diagnosed something more serious. Before they
knewit,theywerebackonthetrainheadingforthewestcoast.O’Connor
always found it difficult to sleep on the trains and now she was also
contendingwithstomachpains.Ononejourney,sheremembered:
I didn't sleepall lastnight. It is a very rocky routeand the trainswayedandswervedandbangedandclatteredandstoppedwitha jerk and startedagain. Itwas impossible to sleep. Frolie cameintomyberthandwegiggledand lookedoutof thewindowforhoursuntilBossheardusandorderedustogotosleep.Thenwewerecalledat5.30thismorningforcustomsinspections.(ShieldsT13/A/440)
Shields had given O’Connor responsibility for costumes. They had to be
unpacked and re-packed for customs checks and again for the dressing
rooms.
O’ConnorawokeatsixaminthewildsofColorado.Shecouldlook
outherwindowwithoutmovingfromherpillowandnoted:
Itwasglorious.Weweregoingthroughprairielands,thesunwasjust up and the whole thing looked like a technicolour movie.(ShieldsT13/A/441)
After an early breakfast in the dining carriage with Ria Mooney,
Boss (Arthur) Shields, Elbert Wickes and Maureen Delaney, she settled
downtowritelettersuntiltheyreachedastopwheretheycouldalightfor
someairandexercise.ShecapturestheCompanyintheiridlehours:
…inthedistancearetheRockieswithsnow-coveredtops.Oh,Boytheylookgrand.TheCo.areinvariousattitudesaroundthecoach.Frolieiswritingletters,Joeiswanderingabout,Austinditto,Bossiscleaninghistypewriter,thestagehandsareinahuddlewithElbert.Eileenisstillinbedwhiletheothersareinthedinerhavingbreakfast.(ShieldsT13/A/441)
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Therewere unscheduled stops,when landslides blocked the train
lines,andbreaks in ‘depots’. If thetrainpulledupunexpectedly,someof
the actors got out to climb around and take photographs, passing time
until theblockagewascleared.Atdepots, theyrushedouttobuysweets
andmagazines, or towalk around.One photograph shows the Company
hangingaroundonaplatform. (ShieldsT13/B/326-27)Thesun is shining;
JoeLinnanesitsontheedgeoftheplatformwithMulhernononesideand
O’Connorontheother.O’Connor isdemure,her legsneatlyfoldedunder
hertooneside.Mulhernsitswithherlegsapart,feetonthesleepers.She
wears dark sunglasses and is laughing or telling a joke. Shields sits at a
politedistancefromO’Connor.MayCraig,MaureenDelaneyandsomeof
themenstandaroundbehindthem,asifthey’repacing,eagertogetgoing.
ThefamilynatureofthisAbbeyCompanyisperhapsnevercapturedmore
eloquentlythanintheseimagesof‘downtime’.
Duringthistime,O’Connor’s lettersstarttodisplayacontentment
that eluded her in Ireland. In San Francisco, she found serenity. The
harbour reminded her of Cobh, and after the fog and snow of St. Louis,
everythingradiatedwiththeWestCoastsunlight.Herstomachcrampshad
settled;adoctorhaddiagnosedapulledmuscleandprovidedmedication.
TheyarrivedinTheNewOlympicHotellateatnightandshewokethenext
morning to streams of sunlight coming through her window and the
prospectofaweek’srestbeforetheyperformedagain.(ShieldsT13/A/441)
MulhernandMooneywereoccupiedelsewhere,asO’Connorrefers
to‘theboysandmyself’inherjauntstothebeachandthecountryside,or
exploringthecity.(ShieldsT13/A/442)ArthurShieldswasneverfaraway.
Theother ‘boys’were JoeLinnaneandAustinMeldon.They tookacable
cartoFisherman’sWharf,wanderedaroundChinatownandfordinnerhad
chicken chowmeinaswell as coldporkwithginger and fried rice. There
werecocktails,aswellasChinesewineandtea.Goingtoseethecartoon
SnowWhiteand the SevenDwarves for the first time,O’Connorwas the
beautyatthecentreofthiscircleofcharmingactors.
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Accordingto intimate letterssenttohersisters,at this timethere
was no relationship with Shields. A black and white photo of that time
showsO’ConnorwithShieldsandanother (unidentified)manoutside the
MandarinTheatreinSanFrancisco.(ShieldsT13/B/320)O’Connor’sarmis
tuckedcomfortably intoShields’.Heistall, imposingandclearlyolder;he
was seventeenyearsherelder. It is theonlyphotograph from that tour
that shows them as a couple. There are press shots forDrama at Inish
(ShieldsT13/B/303)andforShadowandSubstance(ShieldsT13/B/202)but
thephotographoftheMandarinTheatreistheonlyoneinthearchivethat
showsthemtogetheroutofcostume.O’Connortoldhersisterthatshewas
contemplatingmarriage to a responsible lawyer that offered a luxurious
life.ThisBostonlawyerwascalledMadisonandshesaid:
I’m not in love with him. However, my last love affair was sodisastrous toall concerned thatpossibly I cangetalongwithoutlovethistime.(ShieldsT13/A/442)
Offstage,O’Connoradoptedacasual,comfortablelook,wearing
slacksuitswithsandalsandanklesocks.Shedescribedone‘nattygetup’:
Iwearmy new slack suit,which consists of a very fineworstedmaterial in purpley navy, the slacks are beautifully fitting andhaveaconcealedzipperdowntheside,apleatinthebackandabuttonedbreastpocket.Thepantsbuttononthetop. It'sacuteidea and they're awfully comfy. I'm wearing a red cowboyhandkerchiefroundmyneckandredanklesocks(nostockingsorgirdleetc)andredandgreenandbluesandalsanddittoribboninmyhair.(ShieldsT13/A/441)
Onemorning,shegotupearlyandwentouttobuyanadornment
forherroom.Thensheretreatedtheretowritelettersandenjoytheview:
ThismorningIwentoutandboughtbluebells,hyacinths,daffodilsandmarigolds–4 largebowls full for75c.Myroomhastwobigwindowsandthesunpoursin.Icanlookrightacrossthebayfromwhere I'm sitting now. There are ships passing all the time.(ShieldsT13/A/442)
Theemotionalturmoilandpublicshameofthepreviousspringwasbehind
her;shewasanactressconsideringalifeinBostonmarriedtoalawyer.
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FromtherelaxedsunshineofSanFrancisco,theCompanytravelled
by train to the dry heat and glamour of downtown Los Angeles. With
Wickesnowatthehelm,theonedarkcloudthathungoverthemwasthe
illhealthofactorP.J.(Paddy)Carolan.CarolanwassufferingfromTB.Ashis
conditionworsened,hebegantodrinkheavily.O’Connortoldhersister:
Paddyisallrightwhenhe’ssoberbutattimesit’sbeengrim.It’sawfully hard on Dossie and Boss who have to do his work. I’mafraidhe’squitehopeless–nothingseemstohaveanyeffectonhim.(ShieldsT13/A/440)By the time they checked into the Hotel Clarke in downtown Los
Angeles, itwasevident thatCarolanwasnotgoing to recover– fromhis
lungconditionoralcoholism.Hissurrogatefamilyralliedaroundandallof
the actors contributed what they could afford to pay for a special train
compartment sohecould travelhomecomfortably.Theyagreed tokeep
this private until his family were notified and arrangements made.
O’Connor thenwrote to her sister to say, ‘We did allwe could for him’.
(ShieldsT13/A/444)TheCompanywavedoff the thin,dejectedmanwith
realgrief,butsatisfiedtheyhaddonealltheycouldtostophimdrinkingto
the point of inebriation. O’Connor watched, it seems, with
incomprehension. Her youth and vitality made her feel invincible in the
faceofsuchastrugglewithalcohol.
O’Connortookeveryavailableopportunitytosunbatheontheroof
of theHotelClarke. In theevenings, therewereparties inHollywood.On
consecutive nights in April, the Abbey Company visited RKO and
Paramountstudios.Theyhadalreadybeenhostedat20thCenturyFox.All
of the actresses were offered screen tests and promised work, but
O’Connor wasn’t as naïve as on earlier tours. She guarded against
disappointment.Itwascleartoherhowallofthestudioswere‘retrenching
like hell’ and doubted if her screen test would materialise. (Shields
T13/A/439)Awaretherewasastrongpossibilitythat‘whenthetourwillbe
over they just lose interest’, she determined to finish the tour and then
return toLondon to look forwork. (ShieldsT13/A/439)Lyingon thesun-
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drenched hotel roof, recovering from another party, O’Connor was
consideringBoston,HollywoodandLondon–butnotDublin.Therewasno
futureforherthere,professionallyorpersonally, itseemed.Yetshetook
theboatbackwith theCompany,bringingwithhera small trousseau for
hersisterEileen’sJunewedding.
AnEmergencyApproaches
Bytheendofthe1937/38tour,O’Connorhaddecided,‘Ishalltake
a room somewhere in Dublin if Daddy wishes to keep up his attitude
towards me.’ (Shields T13/A/444) Her father was furious with what he
thoughtofasunseemlybehaviour:herrelationshipwithanolder,married
andprotestantman.Higginshadalsotakenagainsttheactress,mainly, it
appears, for her off-stage behaviour. In the preparations for the Abbey
FestivalscheduledforAugust,shewascastonlyinasmallroleinTheWell
oftheSaintsbyJ.M.Synge.Afteryearsofgrowingexposureandpopularity,
O’Connorwasreturnedtotheunspeakingchorus.
CoincidingwithHorseShowWeek,thetwelve-dayAbbeyFestivalin
1938 presented seventeen plays to an audience drawn from America,
BritainandtheContinentaswellas Ireland.Duringtheday,theGresham
HotelonO’ConnellStreethostedlecturesonthetheatreanditsdramatists,
alongwith exhibitions andmanuscripts on view. The Spectator journalist
visitingfromtheUKwassoboredthathedidn’tstaytoseeShieldsreprise
his roleasChristy inPlayboyof theWesternWorld,whichconcluded the
programme.(Dent15)HewenttotheGaietyinstead.Dentalsodescribed
thepremièreofPurgatoryas‘anunsmilingsymbolicalfragmentthatgives
usparricideandfilicidecheekbyjowl.’(15)
NeithertheSpectator journalistnortheAbbeydirectorateseemed
toknoworunderstandthemeaningofYeats’play.Atanopenlectureon
theworkofW.B.Yeats intheGreshamHotelonaWednesdayafternoon,
theactressShelahRichardsstoodupintheaudience.ThelecturerwasF.R.
HigginsandaReverendConnolly (HeadofEnglishatBostonCollege)had
asked a question from the back of the room about the symbolism of
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Purgatory.Robinson, thechairman,deemed itanunfairquestiontopose
to Higgins; Richards disagreed. According to the Evening Herald, she
pointedout,‘Hehadputhisquestionwithgreatcourtesyandsincerity,and
ashegenuinelydesiredinformation,heshouldbeanswered.’(‘Whatdoes
itmean?’)Higginsdidnotgiveananswer,eitherastowhatYeatsmeantor
whathehimselfthoughtthepiecetomean.
Given the presence of many members of the Company, it’s
probably thatO’Connorwaspresentat thatdebate. InwatchingRichards
confront Higgins, she saw an established professional actress take on a
manwhomshedetestedbuthadtobeseentoobey.ButRichardswasalso
challenging the obscurity of Yeats’ work, and her social standing meant
that she had the power to speak out in a way O’Connor was denied. If
O’ConnordidwishtoemulatetheconfidenceofShelahRichards,shewas
acutelyawareoftheclassdifference.WhereO’Connorhadbeenforcedto
writealettertotheboardapologisingforbehaviourdeemedinsubordinate
(andlosthersecretarialpost),Richardscouldhavehersay,leavethehotel
anddriveherselfhomeinhersportscartoherlargehouseinGreystones.
Richardswouldgoontobecomeasuccessfultheatreandradioproducer,
yetshealreadyspoke likesomebodywith influence.Shehadmoney,and
she had social status both from her wealthy Protestant background (of
anglo-Irish ascendancy) and through her marriage to barrister and
playwright Denis Johnston. Richards herself once wrote, ‘We were born
respectable. We can't be anything else.’ (Johnston TCD Mss
10066/287/2649)Middle-classwomensuchasO’Connor,withoutfinancial
independence or a family name deemed respectable, were at a distinct
disadvantageinpowerrelations.
Duringthefestival,anactresscalledJosephineFitzGeraldfromthe
secondcompany(whichperformedwhilethemaincompanywereontour)
played the role of Mary Doul in Synge’s play The Well of the Saints.
O’Connor appeared in a minor role; the bit-part was a step back in her
career. She would soon be considered too old for the juvenile parts for
whichshe’dbecomeknown.Herperformancestyle,too,hadbeeneffected
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(and arguably affected) by the farcical posturing adopted to please
American crowds. Yet,Mulhern and theotherwomen continued in their
careersmuchasbefore;obstacleswerebeingputinthewayofO’Connor’s
progression.
TwomonthsaftertheAugustfestival,O’Connor’sroleinTheFar-Off
Hillswasgiven tonewcomerPhyllisRyan.MulhernandRyannowplayed
outthebedroomscenethathadbeenO’Connor’spreserveforsolong.Her
best friendperformedwith thenewstarlet,whileO’Connorwaitedtobe
cast. Both she and Shields were excluded by Higgins from a trip to
Cambridge in April 1939. Furious, O’Connor told an American friend,
producer Eddie Choate: ‘I don’t know when I’ll be playing again [ … ]
Higgins appears to hatemewith a deadly hate!’ (Shields T13/A/150(20))
While she tried to remain polite, the strain was showing. She declared,
‘Oneofthesedays[mytongue]willcomeunstuckandI'lltellHigginswhatI
and the rest of the world think of him – and be fired forever from the
Abbey!’ (ShieldsT13/A/150(20))There’sdesperationbehindher fury.Her
patience with Abbey management was wearing thin, and she was
increasinglyunhappyinDublin.
Staying with Anne and Mrs George Yeats in Rathfarnham one
Sundaynight,O’ConnortoldMrsYeats‘verysolemnly’that‘MrHigginshas
averygoodbusinesshead.’(Saddlemyer544)Whiletohersuperiors,she
remainedpolite and respectful,O’Connorhad reason todetest theman.
Higgins’ rancourcouldhavebeendue toher relationshipwithShields,or
her earlier perceived insubordination, but other evidence I’ve uncovered
suggests Higgins had a strong streak ofmisogyny. His relations with the
maleactorswerestrained,butthereisnoevidencethathebulliedthemin
the way women suffered from his mistreatment. Later that year, the
actress Josephine FitzGerald politely resigned a part in a play (Carroll’s
Kindred)forpersonalreasons.Thenextday,Fitzgeraldreceivedaletterat
homeinFairviewfromHiggins.Thenoteiscurtandcallous,tellingher:
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Icanonlysaythatyouwillnothaveitinyourpoweragaintodiscriminateastowhatpartsyouaretoplayinthistheatre.(Nowlan-Fitzgerald)
Higgins revelled in his power over these women, his ability to
dispensewiththematwill,andtookanysuggestionofinsubordinationto
maketheirworkinglivesimpossible.Hisrelationshiptothemensuggested
similarcallousness,buthedidnotviewthemasdespensibleandreliedon
certain men, including Shields, for support. FitzGerald’s career at the
AbbeywasendedbyHiggins,althoughshewentontoappearattheGate
Theatre and in numerous films. O’Connor tried to co-operate, but the
relationship with Higgins never improved. Ultimately, he was always in
controlandheusedhispowertopushheroutofthecompany–andoutof
Irelandtofindwork.
The 1938 Abbey Festival ended with a large, relaxed party
backstage at the theatre after the curtain came down on Shadow and
Substance. The members of the company acted as hosts and hostesses,
greetingguestsandoffering raffle tickets forsalebefore inviting themto
find a spot to sit in the green room. The ‘intimate meeting’ let friends
minglewiththedirectorsandtheactorsonthestairsbackstageor inthe
offices and green room upstairs. (Clive) When called upon, P. V. Carroll
made a speech ‘with a few touching remarks’ about thedepartedPaddy
Carolan.(Clive)TheCompanyobserveda respectful silence, remembering
theirdearfriendandthedifficultscenesontourashis illnessprogressed.
Aftertheraffletoraisemoneyforthebenefitfunds,theCompanycarried
on dancing and drinking and talking theatre until the early hours. Few
knewthatamid the riotous jollity,O’ConnorandShieldswereplanninga
newlifeforthemselvesasacouple.
Someweeks later,ShieldsarrangedameetingwithW.B.Yeats in
the Hibernian Club on Stephen’s Green and explained his dissatisfaction
with the theatre, along with sharing some details of his personal life.
(Frazier Hollywood Irish 128) He had been offered a role on Broadway.
YeatsassuredhimtherewouldalwaysbeaplaceforhimintheAbbey,but
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advisedhimtogo.InOctober,YeatsleftforFrance.Thesamemonth,the
LondonTimesannouncedthatShieldsandO'Connorwouldbetravellingto
NewYork(alongwithShelahRichards)toappearinSpringMeeting,aplay
byM.J.Farrell&JohnPerry.(FrazierHollywoodIrish128)
At this point, Shields was a respected actor and O’Connor was a
rising star.Heplayed a faithful servantwho first appears inAct 3 of the
play;BabyFurze (playedbyO’Connor)wasat thecentreof theplot.The
loversmayhavebeenlookingforwardtospendingChristmasaloneintheir
lodgings intheWhitbybuilding,buttheywouldbechaperonedbyShelah
Richards,alsointhecast.ThethreeIrishactorsworkedthroughoutJanuary
with director John Gielgud, learning the witty text penned by a smart,
publicity-shyfemalewriterbasedinIrelandcalledMollyKeane.
A fewweeks into thepopular run forSpringMeeting, these three
Abbey stalwarts saw a newspaper feature they didn’t approve of. The
articlereferredtothe‘all-British’castoftheplay.Shieldspenneda letter
settingout their patriotismand clarifying that certainof the actorswere
‘citizens of the Irish Free State’ and therefore ‘IRISH, not English.’(‘From
theDramaMailbag’)There’sa jovial tone to the letter, signedbyShields,
O’Connor, Richards and also Denis Carey. They identify themselves as
Abbey actors and stress that the letter was written for the purposes of
‘clarification, not rancour.’ (‘From theDramaMailbag’)Their assertion of
nationalismisperhaps lesssurprisingthanthe loyaltytheyexpresstothe
AbbeyTheatre.
Mere days after that letter was published, the three actors and
friendsheardthenewsofthedeathofW.B.Yeats.HehaddiedinFrance,
with his wife George at his side. In their rooms in theWhitby building,
lookingouton the lightsofBroadway, they toastedYeatsandwaited for
newsoffuneralarrangementsandtributesfromhome.Allthreefearedfor
thefutureoftheAbbeyTheatreunderthetyrannyofHiggins;notoneof
them would return to the stage on Marlborough Street. Far from the
mourning in Dublin, they continued to perform. O’Connor was a
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professionalandshewouldnotletdownPhilipMerivale,theproducerwho
frequentlysatinonrehearsalsandoftentookherfordinner.(Journals)
TheproductiontransferredtoTheLittleTheatre inFebruary1939,
where the Fashion Report described how ‘chiffons wisped airily up and
downtheaisles’,silkwrapsreappeared,and‘printsandlightercolours’had
begun to appear. (Spring Meeting Playbill ITA/128/1/1) Some of the
womenworeopera-lengthgloves inblackkidandbright-coloredevening
gloves.Forup-to-the-minuteaccessories,womenworepearlstwistedhigh
aroundtheneck,andheaddressesofivorylace‘likeaMarthaWashington
bonnet’.(SpringMeetingPlaybillITA/128/1/1)SpringwascreepingupFifth
Avenue,andasthefashionschanged,blossomswerebravingthecoldairin
CentralPark.
I can picture the style-conscious O’Connor peeking out from the
curtainbeforeSpringMeetingbegan,admiringthefineryandfashion.The
scene design, depicting the interior of the Furze household inWoodruff,
Tipperary, was lavish and her part was fun. But O’Connor knew Equity
restrictions would limit her time in New York. Also, as Shields was
supportinghiswifeathomeandshedidn’tearnmuch,moneywasscarce.
As Shields’ new partner, O’Connor had learnt not to show
insecurities. Shegave the impressionofbeinga strongwomannot tobe
cowed, but she knew of Richards’ friendship with Mac and of Richards’
own marital difficulties with Johnston. The programme notes joke of
Johnson’s inability topindownhiswife; in fact, the couplewerealready
livingseparatelives.Richardshadtwochildrenandaspirationstobecome
adirector.Minutesbeforethecurtainwentup,thewomencametogether
andtookpositionsonthestagefortheiropeningscene.Itopened:
Seated on the stool L.C., JOAN FURZE is trying an enormousDorothyWalkermodel on to BABY FURZE,who is standing L. infrontofher.Theybothseemdespairing.BABYcanseeherselfinalongmirrorwhich is leaningagainst the tablebehind thesettee.(FarrellandPerry7)Baby (O’Connor) scowls at her appearance in the mirror,
disconsolateat the ill-fittingandout-of-fashioneveningdress. JoanFurze
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(Richards)fussesaroundthedresswithpinsandascissors,tryingtomake
thebestofit.Joanisthethirty-two-year-olddaughterofthepenuriousSir
Richard,whomanagesthehousehold.Sheisbitteraboutherlife:‘Nevera
drink or a party. Nothing but doing the flowers and fightingwith [Aunt]
Bijouandgrowingolder.’(FarrellandPerry9)Bothgirlsarevictimsoftheir
father’s stinginess and rudeness, but Baby retains her youth, energy and
determination to find a different life for herself. When Tiny Fox-Collier
arrives hoping to marry her son Tony off to Joan for her inheritance of
Woodruff, Tony falls for Baby.Meanwhile, Joan’s relationship with their
groomisendedbyherfather.
Baby is themost innocent and yetmost dynamicmember of the
Furzehousehold.Shecharmsand flirtsherway through life inTipperary,
cheerfullymanipulatingtheservantsandherfathertogetherway.When
herspinsterauntinsiststhatnoladylooksforahusband,sheresponds:‘I
thinkof itoftenand Iwantone,and I’llhaveonetoo.’ (FarrellandPerry
11) Tiny Fox-Collier describes her as ‘entirely undevelopedmentally’ and
notesshehas‘abrogueyoucancutwithaknife.’(FarrellandPerry43)But
sheseducesTonywithherbeautyandwit,andbyappearinginthesitting
roomwrappedonlyinaneiderdown.Atonepointsheaskshim,‘Whatdo
you think I am - a childon the thresholdof life?’ Tony responds, ‘I don't
knowwhatyou'ddoonathreshold.You'rewonderfulinahayloft.’(Farrell
andPerry37)O’Connor’ssexualitywasnot justonopendisplay,butwas
thepunchlineofsuchjokes.
On stage each night, O’Connor was the pretty coquette, nipping
sipsfromherfather’sbrandyglassandcadgingmoneytopayforcigarettes.
Theplayagainallowedhertoopenlydeclarehersexuality,andtoperform
beingofasocialclasswhereshecouldtalkopenlywithoutfearoffinancial
orotherpenalties.Afterthecurtainfell,theactresswaswearyfromstress.
The awkward circumstances with Richards, the career issues, and her
money problems were strains on her relationship with Shields. She was
comingtorealizetherewasnofutureforherontheIrishstage.Butforall
theworry,therewasavibrantgroupoftheatrepeopleinNewYork.Notes
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in her journals show a life packed with rehearsals, dinners and parties.
Theymentionprivatemeetingswith IrisWhitneyandanewfriendcalled
‘Kay’.AslifebecamemorecomplexforO’Connor,aNewYorkercalledKay
Swift swept into her life like the rousing chords of a Broadway show’s
openingnumber.
KinshipandFriendship
In her landmark essay, ‘Gender: A Useful Category of Historical
Analysis’,feministhistorianJoanScottsetoutthefourelementsofgender
as a ‘constitutive element of social relationships, based on perceived
differencesbetweensexes.’Theseare:(1)culturallyavailablesymbols;(2)
normative concepts that set forth interpretations of the meanings of
symbols;(3)thekinshipsystemand(4)subjectiveIdentity.(Scott‘Gender’
1067)TheformertwocategorieshavebeenconsideredinrelationtoIrish
theatresincethefoundationoftheAbbeyTheatre,includingsymbolssuch
as Cathleen ni Houlihan and the characters that followed as normative
concepts of Irish womanhood. The kinship system in these life stories,
however, must be extended from family and household to include
colleagues, and the ensemble of the touring company that became
O’Connor’s family in a number of ways. It here seems useful to draw
attentiontothenetworkofwomenaroundO’Connorthatwereproviding
emotional and practical support and, also, possible rolemodels.While I
separate the biographies of each of the five Irish women, the
interconnections between their lives, roles, tours and experiences they
shared,shouldbeapparent.
Therelationshipsbetweenthesewomen,bothintheCompanyand
withotherwomenintheatretheyencountered,werekeynetworksintheir
lives,regardlessoftheirrelationshipswithmen.O’Connordefinedherself
byherpositionbetweenhertwosisters(‘theleastgood-lookingoneofthe
family’(ShieldsT13/A/436))andthetempestuousnatureofherfriendship
withFrolieMulhernshowedtheir intimacyandrelianceoneachother.At
the same time, the attitude of the older women (including Bazie “Mac”
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Shields)towardstheyoungnoviceswasacrucialdynamicintheCompany.
Much likeAmeliaGregg inDeevy’sKatie Roche, they formed amodel of
respectableIrishfemininityshowinghowtheycould‘makeitgrand.’(113)
The elder generation often deplored the younger women’s behaviour,
whichtheyviewedasrebelliousorsimplyunseemly.Femalefriendshipisa
crucialfeatureofthebiographyofanywoman,andO’Connor’sconnection
with Kay Swift is fascinating for its apparent unlikeliness, its obvious
strength, and for its indelible mark on O’Connor’s personality and her
conceptionofherselfasanactressandawoman.
Kay Swift was a Broadway composer, a divorcee, and a busy
socialite.Thissmall,elegantladywithdark,carefully-coiffedhairandhuge
eyeswasawomanwho‘alwayswantedtheworks,everyminute’andfelt
entitledtohave it. (LaskerFolder259)Shehadan infectiousenergy,as if
livingconstantly to the rhythmofher firstBroadwayhitFineandDandy.
SwiftandO’Connorhadlittleincommonintermsofbackground,butthey
shareda loveofdramaandanunderstandingofcomplicated loveaffairs.
Swift had a long relationship with the composer George Gershwin; she
assisted him in composing the musical Porgy and Bess. The Abbey
CompanysawthismusicalstagedinSanFranciscoduringtheearly1930s.
(‘Reminiscence’ Craig Mss LA28/240) However, there’s no record that
duringherfirsttour in1934/35,O’Connorsawthiswork,orthatshemet
Swift.Gershwin’sunexpecteddeath in July1937waswellpublicized,but
his union with Swift was never official. The women were most likely
introducedin1938bySwift’snewbeau,radiostarandoldacquaintanceof
theAbbeyPlayers,EddieByron.
For all her verve, Swift’s life hadbeenbesetby vicissitudes.After
herfather’sprematuredeath,shesupportedhermotherwithhermusical
talents, teaching andplaying.Marriage to banker (and sometime lyricist)
JamesWarburg brought contentment and a luxurious standard of living,
but she abandoned this and gave up custody of her three daughters to
continue her work and relationship with Gershwin. She was now living
alone,composingmusicforanumberoforganizations, includingtheNew
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YorkWorldFairscheduledfor1939.Whilesherarelystoppedworkingon
her musical compositions, she relied on girl friends, most especially
businesswomanMaryLasker,foremotionalsupport.ShekeptSundaysfree
for‘ourgoodSabbathgabfests,settlingourlives[and]we’vereallymade
moreprogressatthatonSundaysthananyotherdays.’(LaskerFolder259)
BothO’Connor and Swift had ambitions for career successwith a
man they adored by their side. Swift repeatedly threw over money and
security for passion and excitement. Yet while O’Connor despaired in
private, Swift kepthermood lightandherhopeshigh.Therewasalways
theprospectofanother tune,another loverandanotherpaycheck. Swift
alwayshadenoughmoneyforavisittothehairdresser:‘Nodoingofown
hairby thishand’,andaSundayalways involveda coupleofher favorite
‘vod-tons’, either out or at homewith friends. (Lasker Folder 544) Swift
was,infact,somethingofa‘Pollyanna’,endlesslypositive,anattributethat
would infuriate and assist O’Connor in equal measure. The
‘disappointment adjustant’ Swift inherited from her mother served her
wellandbroughtjoytothosearoundher;O’Connorlackedsuchagenetic
gift.(Ohl219)
SpringMeetingranatTheLittleTheatreuntil theendofFebruary
1940, so thatO’Connorwasstillperforming in thecityduringoneofKay
Swift’smostmemorableanddramaticsocialevenings.AtHampshireHouse,
thethirty-seven-storeyluxuriousapartmentbuildingsouthofCentralPark,
MaryLaskerwas livingandworkingonherdesignbusiness.Laskerhelda
cocktailparty,ahabitualeventthatendedwithguestssoddenwithdrink
and emotionally spent after a night of dramatic rows and passionate
encounters. That evening, Lasker ended her relationship with a married
man thewomen called ‘Fiend’ to protect his identity. Swift had taken a
‘horriblebeating’emotionallywhenByrondroppedherunceremoniously,
butthatnightshemetTimemagazinewriterCharlesWertenbaker.(Lasker
Folder 259) O’Connor remained sorry that Swift and Byron had parted
ways,butthewomen’sfriendshipendured.(ShieldsT13/A/150(21))
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O’Connor returned to the UK formore auditions after the run of
SpringMeetingfinished,butShieldsstayedon,tryingtomakeconnections
andgetfurtherworkonBroadway.HemetbusinessmanEddieChoate,and
together they set up a production company and secured the rights to
produce Paul Vincent Carroll’s new play Kindred. O’Connor spent more
timeinEngland,whereshesawmuchofHughHuntandauditionedwhere
possible.(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))WithHigginspushingherout,shehadno
choicebuttoseekotherwork,andinMay1939shehadaninterviewwith
theproducersoftheShellTheatreinLondon.Therewastheprospectofa
part in French Without Tears, a new comedy of manners by Terence
Rattigan. O’Connor had perfected an English accent that would suit this
caper,setinaFrenchboardinghouse.Shespentthelittlemoneyshehad
travellingtoLondonandfindingaccommodationbutnothingcameofthe
meeting. (Shields T13/A/150(27)) When Shields finalised the deal for
Kindred, hewiredwith thenews.O’Connor rushedback toDublin at the
earliest opportunity. She was staying at her father’s house in Ranelagh
whensheexpressedherrelieftoChoate:‘We’rebothabsolutelythrilledto
bits. And I’m rescued from a ten weeks English tour of French Without
Tears!’(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))
Dublinwasmiserable.Theweatherwaswetandgloomyand‘There
isaveryworriedlookoneveryone’sfaceinthestreets.[…]Thereistalkof
nothingelsebutWAR’.(ShieldsT13/A/150(20))FrenchWithoutTearswas
ahugesuccess inLondon;O’ConnorwatchedfromafarasKayHammond
and Rex Harrison went on from the Rattigan play to bigger and bigger
success. Carroll’s play Shadow and Substancewas staged again in May.
ManagementattheAbbeyTheatrewerehopingtocapitaliseonitsearlier
popularityeventhoughHunt(theoriginaldirector)hadleftthecountry.To
replicate as much as possible the original cast, O’Connor was asked to
reprise her role as Thomasina. She appeared with the rising star, Cyril
Cusack.AttheDublintheatre,theignominyofheraffairandherbehaviour
still lingered.Carroll jokedwithheraboutaplayhewaswritingabout ‘a
nicelittleteaser…withanoselikeyours.’(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))
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Ifnotrehearsing,O’Connorspenttimetypinglettersintheofficeor
reading in theGreenRoom.Eager togetback to theUS, tobewithBoss
and to escape her strained family situation in Ranelagh, she enquired in
letters to Eddie Choate about a role in Kindred for herself. At the same
time,shepromotedMulhern’stalents:
Shehasaveryconservativeand religious familyand they refusetobelieveshewantstogotoAmericaagain.[…]PooroldFrolie–she’slongingtogo!(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))
O’Connorhatedthethoughtofleavingherbestfriendbehind,and
continued to coax Mulhern to leave with her. Mulhern didn’t have the
strength to consider such a huge move; she was increasingly delicate.
Despitebadhealth,Mulhernmanagedtoretainhersenseofhumourand
loveofperforming.O’Connormayhaveputherfriend’sweaknessdownto
overwork or heartbreak after the end of her relationship with Wickes.
Shields also discussedwith Choate thepossibility ofMulhernplaying the
characterofPrimroseintheirfirstventure,althoughherevealed,‘Theonly
thing that worriesme about her is that she is not very strong.’ (Shields
T13/A/150(30))O’ConnorwantedMulhernwithherbecausesheknewthat
withoutaconfirmedroleormoney,travellingtotheUSwasgoingtobea
challenge.Requests fora roleare repeatedbreezily,but there’s real fear
ShieldswouldleaveherbehindinO’Connor’slettertoChoateinMay1939:
BossandIhavenomoneywhatsoever!…Don’tworryaboutmeasIcanwaitafewweekslongeruntilBossearnssomemoneyinHollywoodandthensendsforme.(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))
O’Connor was now consumed with possible career moves. Hunt
wasconsideringstagingKindred in theUKand therewasaproductionof
Carroll’sWhiteSteedopening inGlasgow.Bothplayswerefamiliartothe
actress and she had Carroll’s approval. Hunt suggested theremight be a
partforherinaUKproduction,orO’Connorheardoftheproductionand
madethesuggestion.Shewasreadytograspatanypartto leaveDublin,
butwouldn’treturntoEnglandwithouttheblessingofShieldsandChoate.
Onenight,desperateforaplan,shesentatelegram:
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HuntdefinitelyofferspartSteedAugust.Sorrytorushyou.Pleasecabledecisionremylastletter.LoveAideen.(ShieldsT13/A/150(43))
ShemayhavebeenhopingtopushthemintoactionwithnewsoftheUK
production;theactionrebounded.Choatesentapolitenote:
Theirproductiondefinite.MineNot.Youmakedecision.BestEddie.(ShieldsT13/A/150(43))
Despite her diligence and talent, apparent confidence and
headstrongmanner,suchdecisionsleftherfloundering.Afterimpassioned
and lengthy discussions about the future, Shields arrived in New York
withouthislover.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))Onmidsummer’sday,shetooka
traintoCork,bringingwithhereverythingsheneededforemigrating.The
Abbey Theatre was, as usual, closed for themonth of July. In Cork, she
couldstayrent-freewithhermother’sfamilyat4Graham’sTerraceinthe
portvillageofCobh,fromwhichboats leftregularlyforAmerica.Shehad
runoutoffriendstorelyoninDublin.
PreparingforNewYork
Graham’sTerracehasanirongate,closingitofffromtheroad.The
terrace is carved into the hillside; the row of houses hangs precipitously
over the steep incline down to the sea. It was a mature, respectable
address, halfway between the village with its port and the cathedral,
perchedat the topof thehill.O’Connorcould lookdownontheharbour
from her window. It reminded her now of the wharfs of San Francisco,
filling her with nostalgia in the sameway that in San Francisco shewas
oncenostalgicforCobh.(ShieldsT13/A/442)
Number4Graham’sTerracewasaplaceO’Connorassociatedwith
thelong,lazysummerdaysofchildhood,learningtosailduringthedayand
runningupfromthevillageintheevenings.Nowshewastwenty-five,and
hermother’sfamilyknewofthedisputewithherfatherandtheunsavoury
lovelifeoftheactress.Sheoftenfoundherselftrappedinthegrimlightof
the house. After months of travelling independently, being toasted and
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feted, O’Connor was reduced to unpaid housework and child minding.
Occasionally, she managed to find a quiet corner and a fewminutes to
herselftowriteletters.ShesentanotetoChoate:
IhadtocableBossonSundayaboutcomingearlier. I’vestruckabadpatchatthemoment!I’mherewithmymother’speopleandUncleDickarrivedhomeunexpectedly[frommilitaryservice]andis very ill… It’s frightful. I have to look after the child (who is afiend)anddoallthemeals–sitwithhimforhoursonend.Hejuststares atmewithout uttering aword. Yesterday I thought Iwasreallygoingmad.(ShieldsT13/A/150(46))
Shields had learnt to fill his dayswith calming activities when he
wasn’t working: he loved his vegetable garden, collecting stamps and
readingabout trainsor talkingabout themwithhisson,Adam.O’Connor
never had such serenity off stage and the tedium of housework only
exacerbatedhertemper.Shesaid:
Nothing ever happens in Cobh. Even Atlantic fliers going astraylandatGalway—butperhapstheGermanfleetwillanchorintheharbourandthatwouldbenews.(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))
Away from the career opportunities of Dublin and London, her anxiety
intensified and she pleadedwith Choate, ‘Youwon’t stopwriting tome,
willyou,justbecauseBosswillbeinNewYork?’(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))
Often,when shewrote to Choate, O’Connor had a headache and
wasfeelingphysically ill.Shethoughtthemonotonyofthehouseandher
daily tasks would kill her, and was desperately lonely for her theatre
colleagues.Heronlyvalidexcusestoleavethehouseweretoattendmass
orconfessionintheCathedral,ortovisitheroldfriendSisterMaryMonica
intheConventoftheSistersofMercy.
DespiteO’Connor’spricklynature,herdarkmoods,airsofgrandeur
andobstinateopinions,SisterMaryMonicaremainedloyaltoAideen.She
wasoneofthefewwhoknewhersinceshe’dbeenamotherlessfour-year-
oldgirl,andthoughtofheralwaysasagirlwithastrongCatholicfaithand
akindheart.O’Connorhadfans inAmericaandfriends intheAbbey,but
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there’s a searing honesty inMaryMonica’s letter to the infant Christine
Shieldsinwhichshesays,‘Ilovedherverymuch.’(ShieldsT13/A/518(1))
Whenshefoundherselfstuck inCobh,O’Connorhadmuchtotell
her cloistered friend and also much she may have found impossible to
reveal.There’snowayofknowingifthenunknewaboutO’Connor’slove
for a married man, and if she supported or advised the actress. As the
leaderofasodalitygroupofonehundredandseventyyoungwomen,the
nun did know the possible future that lay in store for women who fell
pregnantoutofwedlock.(Cosgrave)KaySwiftcounseledloveandpassion;
Sister Mary Monica stood for Catholic faith and prayer. In the serene
groundsoftheSistersofMercyconventandthehushedatmosphereofthe
cathedral,thenuncontinuedtoprayforO’Connor’speaceandhappiness
aftertheactressleftforNewYork.
ChoatehadlefthertomakethedecisionabouttheUKproduction,
butshewouldnotgiveupanopportunitytobewithShields.Hunt’soffer
ofapartintheUKproductionofKindredwaspolitelydeclinedandmoney
somehow found to buy a ticket toNew York. InO’Connor’s suitcase the
morningsheembarked,likeatalisman,wasthefinaldraftofPaulVincent
Carroll’s play Kindred. On the dark green cover of the manuscript, the
playwrighthadwritten,‘ToAideen,BonVoyage,Paul.’(ShieldsT13/A/124)
Shields was filming in Hollywood when O’Connor arrived in New
York, and he thought it better she stay where she had ‘more
companionship’.(ShieldsT13/A/151(27))ShewasfamiliarwiththeWhitby
apartmentsonWest45thStreet,wherethey’dbeliving.Onlyafewblocks
from the Edison Hotel, the Whitby lacked the glamour and modern
appliances of the hotel. It was a community of people working on
Broadway, quietest before noon and humming with parties until late. It
had been built as a residential hotel, complete with bellhops and
barbershop,maidservice,ashoerepairstandandevenChristmasparties
in the lobby.During thedepression thatbegan in1929, itwasconverted
into small studios units. (Neuffer) There, Choate and his actresswife Iris
Whitney kept an apartment full of fresh flowerswhere they entertained
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O’Connor.Despitetheirclosefriendship,fromthestartofherstay,sheand
Shields constantly felt that they were a burden to Choate and his wife.
(ShieldsT13/A/45(1)-(2))
WhenChoatearrangeda readingof thenewplayKindred inNew
Yorkforpotentialinvestors,intheaudienceofinvitedguestswasthethen
composerforRadioCityMusicHallandtheDirectorofLightMusicforthe
WorldFair,KaySwift.O’Connorhadhighhopesshemightinvest,declaring
her a ‘grand person’ and insisting, ‘I know she will [help] if she can.’
(ShieldsT13/A/150(21))Swiftwasimpressedandexcitedbytheplay,eager
togiveherideastoChoatealthoughshehadnoavailable‘monya’.(Shields
T13/A/150(4))Despiteherelegantwardrobeandbusysociallife,Swiftwas
strugglingtosupportherself financially.Therewas littlechanceshecould
investinKindred,althoughherjovialmoodmayhavegiventheproducersa
differentimpression.
Swiftwasstill ‘theoldcarthouse.Alwaysfeelingsowell it’shardly
decent.’ (Lasker Folder 544) Her positivity and worldly wisdom could
alwaysprovideO’Connorwithachuckleandadistractionfromthepressing
concerns of life. The Beekman Place apartment where Swift lived and
entertainedwasdecorated inzebra-printrugs;herbedroomanddressing
roomwerepainted (wallsandceiling) in shrimppink. (LaskerFolder259)
Framed studio portraits of Gershwin, some signed in an ebony ink that
echoedhisowndarkhandsomeprofile,hungon thewallsofher lounge.
Alongwithvariousotherornamentsandtreasuresshehadtakenfromthe
Warburg townhouse, there was a baby grand piano. (Weber 133) Here,
Swift composed and played with the same regularity as other women
powdered their noses. She kept jottingsof compositionswhereverpaper
fellandcoffeecupsmarkedwithlipsticksurroundedher.Eachtimeshesat
there,Swiftremovedhergoldbangles(agiftfromGershwin)andsetthem
onthepianotop.Theysparkledandtrembledassheplayed.(Weber133)
On the first Sunday morning of September 1939, O’Connor was
listening to the wireless in the Choates’ apartment when William
Chamberlain’s speech was broadcast on BBC radio. The sentence ‘His
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Majesty’sgovernmenthasdeclaredwaronGermany’chilledher,castinga
lifelongmemory.(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))GoingbacktoherlifeinIreland
nowwasnotonlydifficultbutpotentiallydangerous.
TherewasareunionwithShields in timetocelebrateher twenty-
sixth birthday, but soon both couples (Choate and wife Iris Whitney;
O’Connor and Shields) were working on Kindred, ‘going over the script
wordforword,indicatingpossiblecutsandadjustmentswhichwewilllater
gooverwithDick [Madden] forhisapproval.’ (ShieldsT13/A/151(32))Up
untilAugust,O’ConnorwascastinthemainroleofAgnes.Thenadecision
wasmade,puttingheroutofthepart.
It’sunclearwhethertheoriginalcastingwasjustanarrangementby
ChoateandShieldstosecurehervisa,orifitwasadreadfulsurprisewhen
she was replaced by well-known Broadway face Haila Stoddard. In any
event,hersenseofindebtednesstoChoateoverrodeanyangerabouther
re-casting in a minor role, Alice. Around the same time, Swift left
O’Connor’slifeasdramaticallyasshe’dentered,elopingwithacowboyto
afarminOregon.Tofillherdaysuntilrehearsalsbegan,andtocombather
senseofuselessness,O’ConnorbeganvolunteeringwiththeRedCross.She
workedfromnineamtofourpmeveryday.
AftermonthsofidledaysforO’Connor,tryingtocontributetothe
war effort or reading andwindow-shopping, the long-awaited rehearsals
forKindredbeganattheendofNovember.Shieldshadastarringroleand
Barry Fitzgeraldwasalso in the cast.Reunitedwithher Irish companions
andhardatwork,evenifherpartwasminor,theactresssawthedaysfly
by; her theatrical lifewas coming back on track. Aweek into rehearsals,
distressingnewsfromhomereachedher.FrolieMulhernwasdeadandhad
beenburiedinEnniskillen.Stunnedbygrief,O’Connorwroteinherjournal
thatshesimplycouldn’tbelieveitwastrue.(ChristineShieldsEmail)
There was an air of incredulity about Mulhern’s death even in
Ireland.According tohernieceMaryMcCullough, shedied suddenly and
quietly,withonegaspforair,herheartstoppingasshesatatthefirewith
her mother. Deprived of the opportunity to say goodbye and pay her
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respects to theMulhern familyat the funeral, yetagainO’Connorburied
painandupsettocarryonwithdignityamongagroupofpeoplewhohad
nevermetherfriend.
Lessthanamonthlater,thecompanylefttogetherforPrinceton,a
town eighty kilometres outside of New York. Kindred opened in the
McCarter theatre, at theedgeof thePrincetonUniversity campus,on23
December1939.TheyimmediatelytravelledbackbytraintotheNewYork
opening.ItwasatenseChristmasday,forthenextmorningArthurShields
hadtopayanurgentvisittoadoctor.Kindredwouldpremierethatevening
attheMaxineElliottTheatre,buthewassufferingfromchestpain.
A pencilled note in Shields’ diary for the following day, a
Wednesday, records: ‘Kindred a failure’. (Shields T13/A/372(3)) Sixteen
performances after opening night, it closed. The spectacular flop left
Shieldswith a twentypercent share inbankruptcy.Rehearsalsof theold
reliable,O’Casey’sJunoandthePaycock,beganevenbeforeKindredclosed,
on 4th of January. Under the stress, Shieldswas admitted to Lennox Hill
hospitalanddiagnosedwithtuberculosis.O’Connorcontinuedtoperform
inJunoandthePaycock,playingapartnowsofamiliartotheactressitwas
likerecitingaprayer.O’Casey’sdescriptionforMaryBoylereads:
Two forces are working in her mind—one, through thecircumstancesofherlife,pullingherback;theother,throughtheinfluence of books she has read, pushing her forward. Theopposingforcesareinherspeechandhermanners.(Juno5)
SimilarforceswereworkingonO’Connor,butitwasnolongerthesimple
‘backwardsorforward’decisionshehadcontemplatedasayoungerMary.
It’s a long, hard trek from theWhitby Building up to Lennox Hill
hospital,particularlyiftheweatherisbadandthereisnomoneyfortaxis.
Thewalk leadsawayfromthedazzlingwhite lightsofBroadway,pastthe
largedepartmentstoresupthelengthofParkAvenueandrightuptothe
eastsideofCentralPark.O’Connorhadtomakethis trek,whileensuring
thatshewasbackinthetheatreeacheveningintimetoperform.Onher
way, she passed theWarburg townhouse where Kay Swift’s ex-husband
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still livedwithher threedaughters. Itwasa stark reminderof the luxury
thatSwifthadgivenupforloveandhercareer.
The year of 1939 had been bookendedwith the deaths ofW. B.
Yeats and of Frolie Mulhern, and had contained little but worry and
relentless struggle for O’Connor and Shields. At least they had been a
support toeachother;nowShields’ serious illness left theactress feeling
even more isolated. As she trudged up and down to the hospital,
sometimeswithIrisWhitneyorBarryFitzgerald,theweightofworryabout
thefuturebecameheavier.Onlyinherprivatejournalsdidsheadmitthat
shenowlongedforonethingonly:togohome.(Journals)War,orlove,or
shame,oracombinationofallthree,keptherwhereshewas.
Equity contracts reveal that O’Connor earned $150 a week to
appear inKindred in1939.After itclosed,hersalarydecreasedto$100a
weekforherpartofMaryinJunoandThePaycock(1940)andthento$50
aweek for appearingwith actor HaleNorcross inTanyard Street (1941).
(ShieldsT13/A/454) Itwas increasinglydifficult forher tomanageonher
own;herrelianceonShieldswasnotjustemotionalbutfinancial.
Shieldswasstillseriouslyill,buthisconditionwasimproving.After
JunoandthePaycock,hetookthedoctors’advicetotraveltoCaliforniato
recuperate in sunshine and dry air. Barry Fitzgerald travelled with him.
Both men had hopes of finding film work to improve their financial
situation.Onceagain,ShieldsleftO’Connorbehind.Shehadbeencastina
smallpartinaTerenceRattiganplay,andwashopingitwouldimproveher
situationwithEquity.
A few weeks into rehearsal for the production at the Hudson
Theatre, O’Connor arrived back to the Whitby apartment bereft and
Shieldsreceivedadistressedcall.Theconnectionwasbad;O’Connorwas
crying. (Shields T13/A/151(27)) Shields had to wait for an explanation.
Choatewrote:
BythetimeyourreceivethisletterAideenwillbearrivingandwillgive you all the details of howCooper railroaded her out of hisshow. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reachme at the time all thedamagewasdone.[…]Thenewdirectorwantedadifferenttype
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inthepartandwhenCooperrefusedtopayAideenoff,thenewdirectorandHomolkasimplydecidedthattheywouldmakeitsouncomfortableforherthatshewouldleaveofherownaccord.
(ShieldsT13/A/153(57))
O’Connorwas the third actress to leave the production; theNew
York Times announced that English actressMaria Temple would assume
the role. (‘News of the Stage’ 32) O’Connor’s experiences in Dublin had
made her tough; yet given the traumatic events of the previous few
months, a hasty and emotional flight to the West Coast is easy to
understand.Cooperwasinsistingthattheactresshadbrokenhercontract
and owed him two hundred dollars – a sum of money she didn’t have.
(ShieldsT13/A/153(57))
O’ConnorsaidfarewelltoChoateandIrisWhitney,beforeheading
forGrandCentral Station. Swift had left forBend,Oregon (withhernew
love) sixmonthsearlier.According toLosAngeles in the1930s:TheWPA
GuidetotheCityofAngels,aroundtripticketfromNewYorktoHollywood
thatyearwouldhavecostninetyUSdollars, theequivalentof justovera
thousanddollarsintoday’smoney.(Kipenxxxiii)Itwasahugeinvestment
foranactressthathadbeendeprivedoftwoweek’ssalaryforwalkingout
ofashow.O’ConnorwalkedunderthewidespreadwingsoftheAmerican
eagle,throughthewoodenswingdoorandintotheVanderbiltHallwaiting
room.ThegreenmarbleTiffanys’clockhighonthewallcounteddownthe
minutes before she could board. Returning to Dublin wasn’t possible;
onwardstoHollywoodwasO’Connor’sonlyoption.
LifeinHollywood
AfewyearsaftertheirpartinginNewYork,KaySwiftfoundherself
tiptoeingacrossthe landingtothebathroomfromtheguestroomofthe
Shields’Hollywoodapartment.Shewasintimidatedbythehushandfound
the quiet the couple lived in utterly discomfiting. (Lasker Folder 544)
Havingavoidedusing thebathroomasmuchaspossible, Swiftwas ‘near
death’ close tomidnight and braved the expedition in bare feet. To her
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horror, when she pulled the plug, she broke the mechanism and the
plumbing‘roaredlikeawolfforthreedays’.(LaskerFolder544)Despitethe
spacioussurroundings,itwasnotapleasantplacetostay.Shieldswasstill
weakandO’Connor’sunhappinesswasrumblingunderthefloorboards.
1843NorthCherokeeAvenuewasa goodaddress,ona steephill
one block away from Hollywood Boulevard with its bookshops, cinemas
and restaurants. Itwas a four-storey apartmentblockbuilt in 1926,with
the entrance discreetly hidden by a fountain and shaded by palm trees.
The white marble lobby was cool and the darkness dispelled by a
chandelier;themahoganyfrontdoorsoftheapartmentsrandownnarrow
corridorsthatallledtosashwindowswithcast-ironfireescapes.Climbing
the stairs to the third-floor, the low hum of people in their homes was
audible.Thecouplegota catandnamed it Luckyafter it surviveda leap
from the apartment window, but O’Connor was weary and melancholy.
SheabhorredtheheatandboredomofheremptydaysinHollywood:
Ireadabouttwobooksaday-nothingelsetodointhisgodawfultown.Wehavemovedintoanotheraptinthisbuilding.Itislovely.Bigairyroomsandnicefurnitureanddecorations.[…]Mycookinghasbecomemostproficient!(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))
Sixmonths after her arrival,O’Connorwas feeling unwell. Shields
wasn’t strong enough to nurse her, and the stomach pains became so
intensethatshevisitedthedoctorandwasadmittedtohospitalwithacute
appendicitis. (Shields T13/A/471) During the early tours with the Abbey,
O’ConnorhadusedheavypainkillersprovidedbyBazieMageetohelpwith
menstrual pains. Later, doctors had prescribed liver extract. (Shields
T13/A/441) Thesepainsweredifferent. The casual, social drinkingof the
theatre crowd had intensified during her sojourn in New York and her
journalsshortlyaftershearrivedinHollywoodshowthatitwasbecoming
outofcontrol.(Journals)Thistime,shestayedinhospitalfortendays.
Symptoms of appendicitis include a lack of appetite, a painful
bloatedabdomenandgeneralfatigue.Thesesymptomscouldalsoindicate
cirrhosisoftheliverbroughtonbyexcessivealcohol intake.Ifthepatient
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refusedtoacknowledgetheextentofherproblemortobetruthfulabout
herconsumptionofalcohol,therewaslittleadoctorcoulddotohelp.The
doctors removed her appendix andO’Connorwent home to recuperate.
Nowbothsheandherpartnerwereweakandstrugglingtofindwork.But
Shields had a plan: hewas in discussionswith producer Jack Kirkland to
directTanyardStreet,onBroadway.(ShieldsT13/A/153)
This play about an Irish soldier in the Spanish CivilWar seeking a
miracle,writtenby Irishplaywright LouisD’Alton,hadbeenproducedon
the Abbey stage in January 1940 as The Spanish Soldier. There, the rich
comedy and social satire had delighted audiences and critics. Kirkland
agreed to sponsor the production on condition Barry Fitzgerald was
includedinthecast,andsoinDecember(laterthanplanned)allthreeIrish
actors went back briefly to New York. After the premiere had been
postponedtwice,theplayopenedinFebruary1941.
D’AltonhadwrittenTheSpanishSoldiertostakeaclaimasaserious
dramatist, but Broadway audiences came only to laugh at the famous
comedian Barry Fitzgerald in the role of Mossy Furlong. (O’Farrell 111)
Shields directed and played the soldier KevinMcMorna. In the final act,
KevintellshisloverHessythathehasdecidedtojointhepriesthood.Hessy
wasplayedbythesingularlytitled‘Margo’.AccordingtotheNewYorkSun,
MargowasMexican,bornasMariaMargaritaGuadalupeBoladoCastilla.
(Morehouse6)O’Connor,as theonly Irishwoman in thecast,playedthe
minor role of Nanno Deasy. (In Dublin, this part was played by Phyllis
Ryan.) The play ran for only twenty-two performances. Critics hated it;
Atkinson of the New York Times was amazed Fitzgerald had agreed to
appear in it. (‘The Play’) Soon, all three actors were back in Hollywood.
O’Connor’s performance in Tanyard Streetwould be her last appearance
onthestage.
Staying in Hollywood, Kay Swift ‘loved being with’ Shields and
O’Connor.Shedeclaredtheywere‘kindnessitself.’(LaskerFolder544)Yet,
herdiscomfortinahomedevoidoflifeorenergyisclearfromherletters.
Swift tried to get a hotel room; none were to be found in the vicinity.
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Shieldswas‘delicate’,recuperatingslowlyfromhisTBandO’Connor,Swift
observed,was ‘weariedfromtheextraworkentailedbymyvisit’. (Lasker
Folder544)BarryFitzgeraldcamemosteveningsforthedinnerO’Connor
prepared,providing lightrelief forSwift.Themovetoabiggerapartment
on another floor of North Cherokee in June filled O’Connor’s days and
createdenoughchaosforhertohideherprivatedrinking,fromShieldsand
fromSwift.
The sexy, hard-drinking and rarely-eating Kay Swift, with her
leopard-skincoat,silkgownsandredlipstickhadbeenreplacedinOregon
by a calmer, plain-livingwomanwhowould not contemplate a dalliance
with an unsuitable man. Swift had embodied the frank sexuality and
liberatedfemininityof1920’sNewYork,afemininitythatboththrilledand
intimidatedtheAbbeyactresses.Now,Swifthadwrittenawholesometale
ofthedevotedwifeandhousekeeper,WhoCouldAskforAnythingMore?,
whichfittedwiththeidealsof1940sCalifornia.O’Connortriedtotakeon
theseideasofwomanhood,butitwasnotarolesherelished.Inwardly,she
ragedandsuffered.WhileShieldswasat thestudio, shewas thediligent
housewife. In the evenings, she entertained their guests with her
‘proficient’cookingandcocktails.(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))
Doing her best to cater for her friend, O’Connor once put a hot
waterbottleinSwift’sguestbedwhileshewasout,onlyforthecomposer
todiscoveronherreturnthatitwasleaking.AhorrifiedO’Connorroused
Shieldsfromhisbedtotakesomeofhisbeddingtorefreshtheguestbed.
AveryawkwardSwifthadtosit‘instate’whileherhostessremadethebed
for her; the accident was another shameful episode for a struggling
O’Connor.(Lasker Folder 544) Shields and Kay Swiftwere in bed by nine
each evening. During the cool nights, O’Connor had time to read, write
letters,toimaginehowdifferentherlifemightbeifthewarendedorshe
foundactingworkofherown,andtodrink.
There was a temporary reprieve when O’Connor paid a visit to
Selznick’sstudioandafter reading for them,beganrehearsingapart ina
filmwiththeIrishactressGeraldineFitzgerald.They‘workedlikefury-till
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2ammostmornings’ until Equity questioned her status and therewas a
disagreement over money. (Shields T13/A/154(6)) Furthermore, Shields
hadmisgivings.O’ConnortoldChoatethatshe’dreluctantlyleftitbecause,
‘although I wanted to do it, Boss was terribly against it’. (Shields
T13/A/154(6))Despitehisprevioussupportforhercareer,Shieldsdisliked
the idea of O’Connor being exploited in the film industry. Shields was
happythatshewas‘housekeepingandreadingandkeepingascheerfulas
thenewsofthewarwillpermitanyofus.’(ShieldsT13/A/154(3))Hefelt:
‘She misses New York but is good at settling down anywhere.’ (Shields
T13/A/154(3)) In her eagerness to please, to convince Shields that she
could settle anywhere with good humour, caring for him and for his
brother,O’Connorhidtheextentofherlonelinessandmisery.
Tocelebratehertwenty-eighthbirthday,ShieldstookO’Connorto
MussoFranksrestaurantonHollywoodBoulevard.(Journals)Itwasarare
socialoccasionforher,nowthatsheoftenstayedathomeifhewasata
partyatthestudios.Awaiterinascarletwaistcoatescortedthemtotheir
table. The red leather booths were often full of movie stars eating the
trademarksteaksanddrinkingsomeofthebestcocktails inHollywood. It
wasoneofherfavouritespots,but ithadbeenalmostayearsinceshe’d
workedandthereseemed little tocelebrate.Nobodycouldhelphowold
shefelt,orhowdrabshebelievedshelooked.(Journals)Afterdinnerand
drinks,thecouplewalkedtheshortdistancebacktotheapartment.
December came and the couple muddled through the holiday as
bestastheycouldwithoutfamilyandIrishtea.Swiftwasalsofarfromher
family.Shecalleditthe‘nostalgicoldNinaTwaddleofaday’andlamented,
‘allthosechoiceregretswehaveonDec[ember]25th.’(LaskerFolder259)
But,Swift foundsolace in the fact shewas ‘sodamnednecessary’ toher
new husband.Being needed by those around you, she decided, was the
real ‘payola’. (Lasker Folder 259) O’Connor felt nothing but a burden to
Shields and Fitzgerald. Her choice regrets of December 25thwere not so
easilyallayed.
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That Christmas, there remained the prospect that O’Connor’s
careercouldbesalvagedandherlifeturnedaround.OnStStephen’sDay,
astheIrishcouplestillcalledit,in1941,Shieldswalkeddownthehilltothe
PostOfficetosendawiretoChoate.Itread:
Aideen goes to Vancouver January 6th. A letter as you suggestwouldbeveryhelpfulwriting.Boss.(ShieldsT13/A/154(44))
Therewas littleShieldscoulddotosupporthis lover,butheused
hiscontactstohelpherAmericanvisaapplication.O’Connorhadtotakea
tramandthenatrain,carryingwithherclothesforafewdaysaswellasall
the papers connected with her emigration status. Included in those
carefully guarded papers was a letter from Kay Swift (now Mrs. Faye
Hubbard) addressed to theAmerican CounselGeneral in Vancouver. The
letter certified that Swift ‘enjoys an annual income from a trust fund in
excessof$10,000.’(ShieldsT13/A/467)Swifthadnotsimplyfilledinsome
paperwork to help an old work contact. The trust fund she offered to
support her friendwas set up by her first husband’s parents as a dowry
thatwas to sustainher for life. Shenowhadno financial securityexcept
theWarburg Trust Fund; Swift didn’t hesitate to offer it to O’Connor to
helpherstayinthecountry.
BothShieldsandO’ConnorhadpreviouslyvisitedtheCanadiancity
with the Abbey Company. He particularly enjoyed how it contained
‘interestinglookingorientalpeople’andoffered‘somethingqueeraround
everycorner.’ (FrazierHollywood116)Butthistripwasdifferent,andnot
simplybecauseshewasalone.Theactresslatersaid:
I had a real taste of a country at war in Vancouver. There thepeople were alert 24 hours a day. There were restrictions andpartial blackouts and army life got the first place with civilianssecond. I guess that this will gradually happen here. (ShieldsT13/A/155(3))
O’Connor returned toNorth Cherokeewith the right to residency
for five years under the quota system, but also with ‘rare fevers and
miseries together with shaky legs, high temperature, dizzy head and a
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swollenandfesteredleg.’(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))Thevaccinationsshehad
before leavingforCanadaleftherfeelingthoroughlyunwellandshetook
tobedforanumberofweeks,herhandswaveringaimlesslyoverthekeys
each time she tried to compose a letter. (Shields T13/A/155(3)) Shields
nursedher, but hewasdepressed aboutwork and considering switching
agents to improve his career chances. Eventually, her symptoms passed
andShieldsbegananewroundof thestudios ledbyanewagent.Alone
againduringtheday,sheappliedtotheRedCrossforvolunteerworkand
was disgustedwhen they declined her offer on the basis that she didn’t
knowbraille.ShetoldEddieChoateinJanuary1942:
Well, I ask you! Braille! They are the snuttiest [sic] crowd andseemtobetryingtokeeptheRedCrossforthesocialandmoviecrowdwheneveryoneinthecountryisneeded.(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))
Frequently,O’ConnorwroteaboutWorldWarII.Thereisasenseof
political naivety in her commentary though is she characteristically
practical and frank. Shewrote to Choate about it as early as 1939 from
Dublin and in January1942, she shareda real pride in theBritish forces:
‘Andboy,wasn’tChurchillwonderful inhisspeecheshereand inCanada.
Whattaman!’(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))
SomemonthsafterO’Connorarrived inHollywood,hugeanti-war
rallieswereheld inLosAngeles.Thirty-fivethousandpeoplecrowdedthe
HollywoodBowlandsurroundinghillsides tovoice their resistance to the
fighting. But the industrial and economic boom emanating from the
European conflict generated huge wealth. In October 1939, the US had
signedaNeutralityActtosaythattheywerenotgettinginvolvedinWorld
War2,buton4thNovembertheypassedanamendmenttoallowthemto
sellarmstoEuropeancountries.ByMay1940,Rooseveltwastalkingabout
theUSasan‘ArsenalofDemocracy’.
TheammunitionsfactoriesinCaliforniaoperatedtwenty-fourhours
aday,andnewformsofentertainmentbegantospringupandtothrive,
offeringdowntimeand fun to themilitary services aswell as the factory
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workers.ManyoftheHollywoodmoviestarsandtheatrepeople,including
Kay Swift, became involved in the ‘Hollywood Canteen’. This was a club
offeringfood,dancingandentertainmentforservicemen,usuallyontheir
wayoverseas.Itwasoperatedandstaffedentirelybyvolunteersfromthe
entertainment industry. O’Connor showed no interest in volunteering
there;orshewasn’tconfidentenoughtotryit.
Laterthatyear,O’Connorgrewconcernedabout Ireland’splace in
theconflict:‘Eireisnowsoinsular,socutoffbyherownwillfromcontact
fromtherestoftheworld.’ShewasreadingWilliamShirer’sBerlinDiary.
(ShieldsT13/A/155(9))Theactressswungbetweenferocioushomesickness,
dyingtoescapethecloyingheatandlethargyofHollywood,anddelightto
befreeofAbbeypolitics,conservativeIrishsocietyandfamilyconflicts.She
oftenfeltguiltyaboutherdistancefromthewar,tellingChoate:
WefeelsouselessandSAFEoverhere-withplentyoffoodandclothes and amusement when we ought to be sharing therationingandtheanxietyandtheworkandthehardshipsthatthepeople in Eire are having - orwe should be doing something inEngland.(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))
The letters sent to Choate are neatly typed, dated and with
correctionsandnecessarypunctuationinsertedbyhand.Theyarethework
ofanorganisedandengagedyounglady.Itisintranscribingthelettersshe
wrote during this time that one feels the erratic rhythmof her thoughts
andrepetitivetales.It’sthenonecansensethemoodswingsofsomeone
inebriated. O’Connor’s flurries of affection, fiery outbursts and frank
analysesofeventsaretheonlycluestoherprivatestruggle;thereareno
othersignsofherdrinkinghabitsoranyevidenceofpossibleattemptsby
herself,BarryorArthurtoaddresstheissue.
‘I STILL LOATHE HOLLYWOOD,’ O’Connor wrote in 1942. (Shields
T13/A/155(12)) Tellingly, thiswasn’t a letter home, but a confession she
madetoChoate.WhileShieldswasoftenawayonlocation,orshootingat
the studios, she was at home. The local second-hand bookshops helped
pass time, and her bedroom became a retreat for the slightest hurt or
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injury, but two other places started to figure largely in her days. The
rooftop ofNorth Cherokeewas open to residents, a quiet retreatwhere
one could watch the neighbourhood unseen. Photographs of her here
(fromtheprivatecollectionofChristineShields)showareflectivewoman,
sittingamongpottedplantsintheearlyeveninglight.Theotherrefugeshe
found was entirely devoid of the sunlight that sapped her energy: the
cinemas of Hollywood Boulevard. Alone in the darkness, O’Connor could
immerseherself inanotherworld,orsimplydrinkunnoticed.Herjournals
showthatshewouldattendtwoorthreescreeningsonherownduringthe
week,andthenbringShieldswithher towatchher favouritesoveragain
onhisfreedays.(Journals)
War rationing was increasingly impinging on the Hollywood diet,
but in December O’Connor and Shields arrived at Barry Fitzgerald’s new
house on Gardner Street to share an enormous turkey and British plum
pudding.Outside,thesunwasblazingbutFitzgeraldmanagedtogetsome
logs and created a proper fire inside to remind them of home. (Shields
T13/A/155(15)) Despite the luxuries, O’Connor was not feeling well and
wascapableofdoing little.Ondoctor’sadvice,Shieldsbookedaweek in
theBiltmoreHotelindowntownLosAngelesandtheyleftforaholiday.
The couple returned home to the wet season in Hollywood. The
rain rarely abated, pushing houses into the sea at Malibu and keeping
many awake at night. Temperatureswere also below their normal level.
Despite the damp, O’Connor was refreshed and full of good intentions.
Reflecting that shewas now three and a half years in America, shewas
cheered by the recent ‘grand’ war news and believed ‘things are really
lookingup for the allies.’ (Shields T13/A/155(15)) Shehoped thingswere
lookingup forherself, tellingChoate: ‘I reallyam thoroughlyashamedof
myself’forherlackofletters,andurginghimtohelpherkeepherpromises.
Shesignsofftheletter‘Godblessyou’,asifshewasrelyingonfaithtohelp
fightherdemons.(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))
NewsofthesuddendeathofBazieMageeinOctober1943reached
Hollywoodfasterthanexpectedgiventhewar.Thecouplewastednotime;
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five days later Shields attended his doctor for pre-marital blood tests.
(Shields T13/A/366) There was a quiet wedding ceremony on 10th
November.IfO’ConnordidorganizeaCatholicceremonyinthechurchshe
attendedwhereFr.Coughlanwasparishpriest,Icouldfindnorecordofit.
After years of union, themarriagewas a briefmoment, nomore than a
passingreferenceinalettertoChoate:‘[H]eandIweremarriedlastweek.
We are very happy about it.’ (Shields T13/A/155(19)) The official
arrangementwasaprecursortoothermatters–Shieldswaspreoccupied
with the fate of his son Adam,whowasmoving around between family
membersinDublin.HisprioritywastobringAdamtoHollywood.
Barry Fitzgerald had been a constant presence in her life since
O’Connor’sloveaffairwithShieldshadstabilized.Ifshefeltputoutbyhis
constantpresenceatherdinnertableinNorthCherokee,there’snorecord
ofit.Fitzgerald’scomictalentnotonlybroughthumourintoherhome,but
hisfilmsuccessgavehimanincomethatallowedhimtosupportO’Connor
andShieldswhenneeded.Particularlywhenhisbrotherwasill,Fitzgerald
ensuredthatthecoupleneverwentwithout.ChanceeventsinMarch1944
wouldtestO’Connor’sloyaltytoherbrother-in-law.
One Wednesday evening, O’Connor cooked dinner and prepared
drinks for Shields andhisbrother asusual, before theywavedFitzGerald
offinhiscar.Aroundmidnight,shereceivedacalltosaythatherbrother-
in-law had been in an accident and had been arrested. The Los Angeles
Times reported that Fitzgerald was driving along Hollywood Boulevard
whenhe failed to stopat the junctionof Sycamore Street.Hedidn’t see
twowomancrossing the street;MaryFarrerwaskilledandherdaughter
EdnaTorranceseriouslyinjured.(‘BarryFitzgeraldFacesCourt’A3)
Shields andO’Connorwent straight to the local jail after the call.
Fitzgeraldwasnowarisingstarandthestudioproducersquicklystepped
intosolvetheproblem.JerryGeisler,anexpensiveandwell-knownlawyer
to the stars, was hired to defend Fitzgerald and details on the case still
prove difficult to find. Therewere suggestions that bad lightingwas the
issue; others believe he had been drinking but this was reported as
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unproven.(‘BarryFitzgeraldFacesCourt’A3)Forweeksaftertheaccident,
the couple livedwith themuch-shaken Fitzgerald at his home.O’Connor
reveals little about what she said or how she felt about the incident
althoughitismentionedinlaterletters.(ShieldsT13/A/155(23))
TheaccidentshookallthreemembersoftheShieldsfamilytotheir
core. Ifanythingcould forceO’Connortoreconsiderherdrinkingandthe
lifeshehadcreatedforherself,itwastheeventsofthatnight.Herhealth
problemswerenowanendlesscycleofurgentillness;goodintentionsand
fresh starts; followedby a gradual return to drinking in secret. After the
warended,shehadanewhouse,aprospectivestep-sonandhopesfora
babyofherown.Herdrinkingcontinued.
Two years after the war ended, O’Connor was seven months
pregnantwhenhereighteen-year-oldstepsonAdamarrivedfromIreland.
HewasenrolledatHollywoodHighSchool, to finishhis education. Swift,
who had relocated to Beverly Hills, thought Adam ‘very nice, & his
reactions toAmericaareanythingbutdull.’(LaskerFolder544)Swifthad
visited their homeon SierraBonitaAvenue, andheardof Shields’ career
developments. It caused her to reflect, as cheerful as always: ‘Peoples’
ships do come in, sometimes late. Everything's clicking for Boss, after so
muchhell.’(LaskerFolder544)IfeverythingwasclickingforShields,Swift
hadlittleideahowdesperatelyO’Connorwasstruggling.Swiftwasherself
adrinker,andwasoften taken to taskbyMaryLasker forheroutlandish
behaviourandinabilitytocurbherintake.(WeberEmail)ButSwiftwasan
upbeat,riotousdrunk,giventodanceandsingwhenundertheinfluence.
ThedrinkingofherIrishfriendwasprivateandhermoodsdarker.
FiveweeksafterSwift’sletter,O’Connorgavebirthprematurelyto
adaughter,ChristineFrances.ShewasnamedforShields’mostimportant
role,asChristyMahoninThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld,andforFrolie
(Frances) Mulhern. The dark-haired, blue-eyed baby arrived in a ‘great
rush’. (Shields T13/A/155(28)) Christine was brought home by Arthur
Shields andMae Clarke, a nanny; O’Connorwas kept in hospital for ten
daysforfurthertreatment.Thehousewasnowfull.AswellasAdamand
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MaeClarke,BidShieldsMortishead(Arthur’ssister)andherdaughterUna
arrivedfromIrelandinNovembertovisitandhelpthenewmother.Onthe
dayofherchristening, IrishactressSaraAllgoodstoodashergodmother.
(ShieldsT13/A/155(28)) Laterphotographs fromChristineShield’sprivate
collection show Allgood watching from a distance, smiling, as Christine
toddlesawayfromO’Connor’sarmsintheirnewbackgarden.
The house on Sierra Bonita Avenue was a split-level clapboard
house, not far from their first homeonNorth Cherokee. It had a bright,
open-plankitchen,a roomwhereShieldscouldkeephis stampcollection
andtwobedroomsupstairsundertheeaves.Downstairs,therewasacool,
darkroominthecentreofthehouse,whichthecouplesetupasa‘green
room’. The walls were lined with books and there was a desk for a
typewriterandaneasychair for reading.On the shelves, firsteditionsof
Yeats’poetryandSynge’splayssatalongsidenewfiction.
Shields was working away more and more, as his film career
progressed.Despitethecompanyofhisfamilyandanewbaby,O’Connor
was generally melancholy and pining for him. It isn’t clear how well
O’Connorhidherdrinkingathome,butshewasattendingaphysicianwho
had diagnosed the cause of her stomach pains as cirrhosis of the liver,
denegration of liver tissue generally caused by long-term alcoholism.
(ShieldsT13/A/472) Inamoving letterwritten in January1947,O’Connor
wrotetoherhusbandinNewYorktotellhim,‘AllIwantistobewithyou,
evenifit’sinTimbuctoo’.(ShieldsT13/A/241)Thelettertakesherthrough
dayandnight,keepinghimuptodateonlifeathome.Mondayafternoon’s
entryreads:
IwantedtoflytoNYlastnighttobewithyou–Ikeptverybusy–madeformulalikemadanddidawashsothatIwouldn’tcryintothebathroomtowels.(ShieldsT13/A/241)By6amonTuesday:
Not much sleep as Christine talked most of the night! A colddrearydawn.Longingformycupoftea.Ihavethekettleon.Wishyouwerehere. Ialwaysfeelterriblyaloneandlonely inthecoldearlymornings.(ShieldsT13/A/241)
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TherewasfrustrationthatShieldswasworkingandtravellingsomuch:
‘Boss – look if youwould preferme not to join you at allpleasetellme.’(ShieldsT13/A/241)The truth of a marriage may be impossible to know for anyone
outside the union. Even in O’Connor’s most frustrated, angry and
emotional moments, she loved her husband deeply. She respected his
opiniononeverythingfromthelatestfilmtoherowncareerdevelopment,
and she supported and encouraged his endless round of meetings and
auditionsinDublin,NewYorkandHollywood.Shields’earlynotesshowhis
growingaffectionforO’Connor,butlaterontherearehintsofhispractical
commitment. Throughout their marriage, Shields ensured that while he
was not around, otherswere looking out for her. Choate assisted her in
NewYorkandvariousmembersoftheShieldsfamilycametoHollywoodto
helpwithbabyChristinewhilehewasawayworking.
Shooting for theRenoir filmTheRiver tookplace in India in1950.
WhileShieldswasinCalcutta,hisagentVernonJacobsonhadinstructions
tosuperviseO’Connor’sfinances.Vernon(knownasJake)accompaniedthe
actress to thebankandensuredshehadsufficientcashbeforearranging
his own commission, and sending money on to his client. Once, he
overlookedhisowndebtsratherthanleaveO’Connorshort.Inhisletterto
Calcuttahesaid,‘Arthur,Ididn'ttakeanyofthe$2,869.33…I'llwaituntilI
gettheothermoney.’(ShieldsT13/A/211(7))Hereportedthat,‘Thefamily
are fineandChristine is reallygrowingandseems ingreat form.’ (Shields
T13/A/211(7))
Apencillednote inArthur’sdiaryforaSunday inMay1950reads,
‘Learned of Aideen’s illness’. (Shields T13/A/372(10))He had returned to
Hollywood after shooting finished in late April, to learn his wife’s illness
was now fatal. He knew of her alcoholism, but perhaps hoped all her
visitorswouldhelpmoderateherdrinking.Choateservedashisconfidante.
Shieldswrotetohim:‘Itisallhopeless,andthesoonerGodtakesthepoor
thing,theeasieritwillbeforher’.(ShieldsT13/A/156)
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On the other side of the Atlantic, Vincent Paul O’Connor and his
daughterswerealsodealingwiththisshockingnews.AslateasJune1949,
theirneighbour,MaireJudge,onlydaughterofCroweandMcCormick,had
beenexchangingletterswiththeactress.JudgesentgossipfromtheGate
Theatre (where she worked) and family news; O’Connor sentHollywood
Reportermagazineandsharedtit-bitsofher‘glamorous’lifeinLosAngeles.
(Shields T13/A/450) Her sisters missed (or ignored) any clues that
O’Connor was an alcoholic. Until the very end, she presented to certain
peopleasavivaciouswomanlivinganidylliclifeinthecityofdreams.
O’Connorhadspentmuchtimeinthe‘greenroom’atSierraBonita
andnowherbedwassetupthere.Christinehasanearlymemoryofbeing
broughtintothedarkroom,cryingwithfearandaninstinctthatsomething
wasdeeplywrong.Hermotherwasadmittedtohospitalshortlyafterthat
painfulmoment. (Christine Shields) Therewas no possibility ofO’Connor
seeingherfatherorsistersagain.Foryears,theactresshadabhorredthe
fussofAmericanholidays. In1950, as IndependenceDaydawnedon the
4thofJuly,sheslippedaway.Shewasthirty-sixyearsoldandonherdeath
certificate,shewasdeemeda‘housewife’.(ShieldsT13/A/472)
Therewas‘generalsorrow’intheAbbeyTheatrewhennewsofher
passingreachedDublin.(ShieldsT13/A/252(1))EileenCrowewasaskedto
speak to the press, andmass was offered at the Pro-Cathedral. In their
homeatSierraBonitaAvenue,Shieldswasbereft.His sisterBidwroteof
hersadnessandadvisedhe‘mustjustbattleitoutandthinkofChristine’.
(ShieldsT13/A/252(1))
InSeptember2011,ChristineShieldsandItogetherpacedthehills
of Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City in the noonday sun to find her
mother’sgrave.The twohundredacresofparchedgrassaredottedhere
and there by low, gnarly trees and criss-crossed by lines of small, neat
plaques.ChristineShieldsdidn’tvisitmuchgrowingupand theO’Connor
familyneversawAideen’sgrave.ArthurShieldschosetobeburiedwithhis
brother in Deans Grange Cemetery in Dublin; Aideen O’Connor rests in
Culver City alone.Whenwe found it,weused tissue andwater to scrub
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from the surface moss that blurred the stencilled letters. The standard
plaquebarelyfitsanameanddate,butheretherearetwonames.Sheis
buried as ‘UnaMary Shields (1913 – 1950)’ and then, in brackets, is the
name ‘AideenO’Connor’. The twonames symbolise the facetsofher life
she never managed to merge successfully: the desire to perform
professionallyasAideenandtofindpersonalfulfilmentasUna.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that O’Connor’s life story comes with a tragic
ending; it isastoryof loss.Andyet, thischapterservesasanexampleof
howfragmentaryarchivescanbere-constituted,toallowanarrativetobe
drawnorcreated.Thequestionbecomes:doesthisre-constitutedarchive
achievesomething?Aspreviouslyreferenced,KathleenGoughsetsoutthe
challengeof reading theobjective realityof Irishwomenseparately from
their allegorical images and metaphoric constructions. (7) It may be
impossibleto locatearealbodyinanarchive,but it ispossibletoexpose
theprocessofconstructionandtoputtherealityofwomen’slivesindirect
confrontation with the metaphoric constructions of the dramatic
characterstheyplayed,asI’veattemptedhere.Thisallowsbiographytobe
aparticularformofhistoriography.
I argue that the process of constructing a narrative such as this
allowsforacelebrationofO’Connor’shumanfeatures:herdetermination,
focusanddevotiontohercraft.Intandemwithsimilarstudiesofthelives
of the other women in the company, it also allows for the exposure of
fundamentaltruthsaboutIrishtheatre,societyandattitudestowomenin
the 1930s. O’Connor was repeatedly punished for behaviour deemed
outside of standards at the National Theatre. She was a real woman:
complexandflawed,challengedandchallenging.Thisisnotahagiography,
butthepresentationofavitalIrishwomanandactressinallherfacetsand
ofhowthepartssheplayedimpactedheroff-stagereality.
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Asquoted inChapter1,Yeatsfeared itwas ‘almost impossiblefor
ustofindapassionatewomanactressinCatholicIreland.’(FrazierBehind
188)Otherwomen,Yeatsinsisted,
havefarmoresensitiveinstrumentsarefarmoreteachableinallthatbelongstoexpressionbuttheylacksimplicityoffeeling,theirmindsaretoofulloftrivial ideas,andtheyseldomseemcapableofreallynoblefeelings.(FrazierBehind188)
O’ConnorwasaCatholicwhorepeatedlydisplayedherpassionatenature.
Throughout her working life, she engaged with scripts, writers and
directorsinawaythatprovedherintelligenceandhercapacitytoabsorb
anddebateideas.InhertrainingattheAbbeySchool,andlaterinherwork
ontheUKandAmericanstage,herphysicalitydevelopedandshemastered
theuseofhersexualitytoexpandheractingrange.Yet,itwasthispassion
and her exposure of amore liberated sexuality that led to her exclusion
fromtheAbbeyCompanyandtoheremigration.Shewaspunishedinher
career,herambitionsthwarted,forherbehaviouroffthestage.Forallof
Yeats’despair,histheatrecouldnotescapetherepressiveatmosphere in
Irish society.By themiddleof the1930s, it refused to countenance such
expressionsoffemininityandpromptlyostracizedsuchwomenormadeit
cleartherewasnofuturefortheminIreland.
O’Connorcouldnot,andwouldnot,countenanceacareeroralife
forherselfthatdidnotincludeperforminginthetheatre.Shewaspartof
thefirstwaveof Irishwomentoriskaprofessionalcareerasaperformer
by demanding her personal life be kept separate from her work. She
soughttobeacceptedinAmericaasanactress,notjustan‘Abbeyplayer’
withafamiliarrepertoireofnationalstereotypes.Shesetapaththathas
oftenbeen travelled sinceby Irish actresses seeking success and fame in
Hollywood. In this light, thatAideenO’Connorultimately failed tohavea
long-lasting or what is conceived as a ‘successful’ performance career
becomes less important than the fact she resolvedand followed through
on her decision to ‘stick to the stage for good or evil now.’ (Shields
T13/A/437)
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Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)
Introduction
As set out in my introduction, this dissertation seeks to explore
various female lives in the Abbey Theatre Company of the 1930s. Frolie
Mulhernwasagirl fromanupper-class familywithagift forcomedyand
mimicrythatbroughtherhugepopularityinIrelandandAmerica.Herclose
friendshipwithAideenO’Connorhasbeendetailed inChapter3,but this
chapterfocusesonMulhern.Theirtraining,performingandpersonal lives
consistently intertwined and overlapped, but Mulhern’s life story, while
brief,warrantsinclusionasaseparatesection.Thebrevityofthissectionin
relationtotheotherchaptersreflectsthatMulhern’slifeandcareerwere
short;buthercontributiontothehistoryofIrishtheatreisnonethelessrich
andvitaltoconsideringaspectrumoffemaletheatricallives.
ManyoftheAbbeyTheatreactressesofthe1930skeptscrapbooks
as they toured, piecing together newspaper cuttings, gluing photos and
programmes into place. 10 They worked on their scrapbooks in hotel
bedroomsbetweenshowsorclenchingthemontheirkneesinrockingtrain
carriages.Cominghome,theybroughtheapsofpaperfoldedintotheback
of the books to be sorted and smoothed. It was a task as well as a
memento, a shaping as well as a sharing of theirmemories and stories.
Thebooksserved,professionallyandpersonally,asevidentialproofoftheir
hardworkandsuccess.Ontheinsidecoverofonesuchscrapbooknowin
the National Library of Ireland, the name ‘Frolie Rutledge-Mulhern’ is
inscribedinaloping,youthfulhand.Mulhern’scurationofherscrapbookis
intrinsictounderstandingthearchiveitholds.
The first page of that scrapbook contains a black and white
headshot. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511 – 23) The newspaper photo
captures the star of this scrapbook: a dark-haired, sallowwomanwith a
10MayCraig’sscrapbookisintheUCDArchiveswithherpapers;O’Connor’sisintheShieldsFamilyPapersatNUI,Galway.ItismyunderstandingthatMulhern’s
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roundfaceandmoltenbrowneyesthatrevealedmuchevenwhenshewas
silent.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511–23)She’sinhertwenties,butthere’s
an innocence and openness in her expression, as if the photographer’s
attention has startled her. On the next page is a newspaper photo of
CaptainFrederickAherne,aFreeStateOfficerinuniform.Aherneissitting
astride his horse and grinning, celebrating his win at an international
militaryjumpingcompetitionontheseconddayoftheRDSHorseShowin
Ballsbridge, Dublin. That photograph helps date the scrapbook to the
autumnof1934.Astrange insertion inthismiscellanyof theatrenews, it
nonethelessassistsinfillingoutMulhern’sbackgroundandunderstanding
herpersonality.
FamilyandBackground
Frances Mulhern was born in Enniskillen, County Monaghan in
1907. (Census 1911) The baby of the Mulhern family quickly became
knownasFrolietoherfiveoldersistersandoneolderbrother;thename
stuck. She began her scrapbook when the Abbey Company took her on
tour to theUS for the first time in 1934.Mulhern and AideenO’Connor
weredubbed the ‘babiesof the company.’ (ShieldsT13/A/437)O’Connor
wastwenty-one;Mulherntwenty-sevenyearsold.Therewasanaivetyto
bothwomen,whostilllivedathome.Bothhadonlyonesurvivingparentin
Dublin.
Although close to thirty years of age, Mulhern had never lived
away fromhome. Leavingon tour, shepackedher bags in ‘Belvedere’, a
luxurioushomeontheupmarketAilesburyRoad,underthewatchfuleyeof
her mother, Bridget. Bridget Mulhern had been widowed before her
youngest daughter turned four. (Census 1911) She buried her husband
James in Enniskillen, and transplanted to Dublin tomanage his business
affairsandensureapropereducationforhersevenchildren.Aformidable
familydonatedherscrapbooktotheAbbeyTheatreafterherdeathanditsubsequentlytransferredtotheNationalLibraryofIreland.
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businesswomanaswellasastrongmaternalpresence,shecarriedonthe
managementofherhusband’ssubstantialbottlingcompany.
Mulhern’s elder sisters went to boarding school, but Frolie—the
youngest andweakest—was kept close to home. Shewas educated at a
Sacred Heart convent, near to the city centre, but came home in the
evenings to share her funny stories and try out her mimicry. Mulhern
didn’t need to earn a living, but it was expected that she learn to be a
respectable Catholic lady, tomix in the right social circles, and tomarry
well.Whilemanyofhersisterswentontouniversity,shejoinedtheAbbey
School of Acting in 1929. If she were to devote her life to acting, her
motherensureditwouldbeinarespectableculturalinstitution.
Itdidn’ttakeMulhernlongtograduatefromWilliamFay’sevening
lessonsintheAbbeySchooltoafull-timepositionintheCompany.InApril
1930, she appeared in the premiere of George Shiels’ comedy The New
Gossoon. Directed by Arthur Shields, she played Mag Kehoe. In Shiels’
scriptofTheNewGossoon, this servantgirl isdescribedas ‘Acoarsegirl,
with dirty bobbed hair, about thirty-five years old.’ (133) The comedy
openswithMagenteringthestageand‘flingingasideheroldsun-bonnet’.
(Shiels133)Shesays:
Curseson themand theirhay! Iwish therewasn't ahay-field inbroadIreland.(Shewipesherfaceandneckwithacloth.)I'llbeasredasacrab,andpeeledlikeanonion...(Shiels133)
Shegoeson,complainingaboutherlot:
They’ve keptmeworking in the hayfield towithin an ace of sixo’clock,andnowI’veadaysworktodobeforebedtime.Cowstomilk and calves to feed and pigs to feed, and potatoes towashandboilforto-morrowmorning.ThemanthatfreedtheblacksinAmericashouldbePresidentofIreland...(Shiels133)
TheNewGossoonwas a huge hit for the Abbey Company, accumulating
one hundred and eighty-eight performances between 1930 and 1951 as
wellasbeingastaplepartoftherepertoireonAmericantours.
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Throughout her career, Mulhern would continue to play the
customary servant girl, or ‘homely colleen’ role. A review of Nineteen
TwentybyFXO’Leary in1933declaredthat, ‘thehonoursmust toFrolie
Mulhern for a very amusing rendering of Liz Ann, the servant girl’.
(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)ShealsoplayedBabyinLennoxRobinson’s
playTheWhite-HeadedBoy,thecharacterbeingdescribedas‘agreatlump
ofagirl’inthescript.(69)
Mulhern did not only play wholesome servants; she did handle
more tendentious matter. The role of prostitute Rosie Redmond in The
PloughandtheStars,describedbytheplaywrightas‘asturdy,well-shaped
girloftwenty;prettyandpertinmanner,’(O’Casey161)stillcamewithan
air of controversy when she took it on in 1934. It had lost the aura of
licentious danger Ria Mooney confronted in the 1920s, but Mulhern’s
religious family knew the history of the character and the play. It was a
significantdevelopmentinhercareerwhenshewascastintherole.
ToreturntomystudyofMulhern’sscrapbookanditsphotographs:
ThereisnoevidencethatCaptainFrederickAherne,theFreeStateOfficer
withprideofplaceinherscrapbook,wasarelativeoftheMulherns,orthat
his military career connected him in any way to the actress. This
suppositionwasconfirmedbyMaryMcCullough,nieceofMulhern.Horse
ShowWeekwasanimportanteventintheDublinsocialcalendar,withthe
Abbeystagingacarefully-selectedrepertoireintheeveningsandarranging
socialoutingstotheshowforthecompanyduringtheweek.Themilitary
equitationteamwerethesocialcelebritiesofthemoment.Ontopoftheir
athleticprowess, the teamboastedmilitarydiscipline.As representatives
ofthenewIrishFreeState,theyweretheprotectorsoftheIrishrepublic.
Theseweremenlookingtothefuture,whilemaintainingtheirsocialstatus
andrespectablefamilybackgrounds.Attheannualouting,Abbeyactresses
had seats in the best stands, the perfect view to admire the horses and
theirriders.
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TheAmericanTourof1934/1935
AsdetailedinChapter3,theAbbeyTourofAmericathatbeganin
the autumn of 1934 was to be ‘one of the largest theatrical tours on
record’.(ShieldsT13/A/108(1))O’Connorhadnegotiatedasalaryof£310
shillings a weekwith Abbeymanagement butMulhern remained on the
sumof£2aweek.Shemayhavereliedonherfamilyforassistancewhen
sheneededfunds.AfterBoston,thecompanyspentamonthinCanadian
and eastern cities including Montreal, Toronto, Ohio and Detroit before
appearingonBroadway.ItwasherethatthepathsofFrederickAherneand
Mulhern would cross again. When the Abbey Company arrived in New
York, the IrishMilitary Teamwere also in the city, representing the Irish
FreeStateinanequestriancompetition.
MaxSteinoftheCincinnatiPostdeclaredtheAbbeyproductionsof
1934 to be ‘Romantic,Weird’, but the performances were a resounding
success. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511 – 23) Cocktail parties and dinners
wereheld inhonouroftheIrishplayersandO’ConnorandMulhernwere
regularlyinsocialcolumns.(ShieldsT13/A/437)Itmayhavebeenthatthe
New York cocktail parties celebrated the Irish sporting and dramatic
prowess together, or that the Irish came together when they had a
reprievefromperformingtosocialiseandcomparehomewiththebuzzof
New York City. If, as I propose, there was a romantic entanglement
between Mulhern and Frederick Aherne, the couple didn’t have long
togetherinthesamecitybeforetheAbbeyCompanymovedon.
WhentheChicagoHeraldannouncedasupperdancewouldbeheld
after a performance at the Harris Theatre with ‘Aideen O’Connor to be
toastoftheevening’,Mulhernmighthavebeenirritatedbytheattention
heapedonO’Connor,astheblondeingénue.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511–
23)Givenherspiritedpersonalityandsenseofhumour,it’slikelyshewas
amused. The girls shared a bedroomon that tour. As spring arrived, the
actresseswereinSanFranciscoandO’Connorwrotetohersisters:
Iamtypingthisatanopenwindowofmybedroom,Froliehasjustleft the room likea younghurricane tohaveherhairdone, and
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when she comes back we are going to do a bit of shopping, amovieanddinnersomewherebeforetheshow.(ShieldsT13/A/437)The hurricane-like Mulhern was easily roused by the stubborn
O’Connor, but the arguments blew over as quickly as they ignited. They
had a close but tempestuous relationship, sharing confidences and
covering one another’s parts when illness struck, joking and giggling,
rowing and making up again. During their stay in Los Angeles, the two
women went shopping with film star Maureen O’Sullivan, ‘in Bullocks
Wiltshire, the rendezvous of all the stars.’ (Shields T13/A/437) Despite
O’Sullivan’s shyness, they all ‘became great friends.’ (Shields T13/A/437)
PhotographsoftenshowMulhernwithacigaretteinonehandandadrink
intheother.Sheenjoyedsocialisingasmuchasperforming.
The Chicago Herald deemed Mulhern and O’Connor ‘pert and
capable’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Theyviedforpressattention,yet
given theirphysical attributesandacting styles theydidnot compete for
characterroles.Inastrangetwist,theirusualrolesweresubvertedin1934,
whenO’Connorwas cast as the servant girl Helena inDramaat Inishby
Lennox Robinson. The play, which was re-titled Is LifeWorth Living? for
Americanaudiences,pokes funatprovincial towns ‘blue-mouldy forabit
of innocent scandal’,at theatrecompaniesandatacting itself. (Robinson
211) Mulhern played Christine Lambert, ‘a capable-looking, handsome’
accountant,whoisspurningtheadvancesofayoungmantoconcentrate
onthebooksofa local factory.(Robinson203)TheplotteachesChristine
thatthereismoretolifethanwork.Asthecurtainfell,shewasinajoyful
dance with her new husband. Such a happy ending would be denied
Mulherninherotherrolesandinherpersonallife.
TheAmericanTourof1937/38
O’Connor,MooneyandMulhernarewalkingthedeckslikeRussianpeasantswithkerchiefsovertheirheads.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
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Mulhern andO’Connor attended the luncheon to launch the new
UStourintheHibernianHotelonDawsonStreetintheautumnof1937,as
seasoned travellers and performers. (Shields T13/A/561(17)) Hugh Hunt
presentedeachoftheladieswithabunchofflowersatWestlandRowtrain
station, where they departed on the train for Belfast. (Saddlemyer 491-
492) Travelling on the Samaria, Higginswas irritated by the snobbery of
muchofthecompany,butMulhernwasoneofthefouractorshechoseas
allies. (Higgins NLI Mss 27,883(7)) She had a sense of humour but in
Higgins’eyesshealsohadproperbreedingandsubstantial familywealth.
The other actors he respected were Paddy Carolan, Dossie (Udolphus)
WrightandMaureenDelany.
Maureen Delany was a large-framed comedienne originally from
Kilkenny;insizealoneherpresenceonthestagewasimmense.11Dorothy
Daytondescribedher in theNewYork Sun inDecember1934as a ‘witty
and altogether delightful spinster’,who, off stage, lived alone and had a
deeplysuperstitiousstreak.(‘Maureen’)Higginswasn’ttheonlyonetopair
herwith the youngMulhern. On tour in the US, newspapers speculated
that shouldDelany stay inHollywood topursueamoviecareer,Mulhern
wouldmoveintohersubstantialroles.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)The
womenshareda talent for comedy,but, ifothersexpected it, there’sno
evidenceMulhernwantedafuturesimilartothatprofferedbyDelany.
MulhernandO’Connorweredelighted tobeon touragain.There
had been increasing conflict backstage at theAbbey by the Christmas of
1936,butwhileO’Connorcouldn’tseemtoavoidgettinginvolved,Mulhern
was tactful,diplomaticandusedherhumour todispel tensions.Mulhern
doesn’tappearonthecastlistforthepremiereofShadowandSubstance
written by Paul Vincent Carroll inMarch 1937, but the star of that play
Phyllis Ryan rememberedMulhern as a ‘quirky young comedienne’ who
whisperedandconspiredwithO’Connorinthedressingroom.(Ryan74)
11HerphysicalattributesareinevidenceinphotographsofDelanyintheAbbeyTheatreDigitalArchiveandShieldsPapers,bothatHardimanLibrary,NUIGalway.
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Despite their new maturity, O’Connor and Mulhern still found a
hugeamountofexcitementanddelightintheirtravels.O’Connortoldher
sister,‘FrolieandIarestillgettingalongtogether,’butadded,‘Wehavea
few rows now and again butwe alwaysmake it up in no time’. (Shields
T13/A/441)WhentheyreprisedtheirrolesinRobinson’sTheFar-OffHills,
onereviewercommentedthatMulhernwas ‘notquiteso littlenow’,and
was displaying ‘her indisputable development as a comic actress’. Her
figurehadexpandedwithnewcurves;sheworeslacksandsunglassesoff
stage and was becoming known for her comic lampooning of famous
figures. O’Connor was noted to be ‘still little’ and a ‘juvenile joy’.
(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
Robinson’s domestic comedy The Far-Off Hills had been in the
repertoireoftheAbbeyCompanysinceitpremieredinOctober1928,with
Shelah Richards and Kitty Curling playing the sisters. Mulhern, cast by
Robinson while she was still studying at the Abbey School, took on
Richards’ role of Pet later that year.Mulhern initially appearedwith the
actress Susan Hunt, who left the Company after two years. Aideen
O’ConnortookovertheroleofDuckyin1934anditremainedoneofher
favourite plays for the next five years. The success of their on-stage
partnership in The Far-Off Hills owed something to the close, if
tempestuous, friendship of Mulhern and O’Connor. Many of the
newspapers commented on their talents, with C. J. Bulliett declaring a
lengthy scenebetween them inTheFar-OffHills tobe ‘oneof themajor
delightsofthewholerepertory’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
Thescene,inthesecondactofTheFar-OffHills,thattakesplacein
thegirls’bedroom,‘asimpleprettyroom’,wherethetwobedsaresideby
sidewith ‘their ends towards the audience’ has been discussed in full in
Chapter 3. (Robinson 33) Ducky, played by Aideen, was the seventeen-
year-old elder sister who is reading in bed while sixteen-year-old Pet
(Frolie)brushesherhairbycandlelight.Whentheyperformedthecomedy
inTorontoajournalistreported:
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The fun-loving younger sisters, Pet and Ducky, played by FrolieMulhern and Aideen O’Connor respectively, were bothbewitchingandperfectfoilsforoneanother.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)
If Mulhern was feeling frustration at playing a girl almost half her age,
there was no sign of it on stage. The same high-spirits and youthful
exuberancethattheyshareintheirrealhotelroomsenchantedaudiences.
Frederick Aherne, respectable military man, disappeared into the
wingsafterthefirsttourtobereplacedbyasuitorfarless‘suitable’toher
family. Elbert Wickes, the American producer for the second tour, is a
regular character in O’Connor’s letters, having an early breakfast on the
train or huddlingwith stagehands. In a photo of the girls on the railway
platform,asmartgentlemansitsbetweenMulhernandO’Connor;hisface
is hidden. (Shields T13/B/327) Another photo, taken from the ‘sidewalk’,
showsasmilingMulhern,inashort-sleeveddress,hangingoutthewindow
of a hotel room, possibly the Hotel Clark in Los Angeles. To her right,
further back, is Wickes himself. (Wickes Box 4) Such hints could be
meaningless,butin1939O’ConnorrevealedtoproducerEddieChoatethat
MulhernandWickeswere‘verymuchinlove’.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))
Wickes managed all of the Abbey tours. He was a well-known
theatrical impressario by 1937, and he remained a manager of lecture
tours for world-class celebrities up until 1949. But while Mulhern and
Wickessharedmuchintermsoftheatre,theirbackgroundscouldnothave
beenmoredifferent.Mulhern’straditionalCatholicupbringingwasworlds
awayfromWickes–aMormonwhoalreadyhadawifeandtwochildren.
There’snoevidencetosuggestWickestookhisMormonismseriously,but
toMulhern’sfamilyitwasanexoticreligionwithrumoursofmanywives.
In San Francisco in the spring of 1938,Mulhern accompanied Ria
MooneytoaChineseTemple.Whentheyarrived, ledbyasweetChinese
girlcalledRose,andsawtheHighPriestwithhis‘shabbycoatandshabbier
cap’,theyrealisedthiswasaperformanceofitsownkind,buthandedover
their dollars anyway. (Mooney Part 1 116) Joss sticks were lit before
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strange images and gods invoked in a strange tongue while the women
kepttheirheadsdown,resistingtheurgetolaughorcoughintheairthick
with incense. The High Priest rose from kneeling and opened scrolls, at
random,toreadpassagesaloud.Heexchangedwordsinagravetonewith
Rosebeforetheritualconcluded.(MooneyPart1116)
Outside,MooneypressedRoseforanexplanationofthemessage.
In curiously-accented English, the girl reluctantly revealed that the High
PriesthadforetoldofMooney’sdeathwithinayear.Thegirlwassad;she
heldoutherhand.Mooneylaughed;Mulhernjoinedin.Bothbelievedthe
HighPriestwasnothingbuta‘money-makingracket’.(MooneyPart1116)
AftertheAbbeyTourof1937/8
Despite the fact she had leftWickes behind,Mulhern appears to
havesettledbackintotheAbbeyTheatrewhenthetourendedmoreeasily
than her best friend. On O’Connor’s return, her dispute with her father
continued to rage and she had to seek somewhere else to live.Mulhern
waswelcomedbacktoAilesburyRoad,where(accordingtohernieceMary
McCullough), teasing comments were made about her slacks and she
unpacked presents of candies and toys for her brood of nieces and
nephews.ShealsovisitedfamilyinEnniskillen,stayedthereforsometime
‘renewing old friendships and adding, if that were possible, to her
widespreadpopularity.’(‘PopularAbbeyActress’)
InDublin,MulhernagainplayedRosieRedmondinThePloughand
theStarsinitsrevivalattheAbbeyinOctober1938.Shecontinuedtoget
comic roles innewproductions.O’Connor toldChoateof seeingMulhern
appear in a newplay by J. K.Montgomery calledHeritage,declaring her
friend’s portrayal as a movie-struck servant to be ‘grand’. (Shields
T13/A/150(41))Mulherncontinuedtosmoke,drinkandentertainendlessly
with her uncanny impressions, but others in the company had come to
knowthatshewasweakandattendingadoctor.(ShieldsT13/A/150(30))
InearlyOctober1938,Mulhernwascast inPilgrims,aplaybythe
first-time playwright Mary Rynne. Educated in London but now living in
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Clare,Rynnewasaprolificfictionwriter.MulhernplayedKittyBrady,who
enters in the first act ofPilgrims ‘amidst applause fromoutside. She is a
pretty,gigglingsmall-townMiss;even inheruniformshe looks“dressy”.’
(Rynne Mss Act 1)Kitty is a society girl, who joins a pilgrimage to Italy
hoping foramiracle: topass thematriculationexamshehas failed three
timesandsobeabletoenteruniversity.Herpetitionisnotgranted;they
learnthatonlythefirstvisitorwillbesuccessfulandtheyallowthistobe
the youngNano. Brady doesn’t gain exam success, but is pleasedby the
male attention she receives during her travels. In the final scene of
Pilgrims,KittyandtheCaptainthatledthepilgrimagehaveanexchange:
KITTY. Idoverywellonmyown.CAPTAIN. You don’t. You couldn’t. You need protection,
assistance,gentlecorrection–(RynneMssAct3)
Kittyismarriedofftothefifty-somethingCaptain.
Mulhern was more used to comedic roles, but here there was a
definite suggestion that she would not, as others suggested, follow in
Maureen Delany’s footsteps. Instead, shewas showing an ability to play
the romantic heroine or give a fresh interpretation to the depiction of
youngIrishwomen.Herrangewasbroadeningandtechniquedeveloping.
The Irish Independentcritic singledher out saying, ‘I havenever enjoyed
FrolieMulhernmorethanIdidinherstudyofKitty.’(‘EnnisWoman’sPlay’)
O’ConnorwasnotinPilgrimsandthesamemonth,HuntrecastThe
Far-OffHills,replacingO’ConnorwiththenewcomerPhyllisRyan.Mulhern
retainedherrole.Ateighteen,PhyllisRyanwasmoresuitableforthepart
thaneitheroftheothertwowomen,yetitwasaslighttoO’Connortobe
pushedout.Mulhernwasinanawkwardsituation,buthercareerwastoo
important toher torefusethepart.ShegiggledandconspiredwithRyan
bycandlelightinthebedroomsetting.
The following spring, Mulhern was approached by Arthur Shields
abouttakingaroleinaNewYorkproductionofPaulVincentCarroll’splay
Kindred.Henoted: ‘She isverykeentowork in theStatesagain.’Hewas
certain that ifMulhern got a firmoffer ofwork that shewould go back.
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(ShieldsT13/A/150(27))Yet,astimepassed,heworriedaboutherstrength
andnotedherfamilywereintentonkeepingherathome.
Onenewspapercuttinginherscrapbookgivesauniqueglimpseof
Mulhern as an, ‘accomplished diseuse,’ in her family hometown of
Enniskillen inAugust1939. (ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-2337)There,she
performed in an evening of vaudeville entertainment, of ‘mystery,music
and mirth’ where her dramatic talents ‘charmed and pleased’ the local
audience.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-2337)Atthepackedevent,inaidof
the parochial bazaar, Mulhern was obliged to recite ‘no fewer than six
pieces,’withher‘imitationofthedialectandmannerismsofthepeopleof
home and foreign countries being exceptionally clever.’ (ScrapbooksNLI
Mss25,511-23)HertouringoftheUSleftalastingimpression;inherown
way,sheintroducedWickesandherotherAmericanfriendstoherfamily.
Close to Christmas in 1939,O’Connorwas inNew Yorkwhen she
receivednews fromDublin.FrolieMulhernhaddiedon17November,at
her homeonAilesbury Road. The newswas delayed reaching across the
Atlantic:WorldWarIhadbrokenoutinSeptemberofthatyear.According
to Christine Shields, an entry in O’Connor’s diary shows that she was
devastated to have lost such a close friend, and to have missed the
opportunitytopayherrespectsatthefuneral.(ChristineShieldsEmail)
Mulhern’snieceMaryMcCulloughsaid inan interviewthat family
storiesreportthatFroliediedsuddenlyandquietlyonaFridayevening,her
heart giving out as she sat at the firewith hermother.However, others
suggestthattherewereunderlyinghealthproblems,mostprobablyTB.In
thedeathnoticepublishedthenextday,therewasalonglistofmourners.
The large collection of clerics in the grieving extended family confirms
Aideen’scommentsabouttheMulherns’religiousbackground.(‘LateMiss
Mulhern’) Shewas buriedwith her father in Enniskillen. In the obituary,
TheIrishIndependentsaidofhercareer:
Her high ideals, courage and good humour adorned all sheundertook, and the Company will be the poorer for her death.(‘DeathofAbbeyActress’)
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TheFermanaghHeraldchosetoemphasiseherreligiousfaith:She was a splendid type of sterling Catholic young lady,exemplifyinginhighdegreethehighestqualitiesofamemberoftheCatholicChurch.(‘PopularAbbeyActress’)
For this newspaper, her embodiment of a religious lady, adhering to the
teachingsoftheCatholicChurch,wasmoreimportantthanhercareer.
Mulhern and O’Connor parted when O’Connor took the train to
Cobh in the summer of 1939.Mulhernwas then considering joining her
friend in New York. She may have held onto dreams of reuniting with
Wickes, and appearing on Broadway again. News of war in Europe was
imminent; America was notionally a safer place to be than Dublin. Yet
Mulhern’s health was fragile. She needed the care and attention of a
doctorandherprotectivefamilywereagainstherdeparture.
Hunt’sofficialhistoryofthetheatre,TheAbbey: Ireland'sNational
Theatre1904–78,omitsanyreferencetoMulhern’sdeath,or indeedto
heracting.Hollowayremarkedonherpassinginhisdiary—threedaysafter
herdeath.Hedescribedheras: ‘fullofthejoyof lifeandshecarriedthat
joyintoherpartsonstage’andsaid,‘Boththecompanyandtheaudience
loved her.’ (Hogan and O’Neill Volume 3 38) Holloway’s assessment of
Mulhernafterherdeathincludedthefollowingcomment:
I likedbothherself andherplayingverymuch indeedandoftenthoughtonherfameinthedaystocome,forshehaditinhertoexcelasanactressofraregifts.(HoganandO’NeillVolume338)
ThereisfaintdamnationinHolloway’sassessmentthatshe‘hadit inher’
toproveagiftedactress.Forothers,shewasalreadyagiftedactress.Butit
is truethatsinceherreturn fromtheAbbeyCompany’sAmericantour in
1938,Mulhernwasgrowing in statureand range. Shewaspoisedon the
edgeofaverysuccessfulcareer,richwithpossibilities.Whethershecould
have confronted her family’s conservativism and embraced her
professionalstatus isopentodebate.Her losswouldbefeltbyO’Connor
andotherclosefriends,buttheimpactshemighthavemadewasalossto
Irish theatre audiences that cannot be measured.
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Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)
Introduction
ThemembersoftheAbbeyCompanyreturningtothetheatrefrom
thesummerbreakin1937werewaitingfordetailsoftheupcomingtourto
America,whentheyreceivedunexpectednews.W.B.Yeats,musingupon
casting in his office over the theatre, decided to make changes in the
repertoireandcasting.AfterconsultationwithHigginsandRobinson,Yeats
putthirty-four-year-oldactressRiaMooneyintotheleadingroleofPegeen
Mike in J. M. Synge’s Playboy of theWesternWorld. It was a delightful
surpriseforMooneyandashocktoothers.
The casting as Pegeen brought much careful deliberation for
Mooney.Withcharacteristicdiligence,shepreparedfortheroleoutsideof
rehearsalsatthetheatre,reflectingonitathomeandovertheweekends
shespentinGlencree,Wicklowwithherlover,Higgins.TheoriginalPegeen
(Margaret Flaherty) had been the actressMaire O’Neill, and O’Neill had
played the sheebeen owner with a glamour and sophistication that
Mooneydidn’tfindfitting.‘IknewIwasnoglamourgirl,’Mooneyadmitsin
hermemoirs,butshedidn’tbelievethistobeadeterrent.(Part266)
Eileen Crowe had brought to the part a sentimental quality,
negatinganyferocity in thecharacter.Ratherthanapetheperformances
ofherpredecessors,Mooneydecidedtomakethecharacterherown.She
found inher readingofSynge’swork ‘ahardandaggressivePegeen’and
she based her interpretation on this. (Mooney Part 2 66) Drawing on
womenshe’dmetontheAranIslandsasinspiration,shedevotedherselfto
presentingatoughpeasantwoman.Thedirector,ArthurShields,wasalso
playingher leadingman,ChristopherMahon.His tall thin frameandpale
facecontrastedstronglywithMooney’sdarkfurywhentheplayopenedon
Monday16thAugust, running for sixnights.At the same time, theharsh
vigour of her language contrasted with the fluid, balletic rhythm she
maintainedwithherfeetunderherlongskirt.(MooneyPart266)
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The second volume of Mooney’s autobiography Players and the
PaintedStageopenswith theadmission,withoutanoteof self-pity, that
‘Noone,however,likedmyperformanceintheSyngeplayexceptYeats–
and Sinclair Lewis.’ (65) Yeats called for her after a performance at the
Abbey Theatre early in that August run. She had withstood the
comparisons toMaire O’Neill from Irish critics and the public, while the
restofthecastwereeitherbemusedorcuriousabouther interpretation.
(MooneyPart265) Itwas thesummons fromYeats that lefther shaking
withanxiety in thedressing room.Shemadeherway towards theoffice,
onlytofindhimsittingonthestepsleadingupstairswithablanketoverhis
knees. His daughter Anne stood over him as she approached. While
Mooneyheldherbreathand feared theworst, hewantedonly topraise
her.(MooneyPart265)Thedisapprovalofthepublicmeantconsiderably
lesswhenthosesherespectedrecognisedandappreciatedherwork.With
Yeats’approval,MooneyheldfasttotheinterpretationofPegeenshehad
developedthroughherownwell-honedtechnique.
Mooney had bravery, a strength of mind that some would call
stubbornnessor,lateron,viewaseccentricity.Thiscouragestemmedfrom
adevotiontotheplays,tothecharactersaswritten,andtotheplaywrights
thatengenderedthem.Itgrewthroughdedicationtoheractingtechnique
and it led her to make artistic and personal choices and decisions that
other Abbey actresses of that time would not or did not consider. The
sectionsthatfollowarenotstrictlychronological,althoughtheytracethe
growthandexpansionofMooney’scraftandwork.Theyworktoshowthe
patterns and motifs in Mooney’s life, and examine the unanticipated
lurches back and forward in her career. Like many life stories, there is
rarely an uncomplicated sequence of cause-and-effect; yet there is a
beautiful and brilliant unity of artistic philosophy inMooney’swork that
hasnotbeenexploredbyIrishtheatrescholarstodate.
PlayersandthePaintedStage:Autobiography
RiaMooney is theonlyactress in thisstudytohavecompiledand
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writtenherownmemoirs.SheworkedwitheditorandwriterValMulkerns
in the late 1960s to produce Players and the Painted Stage. This was
eventuallypublishedinjournalformatintwovolumesofGeorgeSpelvin’s
Theatre Books in 1978, five years after Mooney’s death. Such evidence
provides a valuable source of biographical informationbut a strategy for
readingand interpretingthisevidencemustbecarefullyconsidered.Such
evidence must be tempered by the reading of other sources and by an
understandingofherpersonalityandart, aswell as thecontext inwhich
thememoirwasprepared.
As theatre historian Viv Gardner has explored in her essay ‘By
Herself: the actress and autobiography, 1755 – 1939’, by the twentieth
centuryautobiographiesofactresseswereno longerscandalousmemoirs
full of gossip, but oftenwere ‘a narrative assertionof a professional self
which mirrored the increased confidence, social and theatrical
acceptability and education of the writers.’ (178) The failure to find a
publisher forhermemoirswhenMooneycompleted thework in the late
1960swasablowtoherself-belief.Herautobiography,however,showsa
reticence to proclaim her own accomplishments and to assert the
importanceandingenuityofmuchofherwork.
Scholars, including Gail Marshall, have written of how
autobiographical writing by actresses allows ‘new possibilities of self-
constitution’ and permits these women to ‘reconstitute the body as a
literaryartifact’. (178)ForGardner, ‘Autobiographyhasoftenoffered the
actressanopportunitytoarticulateandnegotiateproblemsofidentityand
identification.’ (‘By Herself’ 175) In Players and the Painted Stage,
Mooney’s writing suggests a reversion to the self-effacing Irish woman
idealizedbytheFreeState.Thetitle isbothatributetoW.B.Yeatsanda
signal of her understanding that shewas aminor part of a greater Irish
literary tradition. The voice and tone represents a naïve and even
superstitiousgirl.EarlyonMooneysays,‘Thisvocationseemedtobethrust
onme.’(Part129)Whileshelaysclaimtobeinggiftedwith‘secondsight’,
her own agency in life decisions is elided. (Mooney Part 1 57) Later,
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Mooneysuggests,‘Perhapsitwasthestrengthofmydesireforchangethat
brought it tome.’(Part 1104) Repeatedly, the gentle, sweet tone belies
herlifeexperience,herstruggles,patienceandhardwork.Italsoconceals
theexposuretolifeinNewYork,andtopoliticalmachinationsintheatres
inDublinandelsewhere,whichmadeMooneyanastute,worldlywoman.
Tracy Davis has noted the highly problematic nature of
autobiographies ‘in part due to women's reluctance to discuss the
machinations of invisible professional forces ... and to mention delicate
personalmatters relating to romantic liaisons and the female life cycle.’
(‘Feminist Methodology’ 64) The entry into self-writing ‘activates the
actress’spublic image,’ and inMooney’s case, thismeant the imageof a
girl sheltered fromevils such as prostitution and suicide. (Corbett 15) By
using her birth date, the 30th April, Mooney adopts the persona of
‘changeling’.ItwasonlyonreachingherthirtiesthatMooneylearntofthe
May Eve changelings: changelings swapped by the fairy folk for children
born on the last day of April. It was a tale that she adopted, a familiar
narrative to explain how she looked somuch like her siblings butwould
leadalifeentirelydifferentfromtheirs.A‘changeling’suggestsamythical
creaturethattouchesonthe‘strangeness’ofhermentorEvaLeGallienne,
withoutbeingassubversive.
Theatre scholar Robert Schanke has written a biography of Le
Gallienne,andsaidthefollowingofhertwoautobiographies:
Certainlytheywerewell-intentioned,butbothareliteraryshrinestoawomanthatEvaalwayswantedtobe,nottothewomanshewas.[…]Shedidanadmirablejobofcamouflagingherselfbehindportraits that rob her achievements of their sinew and texture.(Schankexvi)
The same comments could be made of Mooney’s autobiography. This
thesis,however,aimstoexercisesuchsinewsanddemonstratethetexture
ofherachievements.
Mooney’s depictions of events are fascinating in how the details
work to obscure the people and material reality of events. Instead, she
drawsheavilyoncolourandlight,creatingpainterlyimpressionsofscenes.
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Mooney swallowed any fury she may have felt at powerful figures and
alwaysremainsdiscreetanddignified inheraccountofthehistoryofthe
Irish National Theatre. Often, the structure of the slim volume works
synchronically, focusing in on apparently inconsequential minutiae and
momentsofherlifeuntiltheyexpandtorevealtheirimpactontheoverall
narrative. Such intimate descriptions frequently allow her to conceal or
evadeothercriticalcontexts,includingherownemotionsatmajorpoints.
The biography by James P. McGlone, Ria Mooney: The Life and
Times of the Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre 1948 – 63, drew
extensively on Mooney’s account of events, supplementing it with
newspaper reviews and limited other third party sources. Its aimwas to
reassert the importanceofMooney’s contribution to Irish theatre,but in
doingsoitascribedheratitlethatsheneverofficiallyheld:ArtisticDirector.
Here,IrefertoMooney’sownaccountofeventsinherlifeineachsection,
butalsoworktoreadbetweenthelinesofher‘literaryperformance’fora
deeperunderstandingoftheturningpointsinherlifeandthefactorsthat
droveandenergizedher.
Writing on actresses and autobiography, Mary Jean Corbett
asserted: ‘Whatever sorts of roles it may recount, an autobiography or
memoir is less an originary act of self-expression than another formally
constrained or determined mode of performance.’ (15) Players and the
Painted Stage does not so much reveal Mooney, as expose that she
performedineverywaytotheendofherlife.
MemberoftheAbbeyTheatreCompany
O’Connor, Mooney and Mulhern are walking the decks likeRussian peasants with kerchiefs over their heads. Delaney issitting reading with sunglasses. Craig and Crowe are in theircabins,nottoowell.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
Pacingthedeckoftheboatinherkerchief,Mooneywassmalland
curvy, with large eyes set deep into a moon-shaped face. In those dark
eyesonecouldstillseetheraven-haired,eight-year-oldgirlpeeringouta
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doorwayonBaggot Street. This girlwatched three gentlemenpassingby
her father’s teashop on Upper Baggot Street and imagined they had
steppedoutofafairytalebook.Herfather,atworkinside,laughedather
question:themenwerefromtheAbbeyTheatre.(MooneyPart19)
CatherineMaria(Ria)Mooneywasbornonthe lastdayofApril in
1903. For this ‘changeling’ growinguponBaggot Street, theupheaval of
the 1916 Easter Rising and the first rumblings of the Civil War were all
sweptupinthesuddendeathofhermother.Mooneywasfourteenyears
oldwhenhermotherpassedaway.Rather than turn topracticalmatters
like assisting with the family teashop business or raising her younger
siblings, shechoseto letherself looseupontheworld. ‘Fromthedaymy
motherdied,Ididexactlywhatpleasedme,’Mooneysaysinhermemoirs.
(Part127)Iftherewasnoonetotellherwhenshewasdoingwrong,there
wasalsonoonetotellherwhenshewasdoingright.Thisliberationpaved
thewayformanyoffutureadventures.
The ‘crimson, gold and cream’ of Madam Rock’s theatre school
performancesentrancedMooneyatanearlyage. (Part112)Hermother
was an amateur actress in her time, and was delighted to watch her
daughterdanceattheGaietytheatreandtheTheatreRoyal.Thissenseof
resplendenttheatricalitymeantthattheAbbeyTheatrewassomethingofa
disappointment when Mooney made her first professional appearance
there.Threadbareanddowdy,thetheatre’sseriousintentionsdidnotyet
extendtodécorandcostume.Attheageoftwenty-one,sheappearedina
leopard-skincoatinGeorgeShiels’comedyTheRetrievers.Alloftheactors
were charged with providing their own costumes; a penurious Mooney
borrowed,alongwiththecoat,adressandhat.Shehadtorelinquishthe
trainingofheryouthforsomethingradicallydifferent.
Madame Rock’s dance training had taught Mooney poise and
rhythm, before she had a basic introduction to acting with the amateur
Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Dramatic Society. At the Abbey, she was
exposedforthefirsttimetothestill,elegantqualityofactingfosteredby
Frank and William Fay. In the early decades of the Company, the Fay
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brotherstrainedalloftheCompanyin‘restraint’and‘teamwork’.(Frazier
Hollywood Irish 59) Derived from the French Conservatoire and André
Antoine’s company, the Théâtre Libre, this style kept the focus on the
languageofthetext,theessenceofaplaywright’stheatre.12
TheanimatedbusinessoftheBritishmelodramawasanathemato
FrankFay,whilea lighttempoofthevoicewascrucial.Hebelievedthere
shouldbenophysicalactionwhileanactorwasspeakingandtheeyesof
theentirecastrestedalwaysonthespeaker,muchlikeaspotlightmoving
from‘star’to‘star’.Despiteherinitialdisappointmentatthelackofcolour,
Mooneyquicklybecamedisciplinedanddevotedtoachievingtheelegance
demanded. Her diction impressedWilliam Fay; she herself describes her
accentas‘affected’,situatedsomewherebetweenherownDublinbrogue
andthepoliteEnglishofherelocutionlessons.(MooneyPart129)
SeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars
WhileMooneywasworkingawayhappilyinminorproductionsfor
theDublinDramaLeagueandother‘Dramic’(hertermforamateurdrama)
productionsinaristocraticdrawingrooms,SeanO’Caseywasworkingona
playentitledThePloughandtheStars.HecompleteditinAugust1925and
sentittoLadyGregorywhodeemedit‘afineplay,terriblytragic.’(Krause
142)Aswashercustom,Gregoryreadtheplayaloudtotheotherdirectors.
WhileshehadnoissuewiththecharacteroftheprostituteRosieRedmond,
O’Caseywaswincing.HewrotetoGabrielFallon:
Itwas rather embarrassing tome tohearher reading the saucysongsungbyRosieandFlutherinthesecondact…(Krause142)
Thereadingover,hesettothinkingaboutcastingandhewonderedaloud
tohis‘buttie’GabrielFallon:
[O]ughtItochanceyoung[Shelah]RichardsforthepartofNora?OrRiaMooney?Whichofthetwowouldyousuggest?(Krause142)
12Bytheearly1930s,themodehaddeterioratedasmoreactorstransferredfromthepopulistdramaattheQueen’sTheatretotheAbbey.Theaudienceknewwhattoexpectfromeachperformerandanticipatedthe‘turn’oftheirfavourite,eagertoseeimprovisation.
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Instagetime,Rosieisnotasubstantialrole,butrehearsingandplayingthe
first prostitute on the stage of the National Theatre would require
significantstrengthofmind,firstlytowithstandtheCatholicpruderyofthe
rest of the cast and secondly to endure thepublic receptionof theplay.
ShelahRichards(fromawell-offProtestantfamily)wasalreadyknownfor
her outspoken nature, but O’Casey had been watching Mooney’s
performancesintently.
Two weeks before he finished The Plough and the Stars, the
playwright had an altercation with M. J. Dolan. O’Casey criticized the
production of Shaw’s Man and Superman on the Abbey’s main stage,
declaringon13thAugustthatactingwasthe‘firstessentialindrama’,and
thattheperformanceswere‘painfullyimperfect’.(Krause139)Hewenton
to tell Dolan that the performers inMan and Superman ‘were all bad
(except Ria Mooney).’ (Krause 139) When O’Casey approached her, he
displayedutterconvictionthatshewastheonlyactressfittoplaytherole.
ShelahRichardswascastasNoraClitheroe.
ThebuildingwasahumwiththelicentiousenergyofO’Casey’splay
byJanuary1926.Upstairsintheoffices,YeatsandRobinsonwerefielding
theanxiousentreatiesofthedirectorate.Dr.GeorgeO’Brien,professorof
economicsatUCD,hadbeenontheboard foronly twomonthswhenhe
wassentacopyoftheplayforhisapproval.Hecouchedhisgrievanceson
5 September 1925 by saying the appearance of a prostitute was ‘not in
itselfobjectionable’butthatO'Casey’sportrayal‘isobjectionable’because
‘The lady’s professional side is unduly emphasized in her actions and
conversation’.(Krause144)WhileO’Brienbelievedchangescouldbemade,
certainelements(inparticularthesong)‘couldnotpossiblybeallowedto
stand’.(Krause144)YeatsandRobinsonrushedtoRosie’sdefence:
[S]heiscertainlynecessarytothegeneralactionandideas...Itisnouseputtingherinifshedoesnotexpressherselfvividlyandincharacter,ifher‘professional’sideisnotemphasised.(Krause146–147)
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Dr O’Brien retained his objections and his fear that the characterwould
inciteaseriousattackonthetheatreprovedprescient.
Downstairsintherehearsalspaces,therewas,asAdrianFrazierhas
described,anembattled‘stand-offbetweenactorsandauthor’.(Hollywood
Irish72) Crowe gave up her part rather than speak about children being
begotten between the Ten Commandments, because of the indirect
allusiontothosethatwerenot.CraigtookthepartafterCroweconsulted
her priest and voiced her decision. McCormick refused to use the term
‘snotty’tohisstagewife.Inasleightofhand,thedirectordiscoveredthat
McCormick’sstagewife,Richards,hadnoproblemwithit;shetooktheline
andmadeitherown.(Infact,whileontourwiththeplayinJanuary1928,
Richardswassigningoffletterstoherhusbandfrom‘yourlittlered-nosed
Norah’ suggesting that she had her own way of softening the term if
decorum required.) (Johnston TCDMss 10066/287/2632) Yeats did insist
that O’Casey removemany of the ‘bitches’, but allowed one in the final
dramatic scene between Bessie Burgess and Nora Clitheroe to remain.
O’Casey, noting that most of the banned words had appeared in other
playsbutnotallinthesameone,wrotetoRobinsonon10thJanuary1926
tosay,‘IdrawthelineataVigilanceCommitteeofActors.’(Krause165)13
While Crowe consulted a priest for advice and compromises,
Mooneydidnothavea‘FatherConfessor’.(MooneyPart143)Hermentor
wasO’Caseyhimselfandhewantedhertoplaythepart.Committedtothe
role,shetookthepotentiallyembarrassingstepoffrequentingthealleyat
the back of the theatre to ensure her appearancewas authentic.Having
studied the streetwalkers,Mooney imitated their ‘clown-likemake-up’of
thickwhitepowderand redcircleson their cheeks. (Part143)Butwhile
shecould(andwould)separatethepersonalfromprofessionalandtakeon
therole,shedidnothingthatwould,tohermind,besmirchhergoodname
orthatofherfamily.‘Ineedhardlysaythatitwassomeofthewomenwho
tried to putme off,’Mooney reveals in the autobiography.Unmoved by
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either‘theirself-righteousfacesortheirarguments,’sheagreedtoplaythe
part.(Part143)Itisusefulthatshestatesthisfact;socialhistoriestendto
focus on the patriarchal suppression of 1930s Catholic Ireland and
patriarchalvaluesareoftentransmittedbywomen.However,thecollusion
ofwomeninIreland’sideologyisrarelysetoutinsuchstartlingfashion.
InaninterviewwiththisauthorinJuly2012,theeditorofMooney’s
autobiography, Val Mulkerns, dispelled the famous anecdote around
Mooney and Rosie Redmond’s profession. Neither Mulkerns, nor
(according to Mulkerns) Gate Producer Michael MacLiammóir who
introduced the volume, believed that when she was cast as the Dublin
prostitute that a twenty-three-year-old Ria Mooney didn’t know how a
prostitute earned hermoney. But it is true thatMooney always insisted
that thiswas the case and says so in hermemoirs. Setting the apparent
truth (from Mulkerns) against the anecdote yields an insight: Mooney
understoodthenatureofprostitution,butoff-stagesheplayedtheroleof
arespectableCatholicgirlwhodidn’tcountenancesuchthings.
Prior to theopening,O’Caseymadeone significant change to the
partofRosie.MovedeitherbyhisownembarrassmentinthewakeofLady
Gregory’s reading or O’Brien’s objections to the bawdy number about a
tailorandasailor,hewrotetoLadyGregoryon11thSeptembertosaythat
‘Mylittlesong,Ithink,hastogo’.(Krause147)Thus,Mooneyleftthestage
at the end of the second act without a song. In later years, when she
herselfcametodirecttheplay,sherestoredtheoriginaltune.
Opposition to the play did not break out immediately. A few
evenings into the run, actors were subjected to shouts and jeers mid-
performance,with lumpsof coal and coins being used asmissiles during
thesecondact.Afteranattempttosetthecurtainonfire,adecisionwas
madetoleavethestagebareforthethirdact.Mooneywatchedfromthe
wingsasthetroublecontinued.AboxingmatchbrokeoutandMcCormick
steppedoutofhisroleasJackClitheroetodisassociatehimselfandhiswife
13 Inpreviouschapters,that‘VigilanceCommittee’hasbeenexploredfromthe
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(Crowe) from the play. Yeatsmade an appearance, declaring his fervent
support for O’Casey. When the audience verbally attacked him, he
admonished them while simultaneously affirming O’Casey’s genius with
wordsfrequentlyquotedinthedecadessince:
You have disgraced yourselves again … You have rocked thecradle of genius … You have sent O’Casey’s name around theworld.(MooneyPart246)Many of the actors in the play were shocked to find that the
attackers included personal friends. Denis Johnston recalls Richards’
disgust at a woman in the audience that yelled at her every time she
openedhermouth,andherlaterfurytofindthatthehecklerwassomeone
shehad known from childhood. (Adams80) The coalescenceof personal
andprofessionalliveshadbecomedangerousfortheperformers.
There were no further riots in the theatre, but off stage the
oppositioncontinued,withlettersappearinginthenewspapersandsome
feeble attempts to terrify the main actors, who were instructed not to
approach or leave the theatre alone and on foot.Mooney believed they
wereindangerofbeingkidnapped,butthatthewould-bekidnappersdid
not go through with their plans. The second act was played with
auditoriumlightsupandplain-clothespolicemenonhand.
RosieRedmondisnotacrucialelementoftheplotofO’Casey’splay.
The prostitute presents an element of Dublin tenement life that others
wanted to ignoreandappearsonly in thepub scenes,disappearingafter
thesecondact.Inhisessay‘StagingtheBodyinPost-IndependenceIreland’
Lionel Pilkington discusses the subject of labour in relation to the first
performance of O’Casey’s play. He examines a photo of Mooney in
costume and asserts that ‘commodification is so fused to the woman’s
subjectivity that the spectator is encouraged to enjoy the figure of the
prostitutewithout being ethically detained or troubled by it.’ (Pilkington
‘StagingtheBody’121)This is trueforthespectator,yetMooneyhadan
individualperspectiveofotherplayersinthatcast.
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empathy,anemotionallyuncomplicatedconnectiontothecharacterwhich
reducedhertotearswhenCoveyremindsherofherposition.
As a character, Rosie has little to offer beyond her profession or
‘type’.Shehasnostoryline, justanoutburstwhentheCoveyresentsher
voicingheropinionsattheendofthesecondact.Hisannouncementthat
hewon’t take any ‘reprimandin’ from a prostitute!’ turns her ‘wild with
humiliation’.(O’CaseyThePlough175)Shetellshim:
You’re noman … I’m a woman, anyhow, an’ if I’m a prostituteaself,Ihavemefeelin’s.(O’Casey175)
OnthestageoftheNationalTheatre,MooneyassertedtherightofallIrish
women, including prostitutes, to express emotion and be treated with
respect.O’Casey’s intentionmayhavebeenprimarily a socialist one, but
there’salsoaclearfeministintentintheline.
In taking on that role and sustaining her performance during the
moral storm that accompaniedThePloughand the Stars, the actress set
hercareeronanewplane.Mooneyherselfsaid:
It was not until that night that I ceased to be an amateur andbecame a professional actress in the truest sense of the word.(Part145)
The transformation happened before she hid in thewings, watching the
riots; theshiftbeganwhensheacceptedandbegantorehearsetherole.
Unlike many of the females in that company, Mooney had started to
separateherpersonallifeandhermoralconcernsfromthosesheadopted
onstage.Despiteherbeliefs, shedivestedherselfofegoandtreatedthe
characteraswrittenwithrespectbygoingoutofherway(anddownthat
alley)toimbueRosiewithanauthenticitythatmayhavecontributedtothe
riots.Thatsherefusedtopubliclyadmitherunderstandingofprostitution
suggests she hadn’t completed the separation of her personal and
professionalreputations,butthesplithadbegun.
AftertheopeningnightofThePloughandtheStars,O’Caseycame
toMooneybackstageandtoldherthatshehadsavedtheplay.Thesolemn
actressremaineddevotedtoO’Casey,andhiswork,fortherestofherlife.
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He was a tall, avuncular presence and she responded to his passion for
theatreandhis generosity towardsher. In the summerof 1926, shewas
missing Rosie and O’Casey. Once she had saved enough money to pay
lodgingsinadvanceandkeepenoughforareturnticket,shetooktheboat
toLondon.MooneyneveradmittedthatshefollowedO’Casey,buthewas
bythenlivinghappilyinthecity.
TheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompany
Early in the spring of 1928, Shelah Richards wrote to her fiancé
Denis Johnston from the Belvedere Hotel in New York telling him that
Mooneyhad‘bytheby’signedacontractwithEvaLeGalliennetoappear
in her Civic Repertory Theatre Company. (Johnston TCD MSS
10066/287/2638)RichardsandMooneywereappearingtogetherinatour
ofO’CaseyplaysbyanEnglish company. They shared roomsclose to the
theatreandwhileRichardsoftenpinedforhome,Mooneyfoundthather
‘pulserespondedtothecity’srhythm’.(Part162)
MooneyhadnotstayedinLondonlong.Moneyranoutquickly,as
didherhopesoffindingwork,andshewasclosetogoinghomewhenshe
was offered the job as an understudy to Richards in New York. But
Mooney’sdisappointmentaboutnotbeingonstagewasassuagedby the
sightoftheskyscrapersrisingfromamistontheHudsonriverlike‘afairy
cityrestingonacloud’.(Part162)Yetagaininherwriting,theromanceof
thesceneconcealsany trepidationabout the lifestylechange. Soon, she
had been cast asMary Boyle in a production of O’Casey’s Juno and the
Paycock. At the same time, she lostweight and acquired some ‘well-cut
American clothes’, which gave Mooney for the first time in her life ‘a
presentable figure’. (Part 1 62) She began to present herself as a stylish
woman,confidentofaplaceontheNewYorktheatrescene.
Theyweren’tperformingduringthelastweekofthetour,andthe
women set about experiencing what Richards described as: ‘Bored
Broadway believing in Better Brighter Plays’. (Johnston TCD Mss
10066/287/2633) They endured the nine scenes of Eugene O’Neill’s
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experimental playThe Strange Interlude,which lasted from five pmuntil
eleven thirty pm with a break for dinner, and declared it ‘marvelous’.
(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)Twopolitemencalledattheirrooms
toescort them to visit theCivicRepertoryTheatreonFourteenth Street,
whereTheThreeSisterswasbeingperformed.RichardstoldJohnston:
‘The Three Sisters’ was actually good - very good - although Idon’t imagine it was like the London production; [ … ] but theacting was extraordinarily good and the best I have seen here,andthemostlikeTheAbbey!(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)
Richardswasimpressed;Mooneycaptivated.InDublinandLondon,
shebelievedinputtingherselfintherightplaceandwaitingforsomething
to happen. A newly-confidentwoman tookmatters into her own hands:
shewrotetothedirectorofTheThreeSistersaskingforanaudition.
Richards’ reportingofMooney’s contractwith theCivicRepertory
TheatreCompanywasmatter-of-fact,butwinningaplaceinthecoregroup
of this company was not a straightforward matter. The standards of
dedicationanddisciplineofdirectorEvaLeGalliennewereextremelyhigh.
Le Gallienne personally monitored all aspects of productions, as well as
taking starring roles. Rose Hobart, Le Gallienne’s acquaintance for years
beforejoiningtheCompany,wassackedforvisitingherhusbandduringa
week she wasn’t performing, without telling the director. (Sheehy 152)
Anotheractresssaid:‘Itwasasifwemustalwaysbefit,doourbest,make
thebestofeverything,becauseEvawasdoingsomuch.’(Sheehy152)
Given her own schedule, Le Gallienne relied on others to scout
talentforher.ItwastheCivic’sliterarymanager,HelenLohman,whosaw
MooneyperformMaryBoyleandgrantedheranauditionafterherletter.
Thatseason,thepermanentcoreoftwentyactorswasexpandedtothirty.
Thefollowingseason,thirtyapprenticepositionswerecovetedbyovertwo
hundred applicants. In those auditions, Le Gallienne tried to ‘sense their
inner quality ... some trace of sensibility or imagination, humor, or
aspiration’.(Sheehy179)
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MooneycompletedthetourasunderstudytoShelahRichardsand
returnedtoDublin,wheresheplayedRosieRedmondonelasttime.Then
shepackedupandsaid farewellagain toher familyandtoher friends in
the Abbey. Shewas returning toNew York as an officialmember of the
CivicRepertoryCompanybut,nonetheless,alone.
TheCivicRepertoryTheatre isno longervisible indowntownNew
York.ItwasonthenorthsideofFourteenthStreet(justoffSixthAvenue)
and close to two subways. An overground train rumbled past at regular
intervals.Ontheautumnmorningofherfirstday,Mooneywalkedpasta
Salvation Army hostel, a second-hand clothes store and the Child’s
restaurantwhereshewouldeatmanyofhermealsforthenextfewyears,
toarriveattheneo-classicalfaçade.Thebuildingwascrumbling,butafew
weeksbeforethenewseason,LeGallienneusedmoneyshe’dwonwitha
PictorialReviewawardtorefurbishtheinterior.
AsMooneywasintroducedtotheotheractors,thecastsataround
onthestageunderagoldprosceniumarchreadingscripts.Theauditorium
wasfreshlypaintedingreen,goldandblackandtherewasacycloramaof
lights and modern footlights. After the first read-through, the actors
walked up newly-carpeted aisles and explored the dressing rooms
backstage. For all the glamour front of house, the floorboards in the
dressing rooms were warped and the radiators wheezed. In the green
room,photosofLeGallienne’sestrangedfather,poetRichardLeGallienne,
hung on the walls. (Sheehy 144 – 158) Mooney was ready to start
rehearsals.
Background:EvaLeGallienne
TrainingandworkingwithEvaLeGallienneleftalife-longimpacton
Mooney, personally andprofessionally. Tounderstand that periodof her
life fully, it is necessary to re-visit the background of Le Gallienne, her
inspiration,artisticidealsandthecompanysheled.
Le Gallienne was born in London but raised by her mother, a
journalist turned milliner, in Paris. Julie Norregaard separated from her
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husband,RichardLeGallienne,afteryearsofemotionalabuse.Muchofthe
time, Norregaard was also themain carer to Hesper, Richard’s half-Irish
daughterfromhisfirstmarriage.Anearlyfeminist,Norregaardraisedher
daughterwiththeaidofanurse.Thisprimaryroleasthesolefocusofthe
energyofthesetwoformidablewomenwascentraltothedevelopmentof
LeGallienne’spersonality.AsherbiographerHelenSheehyrecognizes:
Her horizonswerenot circumscribedby traditional expectationsand she simply did not recognize any boundaries in herdevelopment as a person. […]Her soulwas that of a searchingartist;hervitalityandherappetiteforexperiencewereenormous.Andshehadthegoodfortunetogrowupinanatmospherefreeofstiflingbourgeoisconventions.(57)
Set on a life on the stage from an early age, Le Gallienne spent
many of her summers in Surrey with her half-sister, attending as much
theatre she could. A generous patron paid the fees for Le Gallienne to
attend Tree’s Academy in Gower Street (the institution that is now the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). By the age of sixteen, shewas in New
York with her mother. Le Gallienne was ambitious and precocious,
although behind the precocity there was an educated intelligence and
diligent work ethic. Her early influences were decidedly European:
EleonoraDuse and SaraBernhardtwere idols she studied andemulated.
OnfirstwatchingDuseperforminLondonin1923,shewasstunnedbyher
‘superhumanunderstandingandcompassion’alongwiththe‘metaphysical
and impersonal creativegenius.’ (At33164) In1966, LeGalliennewould
publishabiographyofDuse,andinitLeGallienneshowedthattheaweof
heryouthgavewaytoacarefulinterrogationofheridol’slifeandwork.
Given her maturity and arrogance, it was not long before taking
roles for other production companies failed to fulfill Le Gallienne’s
ambitions. With a desire for additional training and experience, she
planned (with a collaborator) to create a workshop where, in her own
words, ‘untroubledbyoutsideopinion,wecouldimproveandperfectour
instruments’. (At33147)Thiswouldprovideaspaceoutsideof the long-
runsystem,whichshefoundunbearablysuffocating,toworkonplaysthey
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choseforthepleasureoftherehearsalprocess.Intheevent,professional
commitmentsandhealthproblemsmeant theplanscame tonaught,but
yearslaterLeGalliennereturnedtoher‘idealisticdreams’andtransformed
them into practical plans to introduce New York to a proper repertory
theatresystem.(At33147)
If Duse and Bernhardt formed the centre of her philosophy on
acting,LeGallienne’scraftwasindeliblyshapedbytheworkoftheRussian
theatre director Constantin Stanislavski. The Moscow Arts Theatre first
visitedNewYork in1923,andLeGallienne frequently sawthemperform
from her habitual seat in the front row. Sharon Marie Carnicke has
asserted, ‘The lasting impact of the Moscow Art Theatre in the United
Statesoccurredwithinthetheatrecommunity,whichhadlefttheRussians
actorsthemselvescold.’(26)LeGallienneintroducedherselftoStanislavski,
andherlaterprocessshowsthatshetooknoteofhisapproach, including
theensembleworkandconcentrationontheinnerrealityofcharacters.
Broadway had become, for Le Gallienne, a male-dominated
businessfocusedonstarsandmarredby longruns,high-ticketpricesand
typecasting.Shesought toallowaudiencesexposure toart, regardlessof
theirfinancialposition.TheideathatrepertorytheatrecouldthriveinNew
Yorkwasanidealisticone,butLeGalliennedeterminedtosucceedwhere
othershadfailed.Shewasconvincedthattheaudiencewasthereforthe
typeofplaysshewantedtoproduce,butsuchanaudiencewereofmodest
means and so alternative modes of funding productions were essential.
Althoughshelaterclaimedtherewas‘nocommercialangle’totheoriginal
plan,LeGalliennewascharmingandsincereinherdealingswithpotential
wealthybenefactors.(At33198)
There were seven actors in the core company Le Gallienne
established,eachwithacontractguaranteeingtwentyweeksofwork.The
salaries ranged between sixty and two hundred dollars. She had also
chosenarepertoireoffourplays(twobyIbsen,onebyChekovandoneby
Benavente)andhiredfiveRussianmusicianstoprovideanorchestra.With
apromisefromtheatreproducerOttoKahntomeettherentforthefirst
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season,LeGalliennebegananintensefive-weekrehearsalperiod,involving
allfourplays.
In the first volume of her autobiography, At 33, Le Gallienne
describestherehearsalsfortheirfirstmajorhit:theproductionofChekov’s
The Three Sisters thatMooney attended.This particular rehearsal period
capturesmanyofLeGallienne’sideals.Thecompanytookoverasmallinn
inWestport,inEssexCounty,NewYork.There,thecastsoughttoidentify
themselveswiththevariouscharactersintheplay.Theycalledeachother
by their character names and frequently started work by discussing in
character things not actually in the play. Once somebody gave a proper
‘cue’,theconversationwouldcontinueaswritteninthetext.Thiscreateda
‘tremendous sense of ease and reality’ before they began rehearsing on
stagewhereLeGalliennecouldgive‘actualshape’totheperformance.(At
33201)Rarelyagainwouldthecompanyhavethefinancialmeansorthe
timetoimmersethemselvesinaworkinthisway,buttheessenceofthis
approachwastransportedbacktothecrumblingFourteenthStreettheatre,
where they would rehearse with a soundtrack of roaring trains and
machinerydrillingforsubways.
Temperament:MooneyandLeGallienne
ForLeGallienne,actingwasnotatrade(aspurportedbytheEquity
union,whosestrikessherefusedtosupport)butahighart;sheconsidered
herself a conscious and endlessly developing artist. (Sheehy 76) This
concept of the actor as a creative artist was also a central tenet of
Stanislavskian teaching. In the sections that follow, it is necessary to
distinguish between the original Stanislavski System (as expounded by
Carnicke,Benedettiandothers)andthetoolsthatformedthebasisofthe
American‘Method’ofLeeStrasbergandStellaAdler.
The AmericanMethod drew on the translation of Stanislavski by
Elizabeth Hapgood, and it used certain of the principles to commodify
actors, create an industry and perpetuate gender stereotypes that were
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harmful to women.14Stanisklavski’s teachings, conversely, had as their
cornerstone the concept of the individual creative artist, who must be
respected and supported in their work. The artist used empathy, rather
thanemotionalsubstitutionor‘recall’,toexplorecharacterandthesystem
balancedpsychologicalworkwithphysicalexercise,includingyoga.
LeGalliennewasalsoinspiredbythephilosophyofEleonoraDuse,
andshewascommittedtoDuse’sideathat‘inplaying,asinanyotherart,
one shouldabolish thepersonaland try toplaceone's instrumentat the
service of a higher, disembodied force.’ (At 33168)Obliterating the ego
andsubmittingtoahigherpowerwasnotareligiousact,exceptwherethe
religion was acting. This idea was echoed by Mooney many years later
when, in June 1962, she wrote a letter to a young actor Patrick Laffan,
whichhestillkeeps:
Don't letyourbraincomebetweenyour instinctiveacting talentandyouraudience.Rememberthegreatactoris,orshouldbe,aMEDIUM.(LaffanCollection)
Throughout her career, Le Gallienne’s mood was in large part
determined by the character that she played at the time. Sheehy’s
biography reveals an ongoing cycle, from her earliest professional life to
her elderly years, inwhich eachnewpart demands a shift in lifestyle—a
new facet to her personality, a new style of movement, often a new
partnerorlivingarrangement.(84)Atvariouspointsthroughouthercareer,
Le Gallienne would work herself into state of nervous exhaustion by
complete immersion in theworkand intenseperiodsofoverwork. Ifasa
director inrehearsalssheemployedtheStanislavskian idealsofensemble
playingandcalmintrospection, inherownworksheeschewedhisnotion
of‘dual-consciousness’andfrequentlyallowedherimmersionincharacter
dictateherpersonallife.
14ThemannerinwhichHapgood’stranslationdiffersfromStanislavski’swritinganditsinconsistencies,deletionsanderroneoussubstitutionsisclearlysetoutinCarnicke’schapter‘TheUSPublicationMaze’inStanislavskyinFocus.(76–93)Carnickealsoexplainshow‘dualconsciouness’ensuredthementalhealthofactorswasprotected,inamannerneverobservedbytheAmericanMethod.
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AlthoughLeGallienne invested themoneyearnedbyher success,
ensuringthecomfortofhermotherandprovidingherselfwithasolidbase,
sheremainedwaryofthe‘insidiousjoysofprosperity’.(At33181)Atthe
heart of her vocation was a constant struggle: to obliterate her own
personalityandbecomeeachcharacter, at the same timeasheradoring
(and sometimes scathing) public sought to know the real Le Gallienne
which she wanted to keep private. In her twenties, Eva wrote long,
reflective letters to hermother in Europe.While appearing as Julie in a
productionofMolnar’sLiliomshewrote:
Itmustbewonderfultobeabletocreateawayfromcrowds--outof sight of one's public--it is a source of endlesswonder tome,whythemediumthathasbeenthrustupononmeshouldbethemost terribly exposed--so glaringly illuminated to all eyes.Withmynatureitisacuriousparadox--&somewhatofaburden.(QtdinSheehy134)
Thisstruggleechoestheparadoxoftheactresssetoutinmyintroduction:
the‘occasionalinvisibilitycoupledwithherall-pervasivesignificance’.(Gale
and Stokes 2) Le Gallienne simultaneously abhorred and relished this
challenge.Sheehyasserts: ‘EvaLeGalliennerefusedtobetypecast inany
part,inthetheatreorinherprivatelife.’(134)Despiteheryouth,shewas
alreadygrapplingwithcomplexandconflictingdesires forprivacyandfor
public recognition. She also loved and wanted to live with women but
refusedtodefineherselfasalesbian.(Sheehy198)Shewaswasbeginning
torealisethedifficultyofrealizingherartisticambitionsinatheatreworld
dominated by ‘show business’ and was coming to despise the money-
drivenvaluesofBroadway.
LeGalliennewaselfin,andshegenerallykeptherbrownhairshort
anddressedinaboyishfashion.Lookingatphotographsofherincostume,
it’s difficult to penetrate the persona she has created for each one. Her
PeterPan is androgynousandchild-like;herVarya inTheCherryOrchard
feminineandquiet.EarlyphotographsofherinLiliomshowtheoversized
men’sbootssheusedtoexploreandcreatethecharacterofJulie.Thereis
aTimeMagazinecoverfrom25November1929thataimstocaptureher
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‘off-stage’ appearance. The inkportrait showsher in a royal-blueblouse,
herwavyhaircroppedandbrushedbackfromthedelicatefeaturesofher
impassiveface;herblueeyesareintensewithfocus.Infact,herbiographer
suggests that Le Gallienne chose this outfit and persona specifically to
depict a ‘determined young feminist’. (Sheehy 194) She learnt early to
construct and present the woman she wanted to be: a determined,
intelligentartist,notrestrictedbygenderorsexuality.
Midwaythroughherbiography,Sheehyfacetiouslyobserves:
itwascleartouptownBroadwayfolk,especiallyyoungertheatrepeople,thatEvaLeGalliennesetherselfapart—apiousprigwhoaffected devotion to art and looked down on ordinary actors incommercialplayswhojustwantedtomakemoneyandhavefun.(Sheehy118)
Sheehygoesontoposethequestion:
[LeGallienne’s] industriousness,herverynature, seemedbothachallenge and a rebuke. She appeared overly serious andhumorless.Whatwasshetryingtoprove?Whywassheworkingsohard?Whatwaswrongwithher?(Sheehy118)
ThesamequestionshoveredaroundMooney’slifeinDublin.Herchildhood
andhaphazardintroductiontotheatre,whileshecontinuedtodanceorto
flirtwiththenotionofbecomingavisualartist,couldnothavebeenmore
differenttoLeGallienne’sshelteredandspoiltupbringing.Buttheyshared
a solemnity few understood. Denis Johnston capturedMooney’s curious
mixofinnocenceandmaturitywhenshewasincludedinhispensketchof
theAbbeygreenroom.Theplaywrightdescribed,‘thedark,squarecharm
ofRiaMooneyandherfullmellowvoicebelyingsoquaintlythenaivetyof
everythingshesays’.(JohnstonTCDMss10066/165)
McGlone cites Mary Manning (an understudy to Mooney for
extended periods), who remembered her close friend as getting onwell
withthevariouscasts;although:‘Shewasn’tveryhumorous.Shewasvery
earnest and ambitious.’ (28) Similarly,MichaelMacLiammoir of theGate
Theatrecommentedthat,afterherreturnfromNewYork:
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…herheadwas fullof their theories; shewould labourat somesmalltechnicalpointforhourstogetherandbereadyforendlessdiscussionsaboutthetheatre;shewasaseriousperson.(167)
MacLiammoir goes on to say, somewhat tetchily, that she lacked
‘the national passion formalicious commentary’. (167) Like Le Gallienne
among New York actresses, Mooney was set apart from her female
contemporaries in the Abbey by her solemn demeanour and intellectual
devotion to her craft. Shewas never the ‘overbearingly ambitious’ actor
thatLeGalliennewas,butMooneywascompelledbyLeGallienne’svision
andconfidence.(At33147)Shewasdrawnbyherstyleandpersona,and
foundachallengeintheloftynatureofLeGallienne’sambitionsthatonlya
periodofworkwiththeCivicRepertoryCompanywouldsatisfy.
At the time thatMooneywas livingwithRichards and seeking an
auditionwithLeGallienne, thetheatrecriticGeorgeJeanNathanpenned
anacerbicarticleinthepopularmagazineAmericanMercury.Hesaidthat
theCivicRepertorywas‘praiseworthyonlyinintent’butthatitwasatotal
‘botch’ and its ‘incompetent’ director should step aside to let ‘other and
morecompetentproducers’ fulfillNewYork’sneedfor repertory theatre.
(Nathan377)HecalledonLeGalliennetogiveupherbeliefthat‘sheisa
reincarnated combinationof Rachel, JoanofArc, andNatGoodwin,with
faint but unmistakable overtones of Jesus’. (Nathan 377) It is a savage
attackwithlittlesubstance,smackingofhomophobiaormisogyny.Nathan
and Le Gallienne had found themselves on opposite sides during earlier
protestsaboutTheCaptive,aproduction thathad ‘introduced lesbianism
to Broadway’ which Nathan thought corruptive and evil. (Schanke 72)
Nevertheless,Nathan’s opinionpresents one endof the spectrumof the
city-wideresponsetoLeGallienne’sworkonFourteenthStreet.
ThecontradictioninLeGalliennewasalwaysthattheegomaniacal,
wildly ambitious business woman who sought funding for her theatre
concealedanartistconsumedbytheneedtoembodydramaticcharacters
andcreatespell-bindingtheatre.Nathan’sobjectionappears tobetoher
political,businesspersonawhileheconcedesherintentwas‘praiseworthy’.
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(377)Hedidn’t, or couldn’t, countenanceawoman thatoccupied sucha
paradoxicalposition.AsSheehynotes:
[I]n describing Le Galliennewriters returned again and again tothe word ‘strange.’ Her beauty was unconventional, her mindextraordinary,hersexualityambiguous…(164)
Mooneywasnotdeterredbythis ‘strangeness’.Shedismissedthe
gossip and rumours to work with the legend and with the woman.
Mooney’s own sexuality is opaque, but she found in the women of the
CivicRepertoryCompany,andthoseartisticcirclesinGreenwichvillage,a
circleofemotionalandcreativeaswellasfinancialsupport,affectionand
empowerment.Shealsowitnessedatfirsthandthepowerofartisticvision
andcreativitywhencoupledwithdisciplineandambition,regardlessofthe
genderorsexualityofitsbearer.
TechniqueattheCivicRepertory
LeGalliennedescribesherrehearsalprocess inherautobiography
At33,andinherbiographySheehyrepeatsthedetailsasreportedbythe
director;butafurtheraccountoftheprocesssupportingthisevidencecan
befoundelsewhere.HelenDoreBoylstonwasanEnglish-bornnursewho
settledinConnecticut,becomingfamousforaseriesofYoungAdultbooks
about a trainee nurse called Sue Barton. Boylston was a neighbour and
close friendofEvaLeGallienne.At somepoint in the1930s, shespenta
yearbackstageattheCivicresearchingforanewfictionalheroine.(Sheehy
274)CarolGoesBackstagewaspublished in1941andtells thestoryofa
young girl who comes to New York as an apprentice to a Repertory
CompanyestablishedbyaMissMarlowe.Theillustrationsinthebook(by
Frederick E. Wallace) support the contention that Miss Marlowe is
modelledonEvaLeGallienne.
ThenovelCarolGoesBackstageexpresseswithunaffectedclarityLe
Gallienne’sbeliefsabouttheRepertorysysteminAmericaandmanyofthe
central tenets of her philosophy and teaching. The book’s depiction of
acting and directing techniques tally with other accounts of the Civic
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Repertory,suchasMaySarton,whilethedetails,meticulousifidealisticin
places,linkdirectlytothetenetsofStanislavski(astranslatedbyCarnicke).
Early inCarol’s trainingat theCivic, theapprenticesare invited to
watcharehearsalbeing ledbyMissMarlowe.Theygathermidwaydown
the house ‘to await spectacular events’. (Boylston 97) But to their
disappointment, the rehearsalsare calmandentirely respectful. Thecast
arrive incomfortableoldclothesandsimplymovearoundthebarestage
reading from scripts, pausingnowand then for ‘amiablediscussion’with
littleornophysicalgestures.(Boylston98)Althoughthereistheoccasional
joke at which everyone laughs politely, the performers are for themost
partquietandcourteous.ThecastCarolsees,‘worked,infact,asasingle
unit,willinglyandhard,witheveryappearanceofenjoyingwhattheywere
doing.’(Boylston98)Despiteatouchoffictionalidealism,thereremainsa
suggestion of the serene simplicity that Le Gallienne engendered in her
castandsawasvitaltoanysuccessfulinterpretationofaplay.Thiswasnot
simply an extension of her personality, but derived from a considered
directorialidealandartistictechnique.
Inher2012 studyAnActressPrepares:Womenand ‘theMethod’,
RosemaryMalagueconductsanexaminationof the relationshipbetween
gender and ‘the American method,’ the theory derived from Elizabeth
Hapgood’s translation of thework of Stanislavski.Malague considers the
theory, practice andpedagogy inways that are useful to interrogate the
processdemonstratedbyLeGallienne,andsubsequentlybythedirectors
she influenced. However, to fully understand the work Le Gallienne did
with the Civic Repertory, one must revert to the original teachings of
Stanislavski, rather than relying on the gradual assimilation and
manipulationof these tools into theAmerican ‘Method’ofStrasbergand
the later Actors’ Studio. The Moscow Arts Theatre Company that Le
Gallienne watched perform during their visit to New York in 1923 was
lauded inparticular for ‘theactors’ seamlessportrayalof character, their
creation of an illusion of real life without obvious theatricality but with
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clearartistry,andtheirensemblework.’(Carnicke24)Thesefactorscanbe
notedintheworkoftheCivicRepertoryCompany.
In Boylston’s imaginative rendering of a rehearsal, MissMarlowe
watches from the centre aisle, just behind the orchestra pit, andmoves
backattimestowatchfromadistance.Thewriterdescribesher:
She offered only occasional suggestions. She didn’t shout orswear, as directors were supposed to do, and she never, for asingleinstant,losthertemper.(Boylston98) Thetraditionalrelationshipofmanipulationandcontrolbetweena
maledirectorandfemaleactor(arelationshipwhichMalagueexamines)is
hereabandoned.Insteadofthenotionthatapowerfulmanwilluseforce
to extract the performance ‘out of her’, Le Gallienne assisted actors to
come to theirownunderstandingof their characters andmakedecisions
accordingly. Stanislavski, similarly, sought to ‘offer advice to actors of
different temperamentswhowished to speak throughdifferentaesthetic
styles.’ (Carnicke 3) Le Gallienne resisted imposing her will on the
individual creation and artistry of each actor. Shewas there to support,
mentorandassistrespectfully.
The future writer May Sarton was also an apprentice in the
company. She recollects her own timewatching rehearsals, sitting in the
blacknessof thehouse ‘beforethehugeemptystagewhereonlyawork-
light threw shadows on the brick wall at the back’. (Sarton 152) She
watchedLeGalliennegodowntheaisleandclimbontothestagetotalkto
individual actors intimately, without ever raising her voice. (Sarton 156)
When the apprentices performed, the other professional actors always
offered encouragement and guidance, while Le Gallienne’s criticism was
‘severe,inclusiveandexceedinglyhelpful’.(Sarton156)Sheehyassertsthat
actors’ time was never wasted: the director came to each rehearsal
punctuallyandwellprepared.Asasignofrespect,duringworkinghoursLe
Galliennecalledeachofheractorsbytheirsurnames(MissMooney,Miss
Hutchinson). There was a professionalism and dignity in Le Gallienne’s
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treatmentofheractors;thisechoedStanislavski’sinsistenceonrespectfor
theatreasanartformandforactorsaspracticingartists.(Carnicke29)
Herprocessofpreparation,emotionallyand intellectually,marked
LeGallienneasan‘implicitfeministactor’,asthetermhasbeendefinedby
ElizabethStroppel.Stroppelconcedesthat, ‘whetherinadvertentlyornot,
acting choices remain by and large aligned with the prevailing power
structure.’ (111) However, she argues that implicitly feminist actors use
their intelligenceanddecision-makingpowertosubtlyshapeandpossibly
reinterprettherole.(Stroppel120)LeGalliennefrequentlyproducedplays
inarealisticmode,butthroughouthercareersherefusedtobeboundby
gender, playing parts such as Peter Pan, Romeo and Hamlet as well as
traditionalfemaleroles.Such‘implicitfeminism’extendedtoLeGallienne’s
direction and teaching, where she listened and encouraged attention to
details, to endless questions about personality and motivations. She
mentored actors to create characters individually by meticulous
preparationandintellect,assheherselfprepared.
Malagueasserts that in theStanislavskimethod: ‘“truthfulness” in
the theatrical product is achieved through “truthfulness” in the acting
process’ (9)Carnicke clarifies that Stanislavski’sbeliefwas, ‘themoment-
to-momentperformanceofaroleistheactor’spresentrealityandtruth.’
Carnicke adds, ‘This paradox, which equates “truth” with “theatricality”
opens the door to non-realistic aesthetics.’ (3) Thus, the stereotypical
notionofactors ‘losingthemselves’ inarole, inhabitinganentire ‘reality’
derivesfromthelaterMethod.ThiswasnotatenetofStanislavski’ssystem,
norwasitafeatureofLeGallienne’sdirectorialtechnique.
AtonepointinCarolGoesBackstage,theheroineobservesafriend
in a state of terror. Instinctively, she notes themovements and gestures
expressing her friend’smental state. Disgusted by her heartlessness, she
speakstoMissMarlowe,andlearnsthisisthewayofallgreatactresses:
Therealartistisdriventoabsorbanduseanythingwhichpertainstohisart,andthat thisnecessity isa thingapart, functioningbyitself regardless of the personal sympathies of the artist.(Boylston155)
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Thedirector isadamant that thevital importanceofanyoff-stage
experienceistheircapacitytobeusedintheportrayalofcharacters.Again,
it is helpful to differentiate this tool from theAmericanMethodwith its
useofpersonalrecallandemotionalsubstitution.Rather,LeGallienneheld
with Stanislavski’s belief that empathy, as a controllable sensation, is a
morepowerfulprompttocreativitythanpersonalemotion.(Carnicke214)
Emotions are not used for ‘recall’ or ‘substitution’, but observations of
emotional states and reflections impact on decisions made in the
interpretationofstageroles.
Duringoneapprentice rehearsal, thestridentyoungdirectorMike
drills his friends in the basics of grouping and movement on stage. He
insists they appear in a triangle, allowing the stage picture to slide
effortlessly into something else, without unnecessary or awkward shifts.
Hesetsoutrulesformovement:
If you have to cross the stage, do it while you’re speaking. Butneverdoitwhensomeoneelseisspeaking.That’ssupposedtobeveryunfair–becauseitmakestheaudiencenoticeyouinsteadoftheonewhohasthe linesat themoment.Andyoumustalwaysgoacrossthestageinastraightline.(Boylston105)
Itisusefultonotethatwhileit’sthestridentmaleestablishingtherulesfor
physicalmovement,theemotionalunderstandingcomesfirsttothefemale
members of the apprentice company. Over time, however, male and
female performers come to work together, drawing on each other’s
understandingoftechnique.
Mooney was taught by the Fay brothers, at the Abbey Theatre,
never to move while speaking on the stage. That distinction aside, the
refined physical gestures and graceful movements of the Abbey school
were inkeepingwith theCivicRepertorystyle.Mooneyquicklymastered
thephysicaltechniques.Shethenbegantoworkatdevelopingthemental
focusandpsychologicalinterpretationengenderedbyLeGallienne.
There was a lavish quality to Civic productions that enthralled
Mooney, as she found herself drinking warmed Chianti on stage in La
LocandieraandeatingcaviarduringRussianplays.(Part190)AttheAbbey,
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shehadbeenpresentedwithplatesofpaperhamandporkchopsshaped
fromwood. Fromearly rehearsals, LeGallienne insisted that actors have
appropriatecostumeelementsandpropstoworkontheirinterpretationof
roles. This followed Stanislavski’s notion that ‘three-dimensional sets,
realistic props and sound effects induce an actor's belief in the play.’
(Carnicke 30) TheMoscow Arts Theatre usedmake-up and costumes as
earlyastwomonthsbeforeaplayopened.LeGallienneemployedsimilar
meanstostimulateandengageactors’imaginationandemotions.
ThethrillofhavingluxuriesonthestagelatergratedwithMooney’s
discipline and work ethic. The hearty foodstuffs, she claimed, distracted
thepoorandhungryactressfromherplayingontheCivicstage.Mooney
also admitted that she had never been as drunk as when she’d sipped
lemonadeatthebarinthesecondactofThePloughandTheStars.(Part1
91)Thatsaid,inalloftheproductionsshelaterdirected,Mooneydisplayed
thedirectorialtechniquesofgentleintercessionwithindividuals,discussion
ofminutedetailandthenurturingofindividualstylesandtemperaments.
TheworkoftheCivicRepertoryCompanywasincessant.Rehearsals,
while calm, were long and painstaking. After they left the theatre, the
actorsoftenhaddinnertogethertodiscussprogress,problemsandideas.
LeGalliennewasrelentless inherpursuitofperfection;sheexpectedthe
same of her actors. Mooney became relentless in her own self-criticism
andstruggleforexcellence.Asayoungactress,Mooneyputherheartinto
partsinthreadbareproductionsandtheninNewYork,wheremoneywas
no object to create scenic illusion, she lost the conviction to match her
skills to the sumptuous presentation. Her sense of inadequacy was
reinforced by the trials of working with the perfectionist, Le Gallienne.
Mooneywould always hold to the truth that she discovered in the Civic
Repertorythat,inacting:‘Technique,withoutfeelingandconcentration,is
…dead.’(Part145)
In the 1950s and 1960s, Abbey actors would refer to Mooney’s
ineptdirectionandactorVincentDowlingrecalledherapproachas‘uptight,
defensive’. (174)However, itmaybe thatMooneywasnotonly the first
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‘Director of Plays in English’ at the Abbey Theatre, but shewas the first
director to attempt to work within a particularly feminist model in the
patriarchalinstitution.Theimplicitlyfeministstyleofworkshelearntfrom
LeGallienne,(usingtoolswhichLeGalliennederivedfromStanislavskibut
inflected with her own feminism), put the emphasis on disciplined,
meticulous ensemble processwith decisions gently considered and ideas
calmlydelivered.Feelingandconcentrationwerebalancedbywell-honed
technique.Thismetwith resistance frommanyof theundisciplinedmale
actors,givenastheyweretodramaticpassionandostentatiousdisplay.
Someof theproblemsshe facedworkingwithin theAbbeyat this
timemaycorrelatewiththoseexperiencedbyMariaKnebeloftheMoscow
ArtsTheatre,whodirectedTheCherryOrchardattheAbbeyin1968.Inan
essay exploring the rehearsal process of the that production, Roz Dixon
reports that Knebel’s experiences were largely positive, but that Knebel
was ‘not impressed, however, by what she clearly perceived as the
unprofessional practices of some of her actors.’ (158) Their ‘scornful’
behaviourand reactions toherdiscipline,methodical characterworkand
ensembleplayingsuggesttheconditionsMooneywasfacedwithintrying
tobringStanislavskitoolstobearontheAbbeyCompany.(Dixon158)
TheInfluenceofAllaNazimova
AsRiaMooney saidhergoodbyes to theAbbey in the summerof
1928 and internally questioned the decision to leave for New York
permanently, she heard a rumour: renowned actress Alla Nazimovawas
also joining Le Gallienne’s company. Nazimova had trained with
StanislavskiattheMoscowArtsTheatreandwas,Mooneystates,‘thefilm
starparexcellence’.(Part171)Inanefforttolookevenmorelikeheridol,
Mooneyalteredherappearance:
I fluffed out my black hair, or parted it down the centre, andtwitchedmynostrilstomakemyselflookmorelikeher.(Part171)
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The star’s presencewould later prove a catalyst to changes inMooney’s
positioninthecompanyandinherrelationshipwithLeGallienne.
Nazimova first came to New York early in the 1900s, where she
presented a season of Ibsen on Broadway andmet Le Gallienne, before
going to Hollywood to make a number of films. While other prominent
nameshad requested roleswith the company,Nazimovawas the first to
commit tobecoming apermanentmember.Aftermuchnegotiationwith
LeGallienneoverherreturntoNewYork,thetwostubbornwomenfinally
struckadealwhichmeantthatNazimovahadaprivatedressingroomwith
herownbathroom(aluxuryLeGalliennedidnothave)andanapartment
across the courtyard from the director and her partner, Josephine
Hutchinson. However, she would not be ‘starred’. (Sheehy 176) Such
negotiations would be ongoing. However, Le Gallienne later wrote that
while there was ‘trepidation at having such a famous star among us’, it
transpired that, ‘No one could have been simpler, more warm-hearted,
enthusiasticandutterlycharming.’(At33221)
Duringthatseason,Mooneyhadasmallpart in theproductionof
TheWould-BeGentleman.Her firstmajor rolewas ina symbolistplayby
the French playwright Jean Jacques Bernand entitled L’Invitation Au
Voyage.LeGalliennehadbroughttheplay,inatranslationbyErnestBoyd,
backfromatriptoParisanditwouldremainforeverherfavouriteplayin
the repertoire. (Sheehy 179) Mooney won the part of Jacqueline, the
twenty-year-old sister to the bored Marie-Louise, wife of an industrial
magnate.Marie-Louise(playedbyLeGallienne)is inlovewithamanthat
recently fled to the Argentine Republicwithout knowing anything of her
affection.Shesustainsherselfwiththedreamoftheiridealisedlove.
Theplay isset in ‘thepresentday intheVosgesdistrict.’ (Bernard
195) When the curtains rose, the audience saw tall, arched French
windowsfloodingthestagewithSeptembersunlightwhile,asMarie-Louise,
Le Gallienne played a Chopin nocturne on the grand piano. Jacqueline
appearedon thepatiooutside thewindow.LeGallienneworeabobbed,
brunette wig, andMooney had her own thick black locks cut to match.
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Both women were made-up sophisticatedly and wore ‘some of the
prettiest dresses ever worn in 14th street.’ (Sheehy 179) Leaning in the
window,Mooneyutteredtheopeningline:‘Areyoualone,MarieLouise?’
(Bernard195)
This play was conceived in the symbolist tradition. Much of the
scriptisslowandsuggestive:sighs,pausesandhiddentears.AsJohnLeslie
Firth points out in his introduction to a later translation of the play,
Bernard’sworkhas‘aquietness,asimplicity,anentireabsenceof“drama”
in the crude sense.’ (10) Although it might appear such work was a
departurefromLeGallienne’searlierproductions,itmustberemembered
that for Stanislavski, ‘symbolism specifically explores the realm of
“imaginarytruth”’.(Carnicke35)LeGallienne’sgrowingsensibilitywasfor
playsthatdismissedthetraditionalnotionof‘realism’butworkedtowards
amoreesotericnotionof‘truth’or‘art’.Inthis,hertastedifferedfromthe
majorityoftheaudiencesthatcametoThirteenthStreet.Suchasensibility
would inform Mooney’s later interest in play texts of a more abstract
nature,includingthoseofJackYeats.
ThereisanintimacybetweenthetwosistersinBernard’splaythat
canonlyhavebeenperformedbytwoconfidantes.Thesecondactissetin
December,withsnowheapedonthefirtreesoutside.Jacqueline(Mooney)
tellsMarie-Louise: ‘Iunderstandmuchbetter thanyouthink,believeme.
I've eyes inmy head. And I know that the Argentine set you dreaming.’
(Bernard232)Withtearsinhereyes,MarieLouiseconfesses:‘Ishouldbe
so glad ifwe could talk together gently, you and I.We're very far apart,
perhaps.ButI'vereallynoonebutyou,Jacqueline.’(Bernard232)
McGloneassertsthatMooney’s‘workwentunnoticedinthefailure’
oftheplay.(32)Infact,BrooksAtkinsonoftheNewYorkTimesassertsthat
theplay ‘lacks substanceanddramaticmoment’,butgoeson tosay that
‘Miss Le Gallienne and her comrades adorn it with an exquisite
performance’.Mooney,hesays,‘playsthepartofthesisterwithasmuch
graphic precision as charm’. Clearly taken with their ‘supple charm’,
Atkinsondeclaresthepiece‘discoverstheCivicRepertorytroupeinoneof
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its most accomplished aspects.’ (‘The Play’ 17)May Sarton never forgot
watching ‘that extraordinary play of silences’ and called the experience
‘pureluxury.’(158)Sartonwasinaminority;theaudiencesdeploredit.As
wasusual,LeGalliennehadbeenrehearsing threeplaysat theonetime.
Thus, as quickly as L’Invitation Au Voyage closed, The Cherry Orchard
opened. Le Gallienne starred as Varya and Nazimova played Madame
Ranevskyanditprovedapopularhit.Mooneywasnotcastintheplay.
ThefinalproductionoftheseasonwasKaterina,aplaybyAndreyev
thathadbeenincludedintherepertoireonNazimova’sdemand.Foryears,
shehadbeentryingtogetaBroadwayproductionofthepiece,whichwas
theperfectvehicletoshowcaseherowntalent,althoughitwasnotideally
suited to an ensemble company. The play is a ‘light hearted frolic, with
maritalinfidelity,voyeurism,andattemptedmurder.’(McGlone35)When
thecastlistwashungbackstage,Mooney’snamewasagainnotonit.
The Civic Repertory Company was now playing to ninety-four
percent capacity,but relationsbetweenLeGallienneandNazimovawere
strained. While they attempted to maintain professional politeness, Le
Gallienne was disgusted that Nazimova was advertising Lucky Strike
cigarettes. In rehearsals, differences in their dramatic approaches were
surfacing. JosephineHutchinsondescribedtheRussianas ‘acat’, recalling
that she was ‘very theatrical’ while the Company were ‘much more
modern’. (Sheehy 181) In a further affront to LeGallienne,who thought
Katerinamelodramaticandridiculous,Nazimovaintervenedincasting.The
star insistedthat,giventhephysical resemblance, theactresscastasLiza
(Katerina’ssister)shouldbereplacedwithRiaMooney.
Katerina opened in February 1929 and despite the problems, Le
Gallienne recorded in her diary that Nazimova gave a ‘magnificent
performance’. (Sheehy 189) Broadway critics agreed, but when the
CompanytouredtoPhiladelphiaandBostonthepowerstrugglesbetween
Le Gallienne and Nazimova continued. Mooney was torn between her
allegiance to Nazimova and her respect for Le Gallienne; but experience
had taught her to avoid conflicts. She didn’t gossip or slander and she
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wouldresistanypartinafeud.Inanycase,arefusaltogetinvolvedwould
havebeentakenbytheegomaniacalLeGallienneasasignofdissension.
Althoughshewasontheprogrammeforthenexttheatricalseason,
Nazimova finished the tour in Boston and did not return to Fourteenth
Street. Mooney’s place in the Company changed substantially the next
season,whenLeGalliennechargedherwithdirectingthenewapprentices.
LeGalliennearrangedpeoplearoundherasshedesired,anditmaybethat
after the split with Nazimova she wanted ‘Miss Mooney’ in a less
conspicuousrole.It’salsopossiblethatsheidentifiedinMooneyagiftfor
mentoringyoungtalentthatcouldbeusedformutualbenefit.
Romeo&JulietattheCivicRepertory
InBoylston’snovelCarolGoesBackstage,thefictionalapprentices
are under the tutelage of a lady with the most Irish of surnames: Miss
Byrne. Miss Byrne is already in place and working assiduously with her
young charges when Carol joins the company. In factual records, it is
establishedthattherealapprenticegroupauditionedbyLeGallienneand
put under Ria Mooney’s care as the 1929/1930 theatre season opened
includedsuchfutureluminariesasMaySarton,BurgessMeredith,Howard
da Silva and John Garfield. Both real and fictional apprentices were
permitted to watch themain company at work, whilst also having their
ownscheduleofclassesandscenestoprepare.
InMooney’srecord,shewasdirectingarehearsalwhenshenoticed
that Le Gallienne had come to observe her methods from the balcony.
(Part191)Steelingherselfagainsttheprospectofcriticism,shecarriedon,
leadingthemthroughThePlayboyoftheWesternWorldinthetraditional
style of the Abbey Theatre. Le Gallienne was impressed; she invited
Mooney to become Assistant Director in the forthcoming production of
Romeo& Juliet.While LeGallienne never gave her official credit for her
work, Mooney distinctly remembers how the chorus were instructed to
obeyMissMooneyasifshewasthedirectorherself.(Part192)
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Le Gallienne’s overarching principle for Romeo & Juliet was to
conveyasenseofItalyduringthatperiod:‘Colourful,violent,andaboveall
SWIFT.’(At33225)Pausesbetweensceneswereeliminated;therewasfull
concentration on flow with a steady increase in tempo and suspense
throughout. The prologuewas eliminated and the play openedwith the
pounding of drums and a street brawl. Many apprentices appeared as
dancersandanumberoftheCompanywereinsilentchorusroles.
Working to Le Gallienne’s vision,Mooney turned to visual art for
inspiration.LeGallienneherselfusedasimilarmethod;forherproduction
of The Good Hope she used Dutch paintings for formations for group
scenes.(Sheehy168)ItwastheworkoftheFlorentinepainters,withtheir
uniquesenseof lightandcolour,which influencedMooney’sdirectionof
the chorus scenes for the Shakespeare play. Using the costume colours,
shestartedtogroupcrowdstocircleandhighlightthemainplayers.Shelet
the actors move freely and instinctively, with the imperative that they
wereontherequiredspotwhenthecuecame.Hertechniquegrewfrom
yearsofcarefulwatching:attheAbbeyTheatreandintheCivicRepertory,
aswell asher loveofvisualart.15Intentoncapturing the fluid,mercurial
sense the director demanded, Mooney began to develop her own
directorialtechnique.
InCarolGoesBackstage,whiletheapprenticesstudiedfencingand
voicewith other Company instructors, ‘Miss Byrne’works diligentlywith
themonmovement,progressingfromphysicalstancetostylesofwalking,
runningandabruptstopsthatcapturedistinctcharacters.(Boylston144)In
one acting exercise, she calls each actor to cross the stage anddeliver a
letter,withoutanydialogue.Astheystepouttobegin,shecallsouttheir
character’s work or social position: prince, servant, young girl... The
objective (deliveringthe letter)was identical; thedistinctionswere inthe
smallphysical choices theactorhad tomakequicklyanddecisively. Such
15Thisstraininherworkwillbeconsideredindetailatalaterpointinthischapter.
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simple exercises consistently reinforced the delicate craft of creating
characterfromwithin,inthemodeofStanislavski.
Boylston’s heroine andher friends also appear as silent chorus in
Romeo and Juliet. After Miss Byrne has spent weeks ‘drilling them in
entrances and exits’, they make their first public appearance, gaining
confidenceevenwhilethey’reacutelyawarethatthey’reunder‘veryclose
observation’.(Boylston116-117)ThepressureofworkingforLeGallienne
wasintense,butMooneyrespondedwarmlytotheenergyofhercharges.
DismissingtraditionalboundariesbetweentheCompanyandapprentices,
shearrangedsocialeveningsinherhometointroducethebuddingactors
toestablishedartists.Thisnurturingofherchargesoff-stage,whichbegan
inNewYork,setapatternforhercareer.InWicklowinthe1940sandlater,
she would often hold social evenings in her Glencree cottage. She
continuedtodrawenergyfromyoungtalentaroundher,whilesupporting
andencouragingthedevelopmentoftheirtechnique.
EnmeshedastheybecameinthelifeoftheCompany,theworkof
theapprenticesdifferedfromthatofthemaintroupeinonespecificpoint.
For the apprentice rehearsals and productions described in Carol Goes
Backstage,therearenopropsorscenery.Theessenceofthelesson,Carol
understands, is to ‘act without self-consciousness in themidst of purely
imaginary furniture’. (Boylston 119) Mooney engendered in her charges
thevivifyingdramaticimaginationthatwascentraltoherworkinDublin.
OutsideofRehearsals
The strict discipline of the Civic Repertory Theatre structured her
days and if shewasn’t performing,Mooney arranged social evenings for
her apprentices. Therewas little time forherown social life; in fact, she
made sure of that. Unrequited love had hastened her departure from
Ireland. To artist friend Patrick Tuohy, Mooney confided that she had
decidedtoleaveIrelandtogetawayfromamanandheartbreak.(McGlone
32)Whilethereisnoevidenceorcluestosuggesttheidentityofthisman,
there are pointers to suggest that her leaving for London was linked to
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O’Casey’s settling there. He was unmarried, and had showed genuine
affectionforMooneyandaregardforhertalent.Hiscontinuedsupportto
herwasdemonstratedbyhislendinghermoneywhenshefailedtosecure
work,butitmayhavebeenthatwhenshewasinLondon,shediscovered
that O’Casey’s interest in her was not romantic. In any case, New York
broughtencountersthatwouldsalveherbrokenheartandreanimateher.
For the initial visits to New York with Shelah Richards, the two
womensharedanapartmentonBroadway,asclosetothetheatreasthey
couldafford.AcircleofIrishtheatreacquaintances,includingMaireO’Neill
andSaraAllgood,invitedthemtopartieswheretheymadefriendswitha
bohemian group that included sculptor Jacob Epstein and
writer/photographerCarlVanVechten.Toreciprocate,theyheldsoiréesof
their own. The housemates had different temperaments and tastes, but
bothweresmittenwith‘thebest-lookingman’andthe‘onewiththemost
charm’ – professional singer Paul Robeson. (Johnston TCD MSS
10066/287/2632)Attheirparty,RobesonsangNegrospiritualsandtalked
ofhisdaughter.Richardsjokedtheylived‘onchocolates,ginandoranges,
tryingtogetwithNewYorksociety.’(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)
ShewasmissingJohnston,whowasinIreland,andwrotetohim:
You’veruinedmylife—Ican'tevengetinterestedaboutanybodyhere. You keep cropping up—as if you ever meant anything toanybody—it’sridiculous.(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)AsthelovesickRichardscountedthedaystogohomeandbeginher
married life,Mooneycontinuedtosocialiseandmadeaclosefriend.Rita
Romelliwasa frequenthostofsocialeveningsandwasalsoadancer,an
actress, teacherand laterakey figure in theHarlemRenaissance.ANew
Yorkerbornandbred, she trainedat theAmericanAcademyofDramatic
Artunder its founder,Charles Jehliger. (‘RitaRomillyBenson’)She tooka
minorroleinTheLivingCorpsebyTolstoystagedattheCivicRepertoryin
1929;thereafter,allarchivaltracesofRitaRomillyrelatetoteaching.
TheeditorofMooney’smemoirs,ValMulkerns,wouldlaterreferto
Rita (by thenMrsMilton (Kick) Erlanger) as a ‘close friend and patron’.
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(Part162)Mooneyherselfreferredtohersimplyas‘abeautifulgirlnamed
RitaRomelli’, towhomshededicatedherautobiography. (Part1)Romelli
andMooneyhadalovingandintimaterelationshipthatlastedtheirwhole
lives. There is no evidence it developed from friendship to a sexual
relationship,orindeedisthereanythingtosuggestthatitwasonlyplatonic.
Theirrelationshipwasintimate,lovingandvitaltoMooney’shappiness.
WithoutRichards’scompany,Mooneythrewherselfintolifeatthe
Civic,spendinganyfreetimedrinkingcoffeeoreatingcheapmeals inthe
Childs’restaurantnextdoortothetheatre.Aswellasherfriendshipwith
literarymanagerHelenLohman,MooneywasclosetoscenicdesignerAline
Bernstein and her assistant Irene Schariff. Bernsteinwas ‘plump,mature
andwell-corseted’with‘straightgreyhairwhichsheworeparteddownthe
front.’(Part198)In1926,shewouldbecomethefirstwomantojointhe
scenic artists’ union of the United States. As well as discussions about
theatre design, Mooney jested with Bernstein about searching for a
wealthymalesuitor.Yet,shewassurroundedbysame-sexarrangements.
AccordingtoMcGlone’scursorysurveyofMooney’slife,thetroupe
wasrumouredtobea‘denoflesbianism’;AmericanMercurycriticGeorge
JeanNathancalledthegroupthe ‘LeGalliennesorority’. (McGlone32)Le
GalliennehadbeenlivinginanapartmentonEleventhStreetwithleading
actress Jo Hutchinson (recently separated from her husband) for over a
year when Mooney arrived. The other actors called the couple ‘The
Botticelli Twins’ and not even their own mothers objected to the
arrangement. (Sheehy 164) Leona Roberts (Hutchinson’s mother) was a
member of the core company and Julie, Le Gallienne’s open-minded
mother,sharedtheirflatformonthseachtimeshecametovisit.
Afterherfirstseason,MooneyreturnedtoIrelandforthesummer
break;butin1930,shedecidedtoforgothetriphome.Aswellasworking
with the Arden theatre group in Philadelphia, she spent one dissolute
weekend with friends in Greenwich, Connecticut. McGlone asserts the
detailsofthisscenehavebeenleft‘purposelyvague’inthememoirs.(43)
Theepisode, thoughnot recounted indetail, is tingedwithnostalgiaand
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magic;yetitsinclusioninthememoir–otherwisesoimpersonal–lendsit
agravitythatcannotbeignored.
With little memory of events during daylight hours, Mooney
focuses on the night-time adventures and one particular bacchanalian
scene.Walking through thewoods around the homeof Richard Chanler,
close tomidnight, ‘they’ came upon a clearing. By a river, a picnicmeal
illuminatedbyalogfirewascomingtoaclose:
Theysat intwos,making lovebetweensips,or ingroups,havingloud and fierce argumentswhile they drank and nibbled food—and each other. From a large flat rock overhanging the river,nakedfigureswereseenforamomentastheyshotthroughthelightindivesthatengulfedthemintheblackwaters.Everywherewere the sounds of laughter, arguments, corks popping, bodiessplashing into thewater,minglingwithnature’smedleyofnightsounds.(Part197)Exactlywhowere the ‘we’ that took thatmoonlitwalk?Was this
‘scene of revelry’ a party exclusively for women? Was Mooney only an
observerofevents?McGloneaskstheserhetoricalquestions,anddecides
that the scene ‘might have been extracted from popular novels of the
period’butwas‘outofcharacter’forMooney.(44)Yet,itmaybethatitis
outofcharacteronlyforthe‘character’orpersonacreatedinhermemoir.
As referred to above in relation to her friendship with Romelli,
Mooney’ssexualityhasalwaysbeenopaque.McGloneneveraddressesthe
issue directly, but it appears vital to draw attention to the social forces
actingonMooneyat thispoint inher life,encouragingher tobreakwith
Irishmodelsandfollowanydesirestoshareapassionaterelationshipwith
a personof her own gender.Her autobiography is reticent in relation to
herrelationshipswithmen,includingHiggins,buttherearetheaccountsof
otherstosupporttheveracityofrumours.IfMooneydidchoselaterinlife
todisavowtheforcesshehadexperiencedinNewYorkwiththiscircleof
lesbianwomen,theystillhadaprofoundimpactonherlife.
Thatsamesummerseason,JosephineHutchinsonwasdivorcingher
husband, Robert Bell, and the New York theatre scene was agog with
rumours about Le Gallienne’s involvement in the closed divorce
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proceedings. The divorcewas held in open court in Reno,with no other
partiesnamedandtheestrangedcoupleremainedalwaysongoodterms.
(Sheehy 198) But damage was done by malicious speculation: The Daily
News published a photograph of Le Gallienne with the headline ‘Bell
Divorces Actress, Eva Le Gallienne’s Shadow’. (‘Shadow’ being an
insinuationoflesbianism.)(Sheehy198)Morepertinently,thefutureofthe
Civic Repertory was in serious doubt, with financial strain heaped on Le
Gallienne’s already-struggling shoulders. Mooney could have been
worrying about her future, seeking parts outside the Civic Repertory
Companyor looking forotherwork; insteadshe focusedon themagicof
hernewsociallife.
Spending one night in a guest room belonging to Madame
Rubinstein, Mooney slept in a comfortable bed in a room scented with
sandalwood,underaroofthatrolledbacktoexposethenightsky.Looking
upatthestars,shediscoveredthatsoftglitterwasfallingslowlyfromthem
andmelting into thedarkness. (MooneyPart 196)Despite the struggles
behind and theunknown future ahead, a twenty-seven-year-oldMooney
reachedoutinblissfuljoyandwonder,tryingtocatchthefireflies.
Art&Life
While on tour with The Plough and the Stars in Chicago in the
1920’s, Abbey actorMichael Scott chose to visit an exhibition of French
paintingsintheWrigleyBuildingandMooneyjoinedhim.Asshewandered
alongbesideherfriend,Mooney’sattentionwascapturedbya‘glimmering
object’ in the distance. (Part 1 69-70) Transfixed, she abandoned her
companionsandmoved towards the torpedo-shapedpieceofmetal. The
sculpture,byBranusci,wastitledTheGoldenBird,althoughtherewasonly
thesuggestionofabeakandtailintherefinedsilhouette.Itsatonarough-
hewngeometric base.Mooney studied this onepiece for the rest of the
afternoon, inaweof ‘theartistry thatmade thispieceof shiningmetala
thingofmovement,exhilarationandtrulygreatbeauty.’(Part169-70)
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Shewasn’tnew to theartworld;at theageofnineteen,Mooney
hadjoinedtheDublinMetropolitanSchoolofArtonawhimandspenttwo
yearsstudyingdrawingandpainting.Mooneyalsorealised‘themeaningof
hardworkandthesatisfactiontobederivedfromit.’(Part130)Whileshe
continuedtoactinamateurdramaticgroupsintheevenings,shegaveup
her office job to create a studio inAnne Streetwith five other students.
Mooneyspecialised inembroidery, theothers in leatherwork,designand
figurework.OnlyonLennoxRobinson’srequesttoappearattheAbbeyin
1924 did she subsequently abandon the artists’ collective. Mooney’s
introductiontothemodernartmovementinthatChicagomuseumwasa
worldawayfromthosedaysembroideringinthechillyAnneStreetstudio,
butbothignitedhersensitivitytoshape,lightandcolour.
InNewYork,whenmovingintoherapartmentonThirteenthStreet,
Mooney and her flatmate took advice from Irene Schariff (the Civic’s
assistant scenic designer) on decorating their humble walk-up. They
stainedthefloorblackandusedrugsofcheapfelt,coveringthecouchwith
royalbluesateenbehindcushionsofred,yellow,greenandblack.(Mooney
Part 1 74) In their design, they mimicked the dark blue walls and oiled
timbers of Le Gallienne’s exceedingly more luxurious home. All were
following the fashions in Greenwich village at that time, but Mooney’s
insistenceonavividcolourschemeiscentraltoherdramaticvision.
Helen Lohman, of the Civic Repertory Company, would
subsequentlytakeMooneytoseeandholdtwomorepiecesofBrancusi’s
work. The same Madame Helena Rubinstein who offered fireflies in
ConnecticutintroducedMooneytotheworkofPicasso,engenderingalife-
long passion for his Cubistwork. Back inDublin in the 1940s and 1950s,
MooneywouldfrequentlyvisitWaddington’ssmallgalleryonSouthAnne
Street to buy art in meagre weekly instalments that she could afford.
(Mulkerns)Thisacutelycolouristsensibilitywasdeveloped inherworkas
theAssistantDirectorwiththeCivicandwouldcometofruitioninherwork
withtheAbbeyExperimentalTheatreinDublininthe1940s.
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Given this sensibility, it is no surprise that in her own writing
Mooneyoftenrevertstomemoriesofcolourtoillustratescenes.Alengthy
expeditionto theAran Islands in1930,duringaholidayathome,creates
aninterludeinthestoryofhercareer.Ontheisland,Mooneyspenttime
withdocumentaryfilmmakerRobertFlahertyandTomCasement,brother
of Irish patriot Roger. As they sailed between the islands on a still June
evening,thesun‘begantotiptothewest’.Shesketchesthescene:
Silverandblackwerethecoloursonourright,pinkandblueaboveourheads,crimsonandgoldonourleft.(Part188)
Wherever shewent,Mooneydrewstrengthand life from thecolourand
artistryintheworldaroundher.
EndofDaysinNewYork
Mooney returned from a summer of stock theatre and heady
socializingin1930toonemorechallengingseasonattheFourteenthStreet
Theatre.TheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompanybeganthetheatrecalendar
withareprisedproductionofRomeo&Juliet,anestablishedsuccess;but
both Le Gallienne and Hutchinson were ill – tonsillitis and appendicitis.
AlineBernsteinwasstrugglingwithpersonaldifficulties.Aleadingactorleft
afteran‘uptown’offer.Newproductionswerequicklycancelledandinan
uncharacteristically downbeat mode, Le Gallienne wrote in her diary of
‘Baddays—tiringwearingdays.’(Sheehy201)Shewasnostrangertolong
periodsofdepressionandhadbeenknown to find solace in alcohol, but
duringthedayshecontinuedtorehearseandmakebusinessplans.Others
inthecompanynotedhowherfiguregreweverslighterandhereyesmore
enormous. (Sheehy 201)When she gave her usual performance ofPeter
PanatChristmas, soaringacross theauditoriumonawire,herbreathing
waslabouredandherbodyfeverish.
The apprentices in Dore Boylston’s fictional Stuyvesant Company
gradually become part of company life, and come to understand the
backstageatmosphere.BuddingactressCarolobserves:
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[I]n light plays, requiring little emotional acting, the backstagemood of the company was gay and relaxed […] sometimes anactor going on stage was unable to stop laughing and haddifficulty with his lines. In other plays themoodwas tense andserious; there was no joking or conversation in the wings […](Boylston127)
As 1930 came to an end, the real Civic Repertory Companywere
caught between an atmosphere of festive celebration and intense stress
over Le Gallienne’s physical state and emotional fragility. Any hope that
therestovertheholidayswouldrestoretheirdirector’sstrengthfadedin
January when she was confined to bed with bronchitis. Le Gallienne
handedoverrehearsalstoheroldteacher,ConstanceCollier.Collierbegan
directing Camille, while Le Gallienne learnt her lines and prepared her
starring role in bed. It is characteristic of Mooney that she reminisces
about the gems of wisdom she learnt watching Collier direct rehearsals,
withouteverrecordinganytensionaroundthearrangements.(Part193)
Despite Le Gallienne’s frailty, Camille transpired to be the Civic
RepertoryCompany’sbiggesthit.BrooksAtkinsonannounced in theNew
YorkTimes:‘[I]tisamajorhitthatturns‘emawayattheboxoffice.’(‘Plays
andPlayers’105)Atkinsondescribedtheatmosphereinsidethetheatreas
electrifying:‘Theexcitementleapsfromrowtorowlikeanelectricspark.’
(‘PlaysandPlayers’105)ThecriticsmayhavethoughtLeGallienneandher
companywere back on form; the actors knew better. At some point, Le
Galliennegatheredhercastandcrewbackstagetoshareamajordecision.
Shewastakingadvantageofthecurrentsuccesstoclosethetheatreona
positive note, planning to take a year off to recuperate andplan for the
future.Thefinancialproblemshadnotgoneawayandthedepressionwas
worseningalloverAmerica,butEvaLeGalliennewouldnotstepawayfrom
Fourteenth Street under a cloud. She was determined to retain the
impressionthathertalentandvisionwereundimmed.
MooneyneversaysthatshewasshockedattheclosureoftheCivic
RepertoryCompany.Shewasthereforthefinalgalaweekofperformances,
celebrating with the Company and the group of apprentices. Nazimova
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returnedbrieflytoappearintwoperformancesofTheCherryOrchardand
they also staged Peter Pan and Romeo and Juliet before closing with
Camille. While some of the Company would find work with a tour of
Alison’sHousebySusanGlaspell,otherswereofferedafifty-dollar-a-week
retaining fee to return in 1932.Mooneywas not in the first group, and
letters to friends in Dublin don’t mention any retainer. News may have
filteredbackfromParis,whereLeGalliennewasstaying,thatMaySarton
had been offered the job of salaried director of the Civic Repertory
apprentices when the theatre reopened. (Sheehy 214) Mooney was
workingonotherplans, holding fast to thebelief her futurewas inNew
York. She set to work with an actor friend on a dramatic adaptation of
Bronte’sWuthering Heights. Shelah Richards received a letter from her
friendandtoldJohnstonofhernews:
Ria Mooney has written saying she and Grupke are startingtheatre lifeonBroadway (!) and she is tobemanaging this thatand the other including reading of plays and would you send“Moon”?(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2651)
JohnstonhadwrittenaplayentitledTheMoonintheYellowRiver,
which Mooney was seeking to produce. The identity of ‘Grupke’ is
unknown,mainlybecausetheplanscametonaught.Whenwordcamein
theNewYearthatthetouringAbbeyCompanyneededaplayer,Mooney
packedupherThirteenthStreethome,planningtojointheminGeorgia.It
was then thatCherylCrawford, castingdirectorof theNewYorkTheatre
Guild, contacted her, offering her a role. (McGlone 47) A future in New
Yorkwasadistinctpossibility,butMooneyelectedtoholdthepromiseof
securework and return home. Shewasweary of struggling forwork, or
waseagertoshareherskillsinIreland.
OthermembersoftheAbbeyCompanywouldalsoseeLeGallienne
perform,albeitwithoutRiaMooney,duringatouroftheUnitedStatesin
the spring of 1935. While Mooney was performing in Dublin with the
secondcompany,thefirstcompanyattendedL’AigloninChicago,inwhich
Le Gallienne was starring as a prince. The twenty-two-year-old Aideen
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O’Connor,onher first tourabroad,wasmesmerisedbytheperformance.
Shetoldhersistersomeweekslater:
I'm still crazy about Eva LeGallienne. I bought her life story, its[sic]grand.IwrotetoherfromChicagoafterseeingherplayandshewroteme a lovely letter, and said she'd like tomeetme inNewYorknexttimewegothere.IftheAbbeysackmeI’llwritetoher for a job. To mymind she is the one great woman on thestagetoday.(ShieldsT13/A/437)
O’Connor’sanxietyaboutlosingherjobrevealstheactresses’awarenessof
their precarious position in the Irish Company.Her belief in LeGallienne
suggests they saw working with the Civic Repertory as a liberating,
empoweringexperience, incomparison.O’Connormakesno reference to
Mooney’s involvement in the Civic Repertory. At 33 contains only one
passingreferencetoa‘MissMooney’duringastageanecdote,soit’squite
possible she missed it entirely. To many of her colleagues and theatre
friendsinDublin,itwasasifRiaMooneyhadneverworkedordirectedat
theCivicRepertoryTheatreatall.
AfterTheCivicRepertoryTheatre
To follow in full the chronology of RiaMooney’s career following
herreturntoDublinfromtheCivicRepertoryCompanyin1932isnotonly
difficultandconfusingbutentanglesdistinctthreadsofherwork.Forover
threedecades,Mooneywasacentral figure inDublintheatre life:acting,
directing and teaching. Shewas aworking professional, immersed in the
day-to-day grind of the theatre. Yet, to consider all of her acting roles
duringthosedecadeswouldnotproveparticularlyilluminating.Instead,I’d
like to follow two specific trajectories in her artistic work that she kept
distinctbutincarefulcounterbalance.
Ontheonehand,Mooneycontinuedtoappearonthemainstages
ofthecapital’stheatresintraditionalconservativedrama,suchasplaysby
GeorgeShielsandLennoxRobinson.Initially,theGateTheatrefulfilledher
desirefor leadingroles.ShesubsequentlyreturnedtotheAbbeyTheatre,
taking roles in plays by new female playwrights Elizabeth Connor and
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Teresa Deevy. At the same time, she pursued her interest in mentoring
youngactorsandinworkingwithdramaofamoreexperimentalformthan
ever before seen in Ireland. In her memoirs, Mooney refers in a self-
deprecatingwayto‘mylittleExperimentalTheatre.’(Part288)Infact,the
project,whichshebeganwithseniorstudentattheSchoolofActingCecil
Ford in June 1939,was an innovation in Irish theatre. Setting these two
tracks of Mooney’s career side-by-side, studying them separately while
allowing them to reflect back on each other, brings us closer to an
understandingofthetheatrethatdroveandsustainedher.
There is a photographofMooney, dressed asRosieRedmond, on
stagewithSeánO’CaseyduringthedressrehearsalofThePloughandthe
Stars.Her skirt reaches below her knee; she wears thick tights and flat
shoes,withatartanshawlaroundhershoulders.Forthemodernspectator,
there isnothingsexualaboutthisprostitute;exceptforthecoysmilethe
actressisgivingtheplaywright,whohasautographedthemementoforher.
Hesays:‘Beclever,M'girl,&letwhowillbegood.’(BergMss7OB5715)In
September1969,MooneyreturnedthisphotototheO’CaseyEstate,andit
wasplacedintheBergCollectionintheNewYorkPublicLibrary.
Holding the original photo inmy hands, I can see that there is a
well-wornthumbtackhole ineverycorner.Thisphotowasnot framedor
stored in adust-freealbum,butwas tacked to thebedroomwall, to the
mirror in a dressing room, or to any available surface. Always visible,
always close, itwas a talisman to remindMooney of her experiences as
RosieRedmond,andthejourneyithadsetheron.
That photograph (her personal archive) was packed up in the
bohemian walk-up in Greenwich and brought on tour with the Abbey
Company,andthenbacktothebedroomshesharedwithhersisterinher
father’shouseonDublin’s south side.Retracing thatpath to theAbbey’s
backstage door was not a joyous reunion or comforting transition for
Mooney.Butbeneathherwarm,opennatureandchild-like idealism,she
hadaresilienceearnedduringThePloughandtheStarsandcompounded
as she walked the streets of New York after the Civic Repertory closed,
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lookingforwork.Atpoints inhercareer,Mooney’s insecuritiesabouther
acting talent would re-surface and threaten to overwhelm her, but an
enduringbeliefinhercraft,coupledwitheconomicnecessity,droveheron.
ThememoirPlayersandPaintedStagecontainsonlytworeferences
to intersections betweenMooney’s family and herwork. The first is her
father’s anxiety during The Plough and the Stars riots.The second is her
sister’s weeping after she saw Mooney perform at the Abbey after her
returnfromNewYorkin1932.Almostthirty,withafigurethathadalways
beenwomanly in itscurvesandafacethatwasalwaysmatureifelegant,
Mooney was cast as the sixteen-year-old schoolgirl Ducky in Robinson’s
drawing-room comedy The Far-Off Hills. After the curtain came down,
Mooneyreturnedhometoherfather’shousetofindhersistercryingwith
shameanddisappointment.(Part1101)
The Abbey directors often put adult women into the roles of
childrenandteenagers.Suchcastingwasjudgedtobeanecessarypractice
tomaintaintheensemblenatureoftheCompany,andalsoconnectstothe
amateur beginnings of the theatre. The preposterous practice was not
confinedtoRiaMooney:in1935theSanFranciscoNewsreviewedBrinsley
MacNamara’sLookattheHeffernansandspokeofthe‘lamentablecasting
ofMaureenDelaneyasabold,younggirl.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)While
there is no evidence actresses objected, the reaction ofMooney’s sister
showsthattheridiculousnatureofthecastingdidnotgounnoticedbythe
audience. Mooney’s telling of the event in her autobiography cleverly
displaces any personal shame onto her sister, allowing her to make the
pointwithoutappearingtojudge.Shedidn’tgiveupthepart,thatwasn’t
anoption,norwasobjectingormakingacomplaint.InMooney’saccount:
hersistercried;sheresolvedtofindotheropportunities.
After that reprise of Ducky and other similar roles, Mooney was
weary of playing parts for which she was unsuited and also perhaps of
being infantilized by theAbbeydirectorate. In September 1933 a chance
cametoworkwithHiltonEdwardsandMichaelMacLiammóirattheGate
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Theatreandshegraspedit.IntheirrehearsalroomatthetopofO’Connell
StreetMooneyfoundthemagicthathadexhilaratedherinNewYork:
Therewasthe ‘poetry’of theatre[…]thesameescapefromdullreality; the samemagic windows on to different places, peopleandperiods.(Part2104)
The Gate offered international plays and elegant roles like Lady
Precious Stream in Hsiung’s work of the same name and Gwendoline in
Wilde’s The Importance of being Earnest. AsMcGlone observes, for the
firsttimeever,Mooneyhad‘anentireseasonplayingromanticparts.’(60)
MacLiammóirsawsomethinginherthattheAbbeydirectorsdidn’t;infact,
he saw something she had trouble seeing in the mirror. The woman
MacLiammóir remembers is unlike the dumpy persona she repeatedly
presentsofherself:
Small, with night-black hair and long, slow-glancing green eyes,shehad[…]acuriousintensitylikeasteadilyburninginnerfire,and her acting was poised, shapely and full of intelligence.(MacLiammóir167)
This intense woman was not only focused on acting; at some point she
presentedtheadaptationofWutheringHeightsthatshehadworkedonin
NewYorkwithfellowactorDonaldStauffer.MacLiammóirreadit,andwas
stunned, declaring it ‘by far the best I had ever read’ and noting how it
‘preservedtheessenceofEmilyBronte’smindintothefewfeetoftheGate
theatre.’ (MacLiammóir 167) He cast Mooney as Catherine Earnshaw,
takingtheroleofHeathcliffhimself.
Hugesuccesswasclose,butfragileself-esteemagainthreatenedto
mar her performance.Mooney believed that she was far from ‘an ideal
Catherine’onthebasisthatshewassimply ‘toosmall’andalsostruggled
withthefactthatshekneweverylineandcommainthescript.(Part1105)
As she had with Le Gallienne, Mooney drove herself on relentlessly, a
perfectionist intent on securing the right interpretation of each line and
eachgesture.Herdisciplinewasagiftbut itwasalsoanoose, strangling
her instincts. It wasMacLiammóir who nurtured and supported her. He
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coaxedher to focus onone line, oneobjective, one scene at a time and
easedherbackintoanassuredperformance.
The production was revived in February 1935, when the Irish
Independentcritic‘D.S’notedon13thFebruarythat,‘MissRiaMooneyhas
by a series of slight alterations considerably improved the original
adaptation of the famous novel.’ He also gave the acting honours to Ria
Mooney, and believed ‘her Catherine Earnshaw is greater than Emily
Bronte’s.’ (‘Wuthering Heights’ 6) The Irish Times reviewer that saw the
revivalechoedD.S.’sviewthatCatherineovershadowedHeathcliffinevery
scene,sayingMooneygave‘aperformanceofquiteremarkableforce,and
inthecourseofitsheneverseemstostrikeawrongnote.’(‘TheGate’8)
Nurturedintherehearsalroom,praisedbythecritics,exploringher
full potential, little could tempt Mooney away from the Gate. Except,
perhaps, for one thing: an influential male suitor. During an ‘At Home’
social soirée in 1934, Abbey Theatre Managing Director and poet F.R.
Higgins approached her with the news that they were recasting the
repertoireandwould like to includeher.Theoffer toenticeher included
leadingrolesandtopsalary,althoughinitiallyshewouldperformwiththe
secondcompany,asthefirstcompanywasontour.Mooneylaterclaimed
thatthisopportunitycameatatimewhenshewas‘temporarilyannoyed’
with the Gate directors, but there is no evidence this is anything but a
retrospectiverationalisationofherdecision.(Part1106)Somethingabout
the intervention of Higgins, in charming mode, caused a transformative
shift.Shewasalsoabouttoembarkonalongaffairwiththemarriedpoet.
TheSecondCompany
Buoyedby the regardofHiggins forher talentandher successat
theGate,Mooneynowfeltshecouldconfidentlycontributeherexperience
totheNationalTheatre.ShecamebacktotheAbbeywiththeexpectation
ofbeingaromanticlead,albeitintheNo.2Company,butitwasnotlong
before she was reminded that some of the Abbey Directorate would
foreverconsiderher‘theAbbeywhore’.EthelManninlaternotedthisjibe,
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whichshesawassimply‘good-natured.(ArringtonNLIAcc6548)However,
the identification of Mooney with the playing of prostitutes and other
unrespectablewomenwouldcontinuetoshapehercareerattheAbbey.
One of Mooney’s first castings was in the role of Mrs Katharine
O’SheainW.R.Fearon’splayParnellofAvondale.Inthis,shewasaskedto
performoneofthemostnotoriouswomeninIrishhistory:anEnglish-born
divorcéewhohadapublicaffairwithHomeRulechampionCharlesStewart
Parnell.Theaffair ledto thedownfallof thenationalistpolitical leader in
the1890s, andmanycontinued tobelieve thatO’Sheawasa spy for the
British government. Parnell’s enemies gave his lover the name ‘Kitty
O’Shea’,because‘Kitty’suggestedashorteningofKatharine,butwasalso
Englishslangforprostitute.Dismissingonceagainthescandalandhearsay,
Mooney immersed herself in the text and her role. Research included
visiting Avondale House, Parnell’s ancestral home, with Fearon. She
sensitivelyobservedthehouseanditsinhabitants:
We waited for ‘the girls’ in an over-furnished drawing-room …Thereweredanceprogrammeswithpencilsattached,paperfans,paperchains,antimacassarsonallthemanychairsandsofas,andphotosinframesallovertheroom.Severalofthesephotoswereof the great Irish Leader, but there was none of Mrs. O’Shea.(MooneyPart1108)
The‘girls’werethetwoMissParnells,whostilllivedintheVictorian
stone house in undulatingWicklowhills. This once grand homenow, for
Mooney, ‘seemed to reflect the fortunesof itsowners.’ (Part1108)The
groundswereuncaredfor,thestaffageingandtheinhabitantsrefusingto
live in the present. Both of the ‘girls’were disgusted at the sympathetic
presentationofMrsO’SheaintheplayandlookedonMooneyasaperson
with ‘ratherbadtaste’.(MooneyPart1108)Theymade itclearthatthey
could not understand how a respectable Irish woman would take it on.
Mooney notes with a touch of humour: ‘at least they presumed I was
respectable.’ (Part 1108) For her, notions of respectability had come to
mean little. It was always about interpreting the part the author had
created,givingthecharacterdignityandemotionaltruth.LennoxRobinson,
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as director, cast an actress he knew would relish the part rather than
worryingaboutthehistoricalreputation.
TheopeningsceneofFearon’splayfocusesonthefirstmeetingof
ParnellandKateO’Shea.Mooneyworeanineteenth-centurydressinblack
velvetandchiffon that shehaddesignedandDenisCareyplayedParnell.
Fromthatfirstmeeting,theactionshiftstoWilliamO’Shea’sdiscoveryof
hiswife’saffairandtheplayconcludeswithParnell’sdownfall.AsMooney
observed,theaffairtakesprecedenceoverthepoliticsinFearon’splot.
TheIrishTimesrevieweron2ndOctoberthoughttheplaya‘gallant
failure’.HesaidthatCarey’s ‘physiquewasratheragainsthim’ intherole
buthewas‘competent’whileMooneywas‘excellent’.(‘NewPlay’6)Allof
the critics seemed incapable of seeing past the portrayal of Parnell as
something other, or somethingmore, than a patriotic political leader. A
young actress in the Abbey Experimental Theatre attended and was
mesmerisedbyMooney’sperformance.Sheremembered:
The play itself was little more than documentary, but theirportrayalscarried it toarevelationofpassionseldomseennow.(Finlay177)
In Fearon’s second version, Mrs O’Shea’s part was reduced and Parnell
made the central feature.16Mooneywas disgusted that the part became
nothingmore than ‘a dressed dummy’.(Part 1109) She believed Fearon
destroyed good drama for a political argument and points out, ‘This
productionwasquiteunsuccessful.’(MooneyPart1109)
RelationshipwithF.R.Higgins
OnboardingtheScythialinertotravelfromBelfasttoAmericawith
the Abbey Company in the autumn of 1937, RiaMooney hung over the
railing on deck with producer F. R. (Fred) Higgins. Three convoluted
paragraphs followthis scene in thememoir,asMooney tries toconvince
the reader that their relationship was a familial one—through mutual
relations inTrim,CountyMeath. (Part1113) It’sanattempttopersuade
16ThissecondproductionwasdirectedbyHughHuntinOctober1935
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thereader,andpossiblyherself,thatherconnectionwiththismarriedman
wasinnocuousandabovereproach.Inanappendixtothevolume,Higgins’
place in her heart is fully revealed: he presented her with a silver ring
sometime in the late 1930s. According to her own admission, Mooney
woretheringlikeaweddingtrothuntilthemetalworeaway.(Part1120)
InthecollectionofbooksbequeathedtotheNationalLibraryafter
her death is a book of Higgins’ poetry entitled Arable Holdings. It is
inscribed: ‘ToRia, inaCalifornian twilight, asamemoryofourAmerican
tour.’(MooneyNLIAcc6548)Thepoemhewroteduringthattour,‘AWish
forRia’,hungonthewallofherhideawaycottageinGlencree,Wicklowfor
decades.Knowingthattheirconversationonthatexposedandwindydeck
was not aboutmutual relations, one wants to ask: what did they speak
about?What drew them together? And how did this relationship shape
Ria’scareerandlife?
Higginshadlittlebutdisdainformostoftheactors,tellinghiswife:
Theyarereallylaughableintheirsnobbery,styleandbehaviour—all except Paddy, Delaney and Mulhern and Dossie—I talk tothesemostofall—theothersonlyannoyme.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
Hedoesn’tputMooney ineithergroup,butshe ismentionedelsewhere.
That sea crossing to the United States was a particularly choppy one,
rendering the actors bedbound with nausea. In one letter, Higgins
describedtohiswifehowhevisitedtheactorsintheirsickbedsandthen:
Dr Higgins and Nurse Mooney (she was the only woman whosurvived) went upstairs and […] played House, the boat stillheaving.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))
Mooney impressed himwith her strength ofmind, her focus and
poise.Higginswasdelicateandparanoid;hefearedbeingawayfromhome
anddoubtedhisabilitytocope.She,ontheotherhand,wasateasewith
travel andused tomaking thebestof strange surroundings. TheAtlantic
crossingwasn’tnewtoher;shecametobelievethatfreshairandexercise
onboardenabledapassenger toavoidnausea.Regrettably,her reaction
came later. In a cottage on the Aran Islands after a similarly choppy
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crossing,shewokeat4amtofindthewholebuildingheavingandbecame
violently ill. (MooneyPart185)Outwardly strongandworldly,Mooney’s
turbulentmomentswereprivate.
Mooney’s relationshipwithHigginsmayhavebegunearlier,but it
was strengthened during that long period travelling together from
September1937toMay1938.Totherestofthecompany,itwasanopen
secret. While Higgins was dour, rude and often spiteful, Mooney had a
child-likefrankness.Shehadaneasymannerwithstrangersandtheability
tomakefriendshipsandtofosterthem.Atthesametime,shewaserudite,
educated inEuropeantheatreandversed inAmerican literature, through
herexposuretotheHarlemRenaissance.Itmayneverbepossibletofully
explaintheromanticconnectionbetweentwohistoricalfigures,butthere’s
nodoubtthatMooneywasusefultoHiggins.Quiteapartfromhispersonal
demeanour,Higginswasapoetwithlittlepracticaltheatreexperience.
Since her appearance as Rosie Redmond, Mooney was detached
from the other devout Catholic actresses and actors. Now she had been
brought on tour with the first company, having been on stage with the
secondcompany forover threeyears,andshewasoutsideof theactors’
tight-knit circle.Althoughcloseenough tobeprivy towhatwasgoingon
withtheindividualactors,shedidnothaveparticularallegiancestoanyof
them. Such knowledge of personal details and Company gossip was the
kindof informationprizedbytheparanoidHiggins.Atthesametime,her
intimacywiththemantheotheractressesopenlydespisedcutherofffrom
closefriendship.Mooneywascomfortableforeversituatedsomewhereon
theoutsideofthegroup,anditsuitedHigginstohavehisloverthere.
McGlonedescribeshow,followingthedeathofYeats,Mooneyand
‘her poet stood together now at the head of the Abbey.’ (71)While the
imageisattractive,ithasnobasis.MooneymovedaroundbehindHiggins,
perhaps whispering in his ear while they spent the day in Glencree or
gently leading him in different directionswith a prepared argument and
presentationofaparticularscript,butshewasneverfullyvisibletothose
watchingHiggins’strategicmanoeuvers.
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NewYork:FortheSecondTime
OnarrivalattheEdisonHotel inNewYorkintheautumnof1937,
RiaMooneytooktoherhotelbed.TheAbbeyCompanywerestayinginthe
ArtDecohotelonWest47thStreet,merefootstepsfromTimesSquare,and
the others had recovered from their seasickness. Higgins, already under
strainfromthebusinessofthetour,wrote:
For the past two weeks, Ria Mooney is very sick. Doctorsattendinghere.(LuckyformesheisnotinTheFar-OffHills,whichisnow in its thirdweek.) Shehasgone completely limpand theDoctorscannotmakeoutwhatisthematter.(Higgins27,883(7))
Medicsfailedtodiagnoseanything;theillnessmaynothavebeenphysical.
The city had a difficult history for the actress and now she struggled to
cope with it. When she managed to get on stage, she was nothing but
miserableaboutherperformances.Decadeslater,on1stSeptember1953,
sherecalledthetimeandconfessedtofriendTheresaHelburn:
[A]ll the complexes I developed at the Civic Rep Theatre camecrowdingdownuponme.(YCALMss436)
MacLiammóir had nurtured her; the actors of the Abbey Companywere
toowrappedup intheirownaffairs.ArthurShieldstookHigginsontothe
roofgardenofthehotel,twenty-twofloorsupwithaviewoverthelights
of Broadway, and at times dosed him with bromide to calm his nerves.
(Higgins27,883(7))Higginscouldn’tsupportMooney,norcouldtheother
actresses,whohadnounderstandingofthefearthatseizedheronarrival
backtotheplacewhereLeGalliennehadaffectedherconfidencesobadly.
Mooney’s illness in the Edison Hotel coincided with the opening of the
AbbeyCompany’sfirstplayonBroadway:TeresaDeevy’sKatieRoche.
TeresaDeevyandplayingKatieRoche
Inthespringof1935,athin,severe-lookingwomanarrivedoffthe
trainfromWaterfordandheadedfortheAbbeyTheatre.Shereachedthe
theatrejustintimetotakeherseatbeforetheorchestrafinishedandthe
curtainrose.Anyexcitementshe’dfeltonthejourneydissipatedrapidlyin
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thehalf-empty audience. Teresa (Tessa)Deevywas there to see the first
performance of her one-act play The King of Spain’s Daughter and was
accompanied by her sister, Nell. Yet, the programmenotes didn’tmatch
the script she’d submitted and the characters that appeared differed
fundamentally fromthoseshe’dcreated. (DeevyTCDMss10722/8)Tessa
continuedtowatch.Shewatchedfacialexpressions,physicalgesturesand
movements,bothof thoseon the stageand in theaudiencearoundher.
Wherepossible,shereadthe lipsof theperformers.Thewordswereher
own,buttheintonationindecipherable.Despitehowintentlyshewatched,
herdeafnessmeantthatTeresa(Tessa)Deevycouldneverunderstandall
thatwasgoingonaroundher.
Although she’d been submitting plays to the Abbey for over a
decade and had shared first prize in the Abbey Theatre new play
competition in 1932, the Waterford native had thought carefully about
attendingthatperformanceofTheKingofSpain’sDaughter.Shewroteto
herfriend,fellowwriterFlorenceHackett:
I'mafraidnowIshan'tbeuptoseeitinDublin.Faresaresohigh,andtheplayissotinyathing-Thenitwouldmeanstayinganightor so in Dublin - all runs to so much money. (Deevy TCD Mss10722/6)
Whenshechangedhermindanddidtravel,itwasadistressingexperience:
Thehousewaswretched!Youcouldcountthepeople.Ithinktheproduction was good, but the producer’s interpretation of theplaywasverydifferentfrommyconceptionofit.(DeevyTCDMss10722/8)
ProducerFredJohnsonhaderadicatedthe ‘gayair’ thathadbeencentral
to her composition. The ‘light-hearted youth’ she’d called JimHarriswas
now a cruel, careworn man and Mrs Marks ‘a weary apathetic woman,
beatenbytheworld’whileshehadenvisioned‘thebiggenialmothersort.’
(Deevy TCD Mss 10722/8) For Deevy, the only source of solace was that
whenthecentral figure,AnnieKinsella,appearedonthegrassy roadside:
‘Shewasgood,verygood.’(DeevyTCDMss10722/8)Theromanticdreamer,
Annie,wasaged‘abouttwenty’andworeunderherdarkshawlareddress.
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(Deevy The King 23) The actress didn’t have the golden hair Deevy
describedinthescript:shewasplayedbyRiaMooney.
FrankO’Connor,writerandboardmember,hadbeeninterestedin
Deevy’s work since her early submissions. After she wrote Temporal
Powersin1932,hesoughtDeevyoutinthelobbyoftheAbbeytotellher:
I was enchanted by the technique of your play, its deliciousinvention and steady, perfectly controlled progression, itsmasterly climax without a hint of theatre. (Deevy TCD MSS10722/81)
Deevy reliedonher sisterNell to interpret. Shehadbeendeaf since the
age of twenty and although her lip-reading was proficient, her work is
markedbyanabidingfascinationwithhowpeopleconsistentlytryandfail
tofullycomprehendeachother.Intheearly1930s,shewrotetoafriendto
commendaplayshe’dread.Itgivesaninsightintohersenseofdrama:
firstofalldelight in theatmosphere - thedelicious turnof theirtalk-theabsurdityandrealityofthemall.(DeevyTCDMSS10722/1)
The real conflict, as she sees it, is in the ‘actionof the soul.’ (DeevyTCD
MSS10722/1) InwritingTheKingof Spain’sDaughter,Deevy focusedon
the ‘April day atmosphere’ and on holding the absurdity and reality of
Anne Kinsella in careful balance. (Deevy TCD MSS 10722/8) Johnson
eradicatedthefirst,bychangingthesettingtothesummer.Annie’sspirit
was left to Mooney to portray. Joseph Holloway, who attended the
opening night, was uncertain about the play, saying it had ‘an unusual
theme’.(HollowayNLIMss1971)ButHollowaywasconvincedthat itwas
Mooney’s acting which ‘made it seem almost a masterpiece’ as she
‘revealedallthedepthoffeeling.’(HollowayNLIMss1971)
Asalways,Mooneycommittedherselftointerpretingthecharacter
as conceived by the author. The difficulty with playing Annie Kinsella, a
woman forced to choose between indentured labour in the local factory
andmarriage,isthatsheisconsistentlynothingexceptinconsistent.Infact,
the entire script ofTheKingof Spain’sDaughter tends somuch towards
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hyperbole that it’s difficult to read it as a serious situation. Annie is
incapableofrememberingaccuratelythebrideshehasjustseen:
ANNIE. ItwasinpalegoldIsawher.JIM. (Furious)An’ in shimmerin’ green, an’ in flamin’
red,an’inmilk-whitewhenitwillsuityou!(DeevyTheKing28)
Annie’swhimsyoftenslipsintoignorance,andherfancifulimaginationinto
deceit. So much so that, on reading, one can empathize with Jim’s
impatienceandherfather’sanger.However,allindicationssuggestthatit
wasMooney’s subtle talents that gave the character such presence. Her
workonBernard’sL’InvitationAuVoyagemeantthatsheunderstoodhow
toworkwithanapparentabsenceofdrama.SchooledbyLeGallienne in
observingtheslightestshiftsofhumour,intracingemotionalshiftsingear
sothattheyflowedeffortlessly,Mooneywasoneofthefewactressesthat
couldbringasenseofcoherencetotherole.
Given this success with Deevy’s material, it may have been
expected thatMooneywouldbe cast as the leading lady inDeevy’snext
play Katie Roche. However, in 1936 she was cast as the ‘odd little’
unmarriedwomanAmeliaGregg,whois‘somethingoverfifty’andlivesin
fearthatthemarriageofherbrotherwillleaveherhomeless.(DeevyKatie
25) The title role was given to Eileen Crowe and the part of Stanislaus
Gregg, her new husband, to F.J. McCormick. The casting is noteworthy
because it gave the role of a young single Irish female seeking
independence toamarriedwoman:EileenCrowewasmarried todevout
CatholicF.J.McCormick.Onstage,theAbbeydirectoratecouldbeseento
exploreideasoffemaleindependence.Butitwasalwaysinthecontextof
maledecision-makingpowerandshelteredby theoff-stage realityof the
Catholic institution ofmarriage. The play has been discussed in detail in
chaptertwo,butsomedetailsmaybeusefullyrepeatedhere.
Katie Roche explores the same subjects as The King of Spain’s
Daughter in amore protracted form. As the play opens, in the home of
AmeliaGregg,theservantKatieiscontemplatingenteringtheconvent.At
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the same time, she wavers on the idea of marriage to a number of
different men. Katie’s social position is more complicated than Annie
Kinsella’s because of her parentage: hermother was unmarried and the
identityofherfatherremainsamysterytoherformostoftheplay.Stan’s
proposalofmarriagecomeswiththeconfessionthathelovedhermother.
As inTheKing of Spain’sDaughter, there is futile and endless vacillation
betweenchoices,noneofwhichofferKatieanykindofmeaningfulfuture.
KATIE. (goestohim).Isitmetobethewomanbehindyou?Ahelpatyourwork?Isthatwhatyouwant?(Eager.)
STAN. You might indeed: you very well might (socondescendingthatsheisrepulsed).(DeevyKatie40)
AmeliaGregg functions only to point up the other option to Irish
women: unmarried, she manages her brother and the house like his
mother. The spinster sister both welcomes the new wife as an ally and
fears her as a competitor with the power to put her out of the house.
Often,AmeliaandStanspeakofKatieasifsheisarecalcitrantchild:
AMELIA. No, -- but Imean, she does her best. She’s a bravelittlesoul.(DeevyKatie108)
In the play’s final moments, when Stan has ordered Katie to
accompany him to Dublin and she is ‘bitter’ and ‘full of self pity’, it is
Ameliawhourgesheron.Sheencourageshertobebrave,insisting:
AMELIA. […] If you’re brave, you can make it grand. My
dear,youmust!(DeevyKatie113)
Katieleaves‘exultant’and‘almostgaily’,whileAmeliaislefttowatchher
fromthedoorway,asifcontemplatingthemiseryofherownpredicament
incomparison.(DeevyKatie113)
Katie’s triumphantdeparturewithherviolenthusbandhasalways
drawn the focus of readers and critics. It can be overlooked that in
performance,thefinalimageleftbyDeevyis:‘AMELIAstandsatthedoor,
looking after her.’ (Deevy Katie 114)With Crowe andMcCormick in the
wings,RiaMooneyheldthestage.As theunmarried,solitaryAmelia,she
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was left to contemplate the position of Irish women, their lives, their
optionsandtheircapacityto‘makeitgrand’.(DeevyKatie113)
Deevy travelled to Dublin inMarch 1936 to spend a few days in
rehearsal with the Abbey Company before Katie Roche premiered. She
thought the new English producer, Hugh Hunt, to be young but full of
enthusiasmandwasstruckwith the industryand friendlinessof thecast.
Oncetheplaywas‘safelyover’shecouldreflectonthewholeexperience
andtoldFlorenceHacketton5thApril: ‘all this looksas ifyouareright in
sayingthat“Katie”ismybest.’(DeevyTCDMss10722/15)
Deevyhadalwayshopedthatoneofherplayswouldbebroughtto
AmericabytheAbbeyCompany. (DeevyTCDMss10722/12) In1937, the
successofKatieRocheinDublinledtheboardtochoosetheplaytoopen
therepertoireandtheUStourinNewYork.Butthesubtleexplorationof
femaleindependencewasnotpopularwithAmericanaudiences.TheNew
YorknewspaperDailyMirrorwasquicktopickuptheerrorofthatdecision,
reporting on the Abbey’s ‘half-hearted struggle with Teresa Deevy's
shadow of a play Katie Roche, which they unwisely, we think, chose to
opentheircurrentrepertoryengagementhere.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/231)
InNewYork,theAbbeywasassociatedwiththegentlehumourof
comedies suchasRobinson’sTheFar-OffHillsor the traditional charmof
Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. Calling it a ‘shadow’ of a play
suggestsnot that theyweredisturbedby thepatriarchalviolenceof Irish
society,butthattheyfailedtograsptheissuesatstakeandthesubtletyof
Deevy’swriting.Asmentionedabove,Mooneywasstrugglingtoleaveher
hotelbedroomandKatieRochewasdisappointingtheAmericanfansofthe
Company. Higgins decided to replace the play with more crowd-friendly
fare,andfulldetailsofthefailureonBroadwayneverreachedDeevy.
Mooney had inhabited the romantic idealism of Deevy’s heroines
andalsoknewtheharshrealityofthetreatmentofIrishwomen.Shewas
orderedbyErnestBlythetodirecttheplayin1949,andinaneatreversal
ofhistoryshecastEileenCrowe(theoriginalKatie)asAmeliaGregg.Inthat
instance, the nine-week run was a success, making Deevy ‘feel like a
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millionaireforthetimebeing.’ (DeevyTCDMSS10722/49)Mooney,then
thetheatre’sDirectorofPlaysinEnglish,describeditasa‘beautifulplay,’
whichshealwaysthoughtofwith‘tearsinmyheart.’(Part290)
TheWomenofJ.M.Synge:Pegeen&WidowQuin
ManyIrishactressesaspiretoplayallthefemalepartsinO’Casey’s
ThePloughandtheStars inthecourseofalifetime:progressingfromthe
prostituteRosie to newbrideNora, toMrsGogan and finally the elderly
Mrs Burgess covers a life span of performing. For Mooney, her career
progressionbroughtherthroughallthepartsinSynge’sThePlayboyofthe
Western World. With different casts, Mooney played the minor parts:
Honor Blake (1926), Susan Brady (1928/1932) and Nelly Reilly (1936)
beforeher castingasPegeenMike (MargaretFlaherty) in1937. She took
on the role for the US tour that opened that autumn, but the
interpretation that impressed Yeats was largely ignored by US critics.
DuringtheAbbeyTheatreFestivalofIrishDramainAugust1938,sheagain
played Pegeen, this time opposite Arthur Shields as ChristopherMahon.
(Abbey Theatre Database) An important celebration of the Abbey, the
festivalwasalso,inretrospect,afinaltributetoYeats.Tobechosentoplay
Synge’sPegeenat theeventwasanhonourandprivilege. Itwas the last
timesheperformedforYeatsbeforehisdeathinFranceinJanuary1939.
ThereisoneportraitofRiaMooneyhangingintheAbbeyTheatre,
butit isvisibleonlytoperformersandstagehands.Theportraitcurrently
hangs on the wall between dressing rooms two and three (the Ladies’
dressing rooms). The portrait was painted by Gaetanno de Gennaro and
shows, in shocking bright colours, a rounded, beautiful Mooney as the
WidowQuin in 1943. That productionwas designed by Seán Keating, an
establishedartistMooneypersuadedBlythetoemploy.(McGlone78)
In her memoirs, the actress writes of wearing a Spanish-style
tortoiseshellcombinherhairandanembroideredshawltoreferencethe
SpanishdescentofGalwaywomen. (Part271)Keatingwaschargedwith
erroneous costuming,butMooneywas convincedof its authenticity. The
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portrait shows no comb and around her shoulders, there is a traditional
plaidshawl.WhentheproductionopenedonStStephen’sDay1942,both
YeatsandHigginsweredead.(Mooney’sloverpassedsuddenlyinJanuary
1941.)Shewasfacing intoanewyearand launching intoanewphaseof
hercareer.People,deGennaro included,wouldcontinuetooverlookthe
life,imaginationandcolourshebroughttotheIrishstage.
ElizabethConnor,UnaTroyandMountProspect
InMay 1940,Mooney spent amorning trying towrite a letter to
playwright Una Troy to thank her for the gift of an evening bag.Mount
Prospect:ATragedy inThreeActshadbeen stagedat theAbbeyTheatre
weeksearlierandMooneyplayedthecentralroleofMrsKennefick.After
throwingawaytwodrafts,shewrotethefollowing:
You really are much too generous because I feel, honestly andtrulyindebttoyouforhavingwrittenitandtoFrankDermodyforfightingforthepartforme. It’smeantaverygreatdealtome, Ihaven't had such compliments since I was in the Gate, in fact,numbersofpeoplehadforgottenIcouldactuntiltheysawmeas‘MrsK’--soit’sIwhoshouldsendpresents.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))
Despitetheusualmannerlygratitudeofanactresstoaplaywright,thereis
paininheradmissionthatothershadforgottenherskills.Somequalityof
thisplaywright’sworkcapturedMooney’slatenttalentandre-inspiredher;
theplay,anditsprovenance,offeredhersomethingvital.
The adjudicators of the Abbey Play Competition that year were
George Shiels and P.S. O'Hegarty, assisted by Brinsley MacNamara.
AccordingtoTheIrishIndependent,thefirstprizewassharedbetweenaW.
D. Hepenstall (from Greystones) whose play Today and Yesterdaywas a
comedy of modern Irish life and Connor’sMount Prospect, a tragedy of
middle-class life in an Irish provincial town. (Troy NLI Mss 35,687 (9))
ConnortravelledfromClonmeltoaccepttheprizeandshehadlunchwith
LennoxRobinsonintheUnicornrestaurantthefollowingday.Althoughthe
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prizeoffiftypoundswassharedequally,someweekslater,on12February
1940,RobinsoncorrespondedprivatelywithConnortosay:
[I]t should of course have the whole prize, but we Directorspreferred to leave the judgment to other people and so couldonly accept their opinions. […] I think you have written atremendousplay.Yourwomaninit isasgreat,andgreater,thanStrindberg’sTheFather.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))
Robinsonwasalreadyconcernedaboutcasting theeldestsonand
DermodyhadtofightforMooneytohavetherole.(Therewereactresses
closer inage to thecharacter, suchasCraigandDelaney.)Butwithparts
assigned,theplaywasstagedforthefirsttimeinApril1940.Itdrewgood
houses and played for a second week. London Tatler attended the
premiereanddeftlysummarisedhowtheplay‘dealswithakindoffemale
TartuffeintheIrishbogs’andhad‘setDublintalking.’(TroyNLIMss35,687
(9))InattendancethatnightwereLordLongford(oftheGateTheatre)and
wife;BrinsleyMacNamara;thepainterCharlesLamb(arelativeofConnor);
theLennoxRobinsons,‘aninterestingpair’;HigginsandMrsGeorgeYeats,
‘Dublin'smostinveteratefirst-nighter’.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))
Muchof the talkabout theplay centredon the fact that theplay
was based on a novel that had been banned in Ireland by the Censor,
before being published in England. All of the action takes place in the
drawingroomofagrandhouse–‘MountProspect’–inanIrishprovincial
town. Robinson believed the playwright captures ‘all the quality of
snobbish,country,countyCork.’(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))
ThefirstscenestagesthereadingofMrKennefick’swill,whenthey
learnthehouseistobesharedbyhissecondwifeandstepsonRexwithhis
children fromhis firstmarriage,PeterandMary.Earlyon,MrsKennefick
revealsherattachmenttoherhome:
MrsKennefick:IwassoproudwhenIcameherefirstasEdward'swife--asyouknow,Kate,Iwaspastthirtyandnothandsomeatmy best and it seemed as if God had forgotten me. And then,after all, he made me Mrs Kennefick of Mount Prospect. Thishousehasbeenmyhomeforsolong-I'veworkedandcaredforitfortwenty-threeyears-Ifeelit’salivewithme...(TroyMountProspect8NLIMss35,687(9))
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Gradually,thestrangetendenciesofPeterandMarybecomeapparentand
the audience is left guessing to the motives of all involved. Sharing the
house,asMrKennefickwished,seemsanimpossibleresolution.Mooney’s
characterisapiousmemberoftheLegionofMaryandtheVincentdePaul
society,whorulesherchildrenwithmedicine,eggflipandadomineering
presence. In thenovelonwhich theplay isbased sheopenlydeclares: ‘I
couldneverliveoutofIreland,Rex.Mykindwouldnevergetonawayfrom
here.’(TroyProspectNovel544NLIMss36,685(2))
WhilePeterstrugglestorunthesolicitors’officeinheritedfromhis
father,Rexiscarousing.PeterinsistsRexislazyanduseless;MrsKennefick
argues Peter works too hard and needs to find help. She embodies
practicalsenseandmaternaldevotion.MrsKennefickalwaysknowswhat
isbestforherstep-children,asshealoneholdsthesecretoftheirinherited
madness.Tensions risewhenword reachesMountProspect thatagirl in
thevillageispregnantwithRex’schild,althoughshehadbeendatingother
meninabidtoconcealherstate.Yet,contrarytotheconventionalending
inwhichtruemotivesmayberevealedandevilforcesousted,thingstakea
different turn.Thepregnancy subplot isneatly sidesteppedwitha timely
motorcaraccident,sothatallfocusremainsonthefamilyunit.HughHunt
calledDeevy’sIrelanda‘twilightworld’ofromanticfemaledreamers,but
Connor’scountrysideisaplaceasblackasnight.(157)
ConnorunderstoodthesocialpressuresonIrishwomenduringthis
time.Tosome,shewasMrsWalsh,wifetotheGPinClonmelinTipperary.
Toothers,shewasthebannednovelistElizabethConnor,withavidreaders
across theUK and Europe. Toher family of artist relations, shewasUna
Troy: the name she was given at birth. Reading the plot of her banned
novelMountProspectalongside theplay reveals thehighlyaccomplished
nature of the adaptation, dramatizing material that could be staged
without scandal while still holding an audience’s attention. Her subtle
touch shapes each of her female characters into fascinating individuals:
strong,dynamicwomen. Ineach case, there is amarkedgap, adramatic
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space,betweenwhotheyareandwhotheypurporttobe.Earlyintheplay,
Mrs Kennefick confesses to a female friend the strain of motherhood:
‘Sometimes I get so tired, thinking of others… But I shouldn’t say that.’
(TroyMountProspect10NLIMss35,687(9))
In the novel, Mary is a married woman who has left Mount
Prospect with her husband. Hermarriage is unhappy, however, and she
realizes that the feminine ideal she has worked to achieve bores her
husband.Shehasanepiphany:
At least, she knew now that she could make no change in herhusband;shecouldchangeonlyherself.(TroyProspectNovel468NLIMss36,685(2))
After much thought, Mary decides there is only one remedy for her
‘agonizingly dull’ union: ‘She must, of course, commit adultery.’ (Troy
ProspectNovel469NLIMss36,685(2))
Marital infidelityandfemaleemancipationofanykindareexcised
from the play. In the stage adaptation, Mary is a fragile girl, almost a
prisonerathome.ShewantstobecomeadoctorandtellsMrsKennefick:
Mary. I could you know,Mother. I gotmyMatric at schooland it would be quite easy – … I want to go away. Iwantalifeofmyown.(TroyMountProspectAct1Scene2NLIMss35,687(9))
Despite opposition, Mary does talk back to her stepmother. Unlike the
idealistic and hopelessly imaginative heroines penned by Deevy, Connor
writeswise and cunningwomen,who seeboundaries that canbe gently
pokedwithoutfulltransgression.Atonepoint,shesharesthisexchange:
MrsKennefick. You'renotfittedforthisworld,child.Mary. Whounfittedme?
(TroyMountProspectAct1Scene2NLIMss35,687(9))
At the same time, the violence of the novel is tempered for the
stage. In the book, Peter kills Rex in a clear display of the ‘strength of
insanity’. (TroyProspectNovel558NLIMss36,685(2))Whentheygather
athisbedsideinthefinalscene,MrsKennefickisconvulsedwithgriefand
‘Maryreeled,swayedandleantheavilyonthebed.’Thefinalorderisthen
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amaternalpleadrivenby love,griefanddesperation,anddelivered in ‘a
croakingwhisper’:‘Mary...takeyour...handsoffthe...whitequilt.’(Troy
ProspectNovel563NLIMss36,685(2))
Intheplay,Petertakingouthisrageonthedrawingroomfurniture
isthemostviolentsectionoftheaction.MrsKennefickwatchesfromaside,
calmandstately. In the final lineofdialoguebefore thecurtain falls, she
requests the drawing room door be closed lest the servants overhear.
Frompagetostage,thereisaclearshiftinemphasisfromfemaledesireto
social propriety. Connor couldn’t stage female emancipation, but she
presentedfemalepowerinaformpalatabletotheAbbeydirectorate.
ThetheatrecriticfromtheIrishTimeswasstunnedby‘thegripand
compulsion of the moving and very human story’ on 23 April 1940 and
hopedtheproductionsignalled‘therebirthoftheseriousplayintheAbbey
Theatre.’(‘Abbey’4)GabrielFallonthoughtMooney’sperformance‘oneof
her best’ but dismissed the character of Mrs Kennefick as ‘almost fully
drawnandnearlycredible.’(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))Robinson’sreadingof
thecharacter(quotedabove)ismoreastute:sheisacomplex,unflinching
portraitofanIrishwomaninfullcontrolofherhome,herfamilyandher
future. The audience’s sympathy for the widow is manipulated by the
playwrightateverystepoftheaction.
MountProspectisadarkandeeriethriller,amorbidanalysisofIrish
small-town society and a callous dissection of the Irish mother figure.
WhileElizabethConnorwouldgoontofuturesuccesswithhernovels,itis
ahugelosstotheNationalTheatrethatsheshiftedherattentionfromthe
stage.SheunderstoodthatthestageoftheAbbeyTheatrewasnotaspace
for the things she wrote about in her fiction: female emancipation,
infidelityandpower.MaryKennefickcanmeddlewithsuchissuesbecause
shewillbedeclared‘mad’attheendoftheplay.
The part of Mrs Kennefick presented Mooney with a challenge
worthyofhertalents,andsherosetoit.Foraroleofsimilarstature,she
hadtowait forMrsTyrone inEugeneO’Neill’sALongDay’s Journey Into
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Night.Thatproductionopenedin1959,buttherewouldbechallengesina
differentformbeforeshereturnedtothestageasaperformer.
TheAbbeySchoolofActing
Intheautumnof1935,RiaMooneywasappointedtheDirectorof
theAbbeySchoolofActing.Robinson’salcoholismhadbecomeintolerable,
but those who expected M. J. Dolan to replace him were surprised by
Mooney’s designation. Given her history with the school and her
experience in New York, it was a position to which she knew she was
ideallysuited.Italsobroughtinanadditionalsalary,whileshecontinuedto
performwiththeCompanyonthemainstage.
Afterrehearsingduringtheday,Mooneytrampeddownthestairs
tothePeacockTheatre,thesmallerstudioonthesamesiteastheAbbey,
to leadclasses.Shebeganthetermwithhighideals,someofwhichwere
lost in the daily toil necessary to keep the school operating. In February
1936, shepresented to theboardhernew scheme for the school,which
included classes in the theory of acting, the practice of acting and a
separate class for the juvenile leads. (Minute Books NLI Acc 3961) The
schemewasunanimously accepted, aswasherproposal that SaraPayne
(with a musical accompanist) give a class once a week in rhythmical
movement.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)
Frank O’Connor would repeatedly interfere in her work, but
Mooneydismissedherirritationwiththeintrusiontofocusonrecapturing
therespectfulobservationandgentlementoringthatshehadexperienced
at the Civic Repertory in New York. Students, she insisted, should be
allowedtofeeltheirwayintoparts.Theyshouldbeallowedtoexperiment
witheverykindofrole,eventhosethatmaynotostensiblysuitthem.
In a step outside ofO’Connor’s comprehension,Mooney directed
her charges with what she termed ‘poor movements’, or inadequate
stagingandgestures.Thiswasbasedonthetheorythattheirconceptionof
thecharactercouldnotthenrelyonoutwardgesturesormovements.The
student had to focus on fully inhabiting themindof the character.Once
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completely secure and confident in the interior life of the character,
Mooney would assist the young actors with natural and minimal
movements.(Part269)Inhermemoirs,Mooneyreiteratesherbeliefthat
while only the ‘original creator’ could give somebody talent: ‘If you
couldn'tteachtoact,youcouldteachsomeoneHOWtoact.’(Part268)
Itisthehighesttributetoherworkduringthoselongeveningsthat
not only did many future stars of the Abbey stage emerge from her
tutelage, but the enthusiasm and professionalism of her charges
engenderedacompany.Adoptinga logothatmergedthetraditional Irish
wolfhoundswith amodern, geometric form, in 1937Mooney’s students
formedAET:theAbbeyExperimentalTheatre.
ExperimentingwithForm
The concept of an experimental theatre group at the Abbey had
beenintheairforsometime,butitwasonlyinthespringof1937thatthe
ideatookformalshape.MooneylearntthataseniorstudentattheSchool
ofActing,CecilFord,wasorganizingrehearsalsatnightwiththeintention
of a public production. At first, Mooney believed the endeavour was
prematurebutshewaswonoverbyFord’senthusiasmandindustriousness.
Together, director and student came to agree on a scheme for staging
playsbyforeignauthorsthatwerenotwelcomeattheAbbey.W.B.Yeats
thoughtof theAETas ‘a theatrewhichwould“tryout”plays rejectedby
theAbbey’.(Saddlemyer467)Robinsonlaterdismissedtheplaysstagedby
theAET as ‘not impressive’ but said that at least ‘the Theatre has never
beenguiltyofquenchingyoungtalent.’(Ireland’sTheatre154-5)
The students of the Abbey School financed this experiment
themselves. Each student was a shareholder in the Society, with small
weekly contributions constituting a share. They produced the plays,
designed their own sets, made and painted the scenery and, when
necessary, created theirowncostumes.Frontofhouse, they ran thebox
office,thepitcafé,andtheyusheredpeopletotheirseats.TheDirectorsof
the Abbey chose the plays and provided the Peacock Theatre free of
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charge.HughHuntandMooneyalsohadarighttovetoproductionsthat
didn’tmeetacertainstandard.(ThereisnoevidenceHuntwasinvolved.)
A photograph of the AET Group during the production of
Harlequin’sPositionsshowsatotaloffifty-eightstudentswithavastrange
inage:thirtysevenmenandtwentyonewomen.(Fitzgerald)Therewasa
smallmanagingcommittee,comprisingsixstudentsandRiaMooney.One
of those serving on the committee was amarried womanwith a young
family at home (Josephine Fitzgerald); another a young lady with an
ordinary day job (Shela Ward). George Yeats spoke of them all
affectionately,urgingherhusbandtosendatelegramtowishthemluck:
The‘Experimentalists’havebeenworkingwiththeenthusiasmoffanatics and the sense which fanatics do not usually possess.(Saddlemyer467)
The students directed the first productions (in April 1937), but in
1939MooneytookonthedirectionofJackYeats’Harlequin’sPositions.Ian
R.Walshproposesthatthisproductionofthefirstplayofthewell-known
artistwasapprovedbyHigginsafterthedeathofW.B.Yeats.(41)Infact,
weeksbeforethedeathofhisbrother,theplaywrightwasincontactwith
Mooneyabouttheproduction,orapossibleone.JackYeatssenthernotes
ofsceneswhileworkingonit,withthedisclaimer:‘Theyareprobablymuch
too elaborate, though they may be of use as suggestions.’ (Berg Mss
170B6454)Hecontinuedtosendlettersof inquiry,butrehearsalsdidnot
begin until April 1939. The followingmonth, he added some lines to the
script.Fourtimesheattendedrehearsals,‘eachtimewithmorerespectfor
thewaythecompanycarriedthedaysalong’.(Pyle154)
Harlequin’sPositionsostensiblypresentsaconventional‘strangerin
thehouse’plot,but itworks ina radicallydifferentmode. It’sadramatic
piecewholly dependent on images rather thanwords, verymuch in the
moderniststyle,andthusitappealeddirectlytoMooney’ssenseofcolour
and shape. From the first reading, Mooney felt Jack Yeats ‘could have
contributedasmuchtotheIrishtheatreashedidtoIrishpainting.’(Part2
111)Thestudentswereencouragedtorestricttheirmovementasmuchas
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possible and to speak the words with ‘intelligence and conviction.’
(MooneyPart 2111) The playwright himself believed that ‘acting’ in the
traditionalsensewouldbefataltothescript.Instead,‘dialoguemustflow
from one actor to another each becoming nothing but an agent and
putting all of Yeats into his words.’ (Pyle 154) The dialogue should be
nothingbutwords;theexpressiononlythatofthedramatist.
Mooney was a conduit between the playwright and cast. Both
writerandactorsneededconfidencebuildingaswellasadisciplinedhand.
Asshe introducedthestudents toa text theyhadneverseenthe likeof,
shehadtoendowthemwiththetechniquesandassurancetoworkinthis
radicallynewmode.Simultaneously,sheworkedwithYeatstoensureher
interpretationoftheworkwastohissatisfaction.Meanwhile,sheassured
theAbbeydirectorateof anupcoming success.Performing thisbalancing
actbetweenallinvolved,therewaslittletimetoconsidercritics’opinions.
Intheevent,the IrishTimes journalisttreateditasashowcasefor
the Experimental Theatre actors, saying ‘It givesnearly everymemberof
thecasttheopportunityofplayingaleadingpartinatleastoneofthefive
acts.’ (‘The Peacock’ 6) He lamented that parts of the play ‘might have
beenbetterinthehandsofmoreexperiencedperformers,’andopinedthe
playwas‘astrangepieceofmaterial.’(‘ThePeacock’6)
Mooney’s powers of persuasion, particularly after the death of
Higgins,hadtheir limits.WhenshedirectedJackYeats’playLaLaNoo in
May1942,theproductionwouldhaveonlyoneperformancetoproveitself.
That Sunday night, the curtain rose to show a dingy bar where seven
women had gathered to take shelter from the rain. Coming from the
nearbyathleticsports,thesewomenmeetastrangemanandthepublican.
There is much of the traditional ‘peasant quality’ familiar to the Abbey
audiencesinLaLaNoo,butalsomanydeparturesfromthisstyle.
Thecolourschemeofthesetisdistinctive.Thebaranddresserare
‘dingy blue’, at the window hangs a ‘dingy claret-coloured cotton half-
curtain’, and the door and outside shutter are ‘green’. (Yeats 1) Seven
women, ranging in age from nineteen to fourty-five, advance to the bar
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wheretwomensit.Yeatshasnotonlyconsideredthephysicalaspectsof
eachwoman,butheincludesnotesoncolour:onewears‘heathertweed’
andanothera‘greyfelthat’.(Yeats1)Thepublicanhasa‘slightlybluechin’
whilethestrangerdrinkingwithhimhasa‘red-greymoustache’.(Yeats1)
The traditional tale that seems tobeopeningup slips rapidly into
somethingclosertoabsurdism.Thedialoguedoesnotadvancetheplot;it
hinders it. SomecommentatorshavecalledYeats’drama ‘pre-Absurd’on
this basis. (Gaddis Rose 35) The women have meandering discussions
about American hats and bald men. The men’s conversations about
motorcars, bicycles and submarines have only the most tenuous of
connectiontotheaction.Atthesametime,Yeatsmeditatesonthemoral
issuesbroughtupbyWorldWarII,throughthemusingsofhischaracters:
1stWOMAN: [W]e are getting into the way of thinkingverylittleofalife.Holdingittoocheap. (LaLaNoo10)
Andlater:STRANGER: Theworldawayfromusthisdayisfullofterrible
cruelthings.(LaLaNoo23)
Mooney’sattractiontothepieceisevident—notonlyinthecolour-
scapeoftheset,butinthepainterlyarrangementofthewomenonevery
entrance,andthegentle,abstractprogressof theplotwith itsmodernist
agenda.MuchofJackYeats’philosophyondramaiscapturedinonelineof
dialogue.The ‘5thWoman’declares: ‘Dreamsdon'tgobycontraries.They
speak the truth.’ (La La Noo10) Regrettably,much of the audiencewas
confusedbytheending,whichpresentsthesenselessdeathofthestranger
ashetriestodrivetheothersaway.
If Jack Yeats’ drama was ‘dream-like’, his concept of drama was
concrete. Mooney had artistic vision; she understood his theories,
appreciatedhisartandherdevotiontohisworkwassteadfast.Despiteits
reception, Yeats knew how hard she had worked, without support from
Abbeydirectors.InalettertoMooneydated3February1944,hesaid:
I do certainly know that it was yourself who interested F.R.HigginssufficientlyinLaLaNootoputiton.(BergMss170B6454)
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Themorningafter thepremiere, JackYeatssentMooneyanote fromhis
FitzwilliamStreethome:
Thankyouverymuchfortheproductionyoumadeof‘LaLaNoo’tosaytheplaygot‘everychance’isnotquiteenough-youaddedto it. Anytime the opportunity comes Iwould like you to say tothecompanythatIbelieveeveryoneoftheplayersmadetheplay.(BergMss170B6454)
He insisted the play had been given every opportunity, but he knew it
hadn’tmade an impression on the board or on the audience,whowere
baffled.JackYeatstoldMooneyon3February1944thathebelieved:
any audience, whose skulls weren't filled with crumpledcellophane alone, and were well shepherded into a not-too-bigtheatre would get entertainment out of any of my plays - thatwere produced as well as La La Noo was produced. (Berg Mss170B6454)
Mooneycouldnotchangethecontentsofskulls,orconvinceinanyother
waythanhonouringthescriptinproduction.Shealsohadtorecognizethat
thelimitsofherinfluenceintheNationalTheatrewerebecomingapparent.
Thefollowingyear,JackYeats’playIntheSandwasrejectedandshecould
donothingforit.ItwasfinallystagedbytheExperimentalTheatregroupin
1949andwasnotprofessionallyproduceduntil1964.
TheGaietyTheatre
Ria Mooney always responded respectfully to strong leadership.
SeánO’Casey,EvaLeGallienne,W.B.YeatsandF.R.Higgins:Allrecognised
thetalentsofthisthoughtful,hard-workingactressandweretreatedwith
veneration in return. Ernest Blythe, however, who replaced Higgins as
ManagingDirectoroftheAbbeyTheatrein1941,testedherpatienceand
sappedherusuallyboundlessenergy.Underhim,sheenteredaperiod in
her career of gradual and painful disempowerment. Blythe was an ex-
MinisterofFinance,whohadearnedthepositionattheAbbeyasaresult
ofhissecuringthetheatre’sannualsubsidy.Buthehadlittletimeforthe
‘poetryoftheatre’thatMooneyprized;hewasintentonusingthetheatre
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to resurrect Irish as the national language. He viewed the Abbey as ‘an
instrumentofnationaldefence.’(Dowling163)
The general gloom ofWorldWar II and the Irish Emergency was
extending over Dublin, and now when Mooney escaped to her hut in
GlencreeattheweekendsitwastogrieveinprivateforHiggins.Although
shestruggledthroughafewproductionsunderBlythe,bothasdirectorand
performer,shewasreadytoleavetheinstitution.Achancecamewhenthe
ManagingDirector of theGaiety Theatre decided to start his own acting
school.Mooneyappliedfortheposition.
A portrait of Louis Elliman, once the Managing Director of the
twelve-hundred-seatGaietyTheatreatthetopofGraftonStreet,stillhangs
abovethestairsleadingtothedresscircle.Theglasscovercatchesthelight
ofthechandeliersandalmostobscuresthethinfaceandbaldheadofthe
painter’ssubject.Ellimanhasanaquilinenoseandwearsasuitmoresuited
toanundertakerthanatheatremogul.Thisseriousexpressionchallenged
Mooneywhileitalsopromisedfullsupportforthisventure.Soon,shewas
auditioningfivehundredapplicantsforthegroupofyoungperformersthat
wouldbeexposedtohertechniquesformentoringtalent.
Although a touch resentful of being pressurised to show results
soonerthanplanned,MooneyrosetoElliman’ssummonsandstagedafull-
scaleproductionofHeijermann’sTheGoodHope.Shehadbeencastinthis
play at the Civic Repertory, and again would draw on Le Gallienne’s
technique and the confidence this experience gave her. Therewere two
castsunderherdirection:oneperformedfortheSundaymatineeandthe
second for the evening performance. To cater for the students without
parts in the main show, she directed Robinson’s one-act play Crabbed
Youth and Age to be performed on the same day. After her retirement,
MooneystillcouldnotconcealthedelightshefeltwhenEllimanchidedher
for putting professionals on the stage and claiming theywere amateurs.
(Part269)
Mooney’s workload was continually dictated by her desire to
expresshercreativitywhilealsoearningenoughmoneytosustainnotonly
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herselfbutnowherfamilydependentsalso.Thus,whilerunningtheGaiety
SchoolofActingsheacceptedworkfromRoibéardO’FaracháinandAustin
Clarke in theirDublinVerse Society. Thepositionwaseffectively a ‘stage
manager’, blockingmovement, and it increased herworkload to at least
forty-two hours aweek. Butwithmuch of her days spent drilling young
actorsinmovement,shewashappytoworksolelywithlanguageandverse
inthisadditionaltask.
Asadirector,Mooney’svisualsensehadalwaysbeenprimary.This
period of working intensely with actors and verse drama reinforced her
understanding of how actors use rhythm and voice. Mooney had learnt
vocal technique directly from W. B. Yeats, when performing his verse
dramas, and now she had thematurity to reflect on his teaching. Yet, it
seemsinevitablethatshewouldquicklygrowrestlesswiththestrictform
andleavethesociety(newlychristenedtheLyricTheatre).
Onceagain,timeawayfromtheAbbeyTheatrehadgivenMooney
time to heal her broken heart, after Higgins’ death.With thewar finally
over,lifepromisedbetterthings.MacLiammóirandEdwardsre-stagedher
adaptationofWutheringHeightsattheGaietyandtwoyearslater,shewas
askedtodirecttheLondonproductionofO’Casey’snewplayRedRosesfor
Me.Todate,shehaddirectedonlythreeprofessionalproductionsonthe
Abbeymainstageandanumberof studentproductions.BronsonAlbery,
whohadcometoDublin toengageadirector forRedRoses forMe,may
haveseenaburgeoningtalent.Alternatively,hemayhavenotedthatshe
wasoneofthefewpeoplepreparedtoworkwiththeirascibleplaywright.
Mooney’s devotion toO’Caseyhadnotwavered sincehe assisted
her stint looking for work in London in the 1920s. Now, she took to
correspondingwithhimregularlybyletterandeventuallyvisitinghisfamily
homeinDevontodiscussherideasforstagingRedRosesforMe.Working
patiently but determinedly with him to make cuts in the script and to
inculcate the cast in the uncompromising expressionismof some scenes,
shewaslargelycreditedwiththesuccessoftheplay. ItraninLondonfor
seventeenweeks.Mooneybecameannoyedbyalackofdisciplineamong
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theactorsastherunprogressed,buttheproductionestablishedherasa
directorofnote.Doorsmayhavebeenopened in theUKby thesuccess,
but Mooney had an agreement with Elliman. She returned to Dublin to
stageanotherversionofRedRosesforMeattheGaietyTheatre.
In1947,Mooneyhadadelight tingedwithnostalgiawhenanold
charge from Le Gallienne’s company of apprentices arrived in Dublin for
her new cast. BurgessMeredith, now anAmerican star of the stage and
screen,hadbeencast in the leading role inWinterset,aplaybyMaxwell
Anderson.His glamorouswife PauletteGordon accompaniedhim toplay
opposite him. Also turning up for rehearsals under her direction at the
Gaiety were her old mentor Michael MacLiammóir and seasoned actor
Anew McMaster. She was finally granted casts and production budgets
worthyofherexperience,butinhermemoir,Mooneygivestheimpression
thatshewasnotoverlyenamouredwithherpoweras ‘director’. Instead,
Mooney enthuses about the latest developments in light and sound
technology. (Part 2 84) Immersed in the process, she had little time to
reflectonherachievements.Andasalwayswiththeatre,thepleasureofa
successfulrunendedalltoosoon,leavingheronceagainatacrossroads.
Burgess Meredith wanted to include Mooney in his plans for a
theatrecompanyinHollywood,whiletheEnsembleTheatreinLondonhad
sought her out as a potential teacher of actingwith the responsibility of
directingeverythirdplay.Shehadestablishedaninternationalreputation
butMooneyknewboththethrillandpainfulrealityofsuchtenuousoffers;
andshewasno longeryoungenoughto liveonginandchocolateasshe
had inherearlyadventures. (JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)As she
pondered this dilemma and the potential implications of leaving Dublin,
the Abbey Theatre entered stage left again, this time in the person of
RoibéardO’Faracháin.Mooneyalwaysclungtothenarrativeofthetheatre
thathadcompelledher fromayoungage.Shehadaffixedanarrativeof
magical import, of real significance, to the Irish National Theatre. She
sought to position herself as a part of that tradition and that story; no
matterhowgrimtherealitythatremainedherambition.
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O’FaracháinhadnoposttoofferMooneywhenheapproachedher.
Indeed, the board were seeking a Director of Plays fluent in the Irish
language;butthenotionofMooneyleavingthecountrytousehertalents
elsewhereleftthemdisgruntled.Theboardsomehowagreedtoofferhera
position, most likely consenting to Blythe’s demand that it be a holding
positionuntilanIrishspeakerpresentedhimself.ForBlythe,hiringMooney
was a strategicmove to assist in silencing the criticism appearing in the
newspapers in1947.Theminor scandal followed in thewakeofValentin
Iremonger'soutburstfromthestallsoftheAbbeyaboutthequalityofthe
productions. ‘Ria was behind it, you see,’ Blythe asserted years later to
Vincent Dowling, who was then on the Players’ Council. (Dowling 161)
Blytheadvised,‘Graspthetalonandthebirdislost!’(Dowling161)
To those looking on, Mooney’s work in the theatre was all-
consuming,butshedidhaveafamily lifefewknewabout.Shecontinued
tolivewithherfatherandaunt.Astheygrewelderly,shearrangedahouse
move to a small newhome inGoatstown, a suburb in the shelter of the
DublinMountainsonthesouthsideofthecity.InOctober1953,Mooney
told a friend in an exasperated tone ‘I am theMAN of this household.’
(YCALMss 436) To use ‘this’ rather than ‘the’may suggests therewas a
‘household’whereshewasnotthedecision-maker:theAbbeyTheatre.
OnemayspeculateastoBlythe’struemotivesinofferingMooney
thepositionattheAbbey,butinretrospectitseemsshehadnointention
of taking any post other than Director of Plays in English at the Irish
NationalTheatre.Thus,inJanuary1948sheonceagainwalkedthroughthe
lobbyoftheAbbey,totakeuptherole.Mooneyshowsgratitudefor ‘the
privilegeofworkingformyowncountry’,althoughshehenceforthworked
fortheAbbeydirectorate,somethingarguablydifferent.(Part285)
Whileshewas‘theman’athome,atthetheatre,Mooneyremained
thequietandunassumingifsecretlyfurious‘littlewoman’,doingherbest
forproductionsbetweentheIrish-languagepantomimesthathadbecome
astapleoftherepertoire.Shefoughttomaintainartisticstandardswithout
anysupport–practicallyoremotionally.Mooney’sdayswerelongandfull,
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but seldom joyful. The day, or night if she had towatch a performance,
endedwiththelongbustripouttoGoatstown.There,shewascalledonto
bethecheerful,practicalprovider.Oneofherbusinessletters,senttoNew
York in April 1955, had already been used as shopping list onwhich she
remindedherselftobringhomecoffeeandfruitcup.Atweekends,iftime
andweatherallowed,shewouldpotterinthegarden.
AfterafireattheAbbeyTheatreintheearlyhoursof18July1951,
a crowd gathered to survey the charred remains of the building. Among
themwasaweary,disillusionedandopenlyupsetRiaMooney.Shetrudged
through the stalls, looking at the burnt-out roof and scorched walls. To
Mooney’s dismay, some of the theatre staff gathered accused her of
predicting thedisaster,of forseeing thedestructionof the theatre, likea
witch.(Part2102)Hermemoirrecountsthisanecdotewithobviouspain,
yetinsomewaysMooneywasasoothsayerandvisionary.Theoldbuilding
hadbeenavitalpartofherlife;itscurrentstatewasdestroyingher.
That day brought excruciating pain for all she’d lost, butMooney
recognizedthepotentialfornewlifetorisefromtheashes.Thatnight,she
performedinthePeacockTheatre.MayCraigwasnotavailabletoplayMrs
Gogan, and Mooney replaced her. The audience loudly applauded the
gallantcastintheirmakeshiftcostumesonthecrampedstage.Afterwards,
theydrankchampagnebroughtbya relativeofLadyGregory.Thatnight,
Mooneywasdeterminedpositivechangewascoming.(Part2104)
AftertheFire
In 1953, a letter from an old colleague in the New York Theatre
Guild, TheresaHelburn, arrivedat theAbbey. Itwasabusiness letter for
the Director of Plays, requesting a script by Louis D’Alton. One evening,
miserable but buoyed by nervous exhaustion, Mooney responded. In
comparisonwiththeguardedproseofhermemoir,theletterisaninsight
intoherpersonalthoughts.On27October1953Mooneywrote:
I wish you'd let me work for you in New York, our NationalTheatre is so hopelessly mismanaged that it is the grave of all
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one’s hopes; ideas are smothered at birth and to speak thelanguage of the Theatre is to be looked upon as an arty artypersonwithgrandioseideas-forsixyearsIhavebeenasavoicecrying in thewilderness. ItwouldbeheaventohaveaSchoolofActinginNewYork.(YCALMss436)
Atthispoint,theCompanyhadtakenrefugeintheQueen’sTheatre.(This
supposedlytemporaryarrangementwouldlastforalmostfourteenyears.)
To Mooney’s despair, the repertoire was full of plays that were
‘monotonouslyalike’. (Part2113)Helburn’spolitereplyquietlykilledthe
ideaofreturningtoNewYork.Onreflection,Mooneytoldher:
AsamatteroffactI'dDIEfromthestrainoflifeinyourenormouscapital.HowyoustandthepaceIdonotknow!(YCALMss436)
Thewomencontinuedtocorrespond,Mooneydelightingintheconnection
withtheinternationaltheatreworld,andhappytoshareher‘Parisplans’.
(YCALMss436)O’Casey’sThePloughandtheStarsagainwasprovidinga
joyouschallenge.ShewasdirectingaproductionthatwouldopentheParis
Festival in May. Blythe had even been persuaded to allow Michael
O’Herlihytodesignnewsets.Tobeworkingona‘good’playwas,Mooney
toldherfriendinApril1955,‘aholidayforallofus!’(YCALMss436)
The production was more than a holiday: the Abbey Company
received third prize in the festival, behind China’s Opera de Peking and
Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble. European newspapers contained positive
reviews, but Mooney returned to the Queen’s Theatre after this
exhilarating reprieve to find that Dublin audiences thought little of the
prestigiousawardandthestatusitbrought.
EugeneO’Neill’sLongDay’sJourneyIntoNight
Ernest Blythe was delighted to bring back Frank Dermody as
companydirector,inplaceofMooney,inthespringof1959.Itwasnotan
act of chicanery; Mooney conceded the position for something more
valuable—theroleofMrsJamesTyroneinEugeneO’Neill’splayLongDay’s
Journey Into Night. After years of pressure from Mooney and from the
ambitious youngVincentDowling,Blythe conceded to stage theplay.He
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thought the project a harmless caper, which at worst could temporarily
distract fromhis own agenda.With nounderstandingof thedevotionof
thissmallteamtotheepicfamilydrama,heindulgedtheactors,hopingto
benefitfromthedealinthefuture.
The text demanded a thirteen-week rehearsal period, extended
from the usual twelve days that had becomemanagement (or Blythe’s)
policy. Six days a week, three to five hours a day, the cast rehearsed.
Dowlingremembers:
Even after the official rehearsals, in pubs or restaurants orwalking the streets, afternoons, evenings and even nights, TP[McKenna] and I and often Philip [O’Flynn]went on teasing outthis long, tightlywoven,profoundlypersonal,painfulmaterialofO'Neill'swithFrankDermody.(Dowling203-4)
Whilethemenpacedthestreetstogether,recitingO’Neillinthepubsand
darkstreetsaroundDublin,Mooneyworkedalone.
MrsMaryCavan JamesTyrone, themother, is fifty-fouryearsold.
Shehasa facethat is ‘distinctly Irish intype’and is ‘still striking’. (O’Neill
12) In hermemoirs,Mooney devotes less than a page to describing the
challengeofthepart.Sherecallsattendingtopracticalproductionworkin
themornings, before rehearsing for the afternoon and thenmemorizing
linesuntillateinthenight.Inprivaterehearsalsathome,ittooktwoanda
half hours to speak the lines on cue with a friend. While recording the
practicalfacts,theageingactresssaysnothingofthephysicalandmental
strugglesduringtheproductionthatmanyothersinthecastremember.
MooneystudiedO’Neill’sdescription:
Her voice is soft and attractive. When she is merry, there is atouch of Irish lilt in it. Hermost appealing quality is the simple,unaffected charm of a shy convent-girl youthfulness she hasneverlost-aninnateunworldlyinnocence.(O’Neill13)
But this charm is laced with ‘extreme nervousness’, much of which the
charactercarriesinherhands.Theyareknottedwithrheumatism‘sothat
now they have an ugly crippled look’. (O’Neill 12) Mrs Tyrone is ever
conscious of and humiliated by her fingers. As well as the lengthy
monologuestomemorise,withthemelodiousvocalworkshewasknown
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for, Mooney tried to perfect the physical characteristics of a morphine
addict, focusing on how she held her hands to conceal their deformity.
Such delicate work she had seen before; this echoes Le Gallienne
concealingherburnthandsonthestageovertwenty-fiveyearsbefore.
Dermody never stopped making demands of his male actors,
tirelesslyworkingonmovement,onthepoetryofthetextandonfinding
the perfect stage images to carry the story over the four and a quarter
hours running time. With Mooney, he worked differently: ‘He gave her
notesanddirectionquietlyandprivately,indeferencetoherage,hersex
andher position as producer of theAbbey.’ (Dowling 206)Dowling does
notcountenancethatDermodymayhavebeenactingindeferencetoher
experience and acting skills. Dermody worked with her as she had
mentoredothers:quietly,respectfully.
For the first time in many years, Mooney was an ordinary cast
member.Thedetached,disciplinedpersonashehaddevelopedasdirector
begantocomeawayassheincreasinglyreliedonherfellowactors.Some
came to her Goatstown home to help her with line runs; others gently
supportedherbackstageduringtherunwhenshewasstrugglingwiththe
dialogueandwithnerves.TheactressKathleenBarringtonrecalled (inan
interview with McGlone) how marvelous she was in rehearsals, how
magical towatchwhile reciting lines, buthowon stage somediscomfort
set in. (McGlone 184) Her old insecurity, her faltering belief in her skills
whentheaudiencesatontheothersideoffootlightshadnevergoneaway.
Old age and weariness exacerbated the problem. Her terror that her
performancewouldn’tbe‘perfect’hauntedher.
Despite the 6.30pm curtain-up and a running time of over four
hours,theaudiencewaspromptandattentiveattheopeningperformance
intheQueen’sTheatreon28thApril1959.The Irish Independentadmired
allthecast,sayingMooneyusedhervoice‘beautifully’andwas‘superbin
thenervousdesperationandmovinginthefinalwitlessnessofthemother.’
(‘ExcellentActing’10)Butratherthanbreakingnewground,theAbbeywas
seen tobeploughing ‘rather poor soil’.(‘ExcellentActing’ 10) LongDay’s
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Journey Into Night was replaced on 11th May with John Murphy’s The
Country Boy. Somehow, Mooney had found time and mental energy to
directthisnewplaywhilespendingoverfourhoursonstageeachnight.
Inoneofthoseaudiencesthatsettledintotheirseatsearlywasan
engineeringstudentwhowasspendingtoomuchtimehangingaround in
thedramasocietyofUniversityCollegeDublin.PatrickLaffanwasstunned
by the production: the mammoth text performed without cuts and the
mesmerising lead actress. Even this inexperienced student recognised
whiletheseweren’t‘thestarriestactors’,somethingspecialwashappening
attheAbbey; itwasamajorbreakthroughforthe institution. (Laffan)For
Laffan,‘thesheersincerityoftheproductionwascompelling.’
Laffanhadnoideathatnightthatwhentheplaywouldberevived
threeyearslater,hewouldbeinthewings.HejoinedtheCompanyinthe
summerof1961,auditioningforBlytheandMooneylessthanaweekafter
hisgraduation.FortheDublinTheatreFestivalin1962,therewasarevival
ofLongDay’s Journey IntoNight; itwas tobeperformedat theQueen’s
Theatreonalternatenightsfortwoweeks.Mooneywouldstillbethesmall,
feisty, sexywomanLaffan rememberedwatching fromthestalls,but this
timehewouldbepromptingherfromahiddenspotinthewings.Indeed,
hewouldbetryingtoprompther,assheflaileddesperatelywithlinesand
cues.Itwasoftenimpossibletosaveher,evenwithhispresencestageleft
andanofficialstagemanagerpromptingfromstageright.
During that revival, thecharacter’sextremenervousnessbegan to
seepintoreallife.SomebodynoticedthatMooney’sbalancewasunsteady
assheblockedsceneswiththedirector.Therewererumoursofafallfrom
the stage when she appeared using a cane to help her walk, although
nobody ever asked questions. McGlone interviewed a number of actors
withvividmemoriesoftheproduction.Theaccountsvaryintheirdepiction
ofherstate;manyreturntotheoneword:vulnerable.(McGlone185)
In the three years after the Irish premiere of Long Day’s Journey
IntoNight,Mooneydirectedsixnewplaysat theAbbey.Nervousanxiety
wasnowcausingherincreasedspatesofmemorylossandshewasnotably
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weaker and openly disillusioned. Her isolation was compounded by
tensionsbackstage: theactorsweremoving towards a strike, demanding
more money in tandem with an improved artistic regime. The newly-
establishedPlayers’Council soughtmorecontemporaryplayswith longer
rehearsalperiods,andsomeofthemostinfluentialmembersthoughtlittle
of Mooney’s old-fashioned discipline. There were malicious complaints
that‘shecouldn’tdirecttraffic’.(Dowling164)Buttherewasstillworkfor
Mooneytodoandhersenseoftheatreremainedimpeccable.
BrianFriel’sTheEnemyWithin
Withhisusualdistasteforanythingslightlyunconventional,in1962
ErnestBlythepassedofftoMooneyanewplayentitledAnEnemyWithin.
Shehadbeenrepeatedlyoverlookedasadirectorfornewproductionsand
hadchosentobeartheslightstoherreputationwithsilentdignity.Despite
herfrailty,whenshereadthescriptbyfirst-timeplaywrightBrianFriel,she
was captivated by the tale of St Columba and his struggle to choose
betweenthemonasticlifeandhishome.
TheEnemyWithinstagesanimaginedlifeofStColumbaandsome
of his faithful followers in Iona in 587AD.With warmth and wit, it puts
modern dialogue into the mouths of these mythic figures. Although it
didn’tachievethesamelevelofpopularsuccessasFriel’slaterPhiladelphia,
HereICome,itbearsthemarksofagrowingdramaticconsciousness:fluid
dialogue, compelling characters and emotional ambition. The action is
gentle;thedramaisintheconflictsbetweenthecharacters.Mooneycast
RayMacAnally in the lead and assembled a strong team of male actors
aroundhim.Shearrivedintothetwelve-dayrehearsalperiodknowingthat
someofthoseactors(suchasDowling)hadlittlerespectforhermethods,
but shewas intent on honouring Friel’swork.Mooneywas amongst the
firsttoidentifythetalentofoneofIreland’sforemostplaywrights.
Laffan,whoappearedinonesceneofthatproduction,remembers
Frielasawell-heeledschoolteacherwithanacerbicwit,drivingtheentire
cast around Derry in his posh new motorcar. (Laffan) Mooney didn’t
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accompanytheall-malecompanyonthattourtoFriel’shometown.Laffan
also remembers the script as being ‘kind of perfect’ and the cast were
deemed ‘outstanding’ by critics. (Laffan) Although he felt the play had
weaknesses, the Irish Press critic was adamant on 7 August 1962: ‘Ria
Mooney’svigorousdirectionalsohelpstomakethisplayoneofthemost
adult and interesting the Abbey has given us recently.’ (‘Fine Study’ 6)
AdultandinterestingwerefeaturesthatdrewMooneytoplays.
The final production she directed at the Abbey,Copperfaced Jack
(1963), was plagued by rows about unauthorized script changes and a
general disrespect for the author that smacks of Blythe rather than the
ever-courteousMooney.HughHuntclaimsshehadanervousbreakdown;
thereisnoevidenceofthis.(Hunt185)Atagesixty,Mooneyresignedher
positionofDirectorofPlaysinEnglish,whenher‘wayatlastbecameclear’.
(Part2116)Thiscarefullychosenphraseconcealsthetruth,butpersonal
friends believe that Mooney finally retired only when she had secured
moneyfromanoldfriendinAmericatosupportherself.(Laffan)
With her relatives passed away, Mooney now lived alone in
Goatstown, infirm and increasingly reclusive. Having awoken from ‘the
nightmare’ofher last fewyearsattheAbbey,shespenttimewritingher
memoirs. (Part 2116) Sporadically, she attended the theatre,where she
was amused by the huge number of production staff listed in the
programmes. The Abbey’s new building she thought: ‘functional – and
quitewithoutcharacter’.(Part2116)
All her life, the theatre was Mooney’s home; now it offered no
solace.Infact,nothingdid.InJuly1969,shewrotetoMaryO’Malleyofthe
LyricTheatreinBelfast,tellingherofthedeathofMrsKickErlanger(once
RitaRomelli).Shetoldher,‘Idon'tknowwhatIwouldhavedonewithout
myfriendinAmerica.’(LyricArchiveT4/851)Grief-stricken,Mooneywrote
toO’Malley:‘Ihavelostalldesireevertotakepartinanyperformance,in
any capacity.’ (Lyric T4/851) Old friends and colleagues did their best to
help,butherhealthdeterioratedrapidlyandRiaMooneydiedon3January
1973.Sheleftbehindhermemoirs,completedbutunpublished.
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ClosingScene
TherewasapartyhostedbyMrsMartinBeck inanapartmenton
West55thStreet inNewYork in June1956,withMooneyas theguestof
honour, accompanied by her once-intimate friend Mrs Milton (Kick)
Erlanger (Rita Romelli).Mooneywas spending amonth’s holiday in New
Jersey. These women had known each other since their thirties, when
Mooney’sartisticconsciousnesshadstartedto takeshape.This time, the
fifty-three-year-oldMooney,asuccessfuldirector,arrived inNewYorkby
airplane.Yetdespitetheexternalchanges,Mooneybelieved:‘Womenwill
never change. The fashionsmay change butwomenwon’t.’ (Part 2119)
She always found in her New York circle affection and warmth that
energizedandrejuvenatedher.AsMooneytoldHelburninJune1956:
I can’t tellyouhowhappy Iwas tobeback [inNewYork]again.How all that warm friendship one receives in America lifts andenlarges the spirit.My debt to your country increases with theyears.(YCALMSS436)
ForthewomeninMrsBeck’shousethatevening,itwasatimetocatchup,
torememberoldtimesandsharenewplans.
ThereisatemptationtotracetheoriginsofMooney’stheatrework
tooneartistictheory,butinfactthereareseveral.FromYeatsandtheFay
brothers, sheunderstood theworkofAndreAntoine’s Théatre Libre and
the style of performance at the Abbey. Working with Le Gallienne and
Nazimova, shegaineda firmgrounding inStanislavski, a theoreticalbasis
adapted by the Civic Repertory theatre. Le Gallienne combined
Stanislavski’ssystemwiththesemi-religiousartisticprinciplesofEleonora
Duse. Although Le Gallienne intimidated her,Mooney learnt much from
her. Duse championed the destruction of the ego, the complete
abandonmentof thepersonal toallowthebodyserveahigherpoweron
thestage.RiaMooneyfollowedthatpath.Shealsoadmiredthe idealsof
the Civic Repertory: the notion that everybody, regardless of financial
circumstancesor social status, had the right to access art and theatreof
thehighestqualityandtoappreciateitsbeauty.
Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973) CiaraO’Dowd
Page261of307
WithLeGallienne,Mooneytrainedasanimplicitlyfeministdirector
and teacher, guiding and mentoring others to come to their own
understanding of their craft and aiding their individual creation of
characters.Likehermentor,Mooneyimplementedaprofessionalrehearsal
processwithwell-honed technique, intellect, empathy and respect at its
core. The failure of this regime at the Abbey Theatre arguably is more
revealing of the artistic environment there under Blythe’s management
thanofMooney’stalent.OutsideofIreland,itshouldberemembered,her
directionofO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars in1955wassoesteemed
thatitputtheAbbeyCompanyinthesamerankastheBerlinerEnsemble.
Mooney brought back with her from the US a firm grounding in
Stanislavski technique alongwith a clear understanding of the European
philosophiesof actingandherworkalsobore themarkof LeGallienne’s
strident feminism. She did her utmost to impart these ideals in Dublin,
where itwaspermitted.While it isnotappropriate todeemher the first
ArtisticDirectoroftheAbbeyTheatre,asthetitledidnotexistduringher
tenure,Mooney could claim the title of the first feminist director at the
IrishNationalTheatre.Todate,thiscontributiontoIrishtheatrehistoryhas
neverbeenacknowledged.FemaleartisticdirectorsLeliaDoolanandGarry
Hyneswould follow in her footsteps, bothwith a clear understanding of
whatMooneyhad aimed to achievewith her directing and teaching and
whereshehadmetresistancewithintheinstitution.
At the same time as she developed her acting craft, Mooney
increasingly drew on modernist aesthetics and abstract art. She was a
radicalmodernistinherartandherthinking;fewinDublinunderstoodthis
mode at that time. She always moved enthusiastically into the future
holding firm to the principles she’d adopted in her youth. By day, she
workedwithIrishdramatistsandactorssteepedinconservativedramaand
bynight,sherehearsedwithnichegroupsexploringexperimentalmodes.
Outofthisdensecomplexofinfluences,shedrewanaestheticofbeautiful
simplicity. It is characteristic of Mooney that the only documented
evidence of her theories is found in a personal letter she wrote to a
Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973) CiaraO’Dowd
Page262of307
student.Encouraginghimtocontinuetoworkonhistalent,Mooneywrote
to actor Pat Laffan on 25 June 1962 in a letter he keeps in a private
collection:
Followyour instinct and listen to criticism, then try to analyse thatcriticism in stage terms. Work, so far as acting is concerned, islearninglines,movingeasilyandnaturallyincharacterandRELAXINGINTO THE PART. Stupid people often make better actors than themore intelligent because they are less likely to work too hard onanalysingcharacterandleavetheiractingtoinstinct.(Laffan)
This simplicity of method can be traced directly to her casting as Rosie
Redmond inThePloughand the Stars.Aboveall else,Mooney sought to
understand,inhabitandhonourthemindsofindividualwomen:
I knewhowwomenbehavedwhen theywore these [costumes],whattheyworeunderneathoriftheyworeanything.BestofallIbelievedIknewwhatwentoninsidetheirheads.(Part2119)
Stanislavski believed: ‘empathy can be a more powerful prompt to
creativity than personal emotion.’ (Carnicke 3) Mooney followed this
teaching. Knowingwhatwas going on inside the heads and feelingwhat
was going on inside the hearts of Irish women, everything else became
possibleforRiaMooney.
Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd
Page263of307
Conclusion
In November 1959, Arthur Shields paid a visit to Dublin from Los
Angelesandhereportedbacktohisthirdwife,Laurie,thathe’dhaddinner
witholdcolleaguesfromtheAbbeyCompany:EileenCrowe,MayCraigand
MaureenDelaney.HesharedwithLauriehisenjoymentoftheir‘two-hour
talkaboutoldtimes’.(ShieldsT13/A/519)Manyoftheoldtimesdiscussed
featuredthreeactressesnottherethatnight:FrolieMulhern(died1939),
AideenO’Connor(died1950),andRiaMooney.
Thecozyscenefrom1959,withCraigandCroweunitedandsharing
memories with an old friend raises the question: can such longevity of
careerbedeemedsuccess?Onthesurface,CraigandCrowewouldappear
to have managed their careers and balanced their personal lives (and
religious faith)with their dramatic art in a form that brought themboth
fulfillment, stability and comfort. Privately, we do not know. Neither
woman lefta recordof their thoughts.Onecouldgo furtherandsuggest
thatthismanagementoftheircareerandpersonalliveswasconnectedto
theconditionsandconstraints imposedontheirgenerationofwomen:to
their theatre and social training. They were successful, but they had
inheritedandinternalizedpersonalandprofessionallimits;everythingthey
achieved and all they chose to forego was placed within these invisible
parametersforwomensetbyIrishsocietyduringtheFreeStateperiod.
If one accepts that this is the case, then the later generation of
womenstruggledbecausetheydidn’tfollowtheirpredecessorsclosely.Or,
perhaps,we could say, they chose to struggle rather than follow theold
model.Wemay view themas victimsof changing times, or casualties of
baddecisions.ButassetoutinChapter1,Ichoosetofocusontheagency
of these women. All were part of the first wave of professional Irish
actressesthatsoughttoberecognizedfortheirtheatricalworkandnotfor
their lifestyle. They developed artistic integrity and technique that
demanded a full separation of their theatrical performances from their
personallives,whensuchseparationwasnotgrantedtothemattheAbbey.
Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd
Page264of307
O’Connormadeabidfora lifethatwasasyetoutofthereachof
Irish women: a theatre actress, living in Hollywood with a man already
married to someone else. It may have been bound to end in
disappointment,butthere ismuchtoadmire inherdeterminationto live
her life differently.Mulhern passed away before she could establish her
career, but many of her happiest and most successful experiences also
were inAmerica.Mooneyexperiencedtheexoticismandthedisciplineof
performingwithLeGallienneandtheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompany,as
wellasworkingasa leadactressat theGateTheatreand teachingmany
generationsofactors inNewYorkand inDublin.Sheearnedher livingas
an implicitly feminist director with the Gaiety Theatre, the Experimental
TheatreGroupinthePeacockTheatreand,inthelatteryearsofhercareer,
at the Abbey Theatre. Despite opportunities elsewhere, she persisted in
returning to use her talents in the IrishNational Theatrewhere shewas
invariablymistreated.Hercontribution to theworkof the institutionand
totheatreingeneralhasnotbeenrecognizedforitscomplexityandvariety.
Itmaybethatthekeytounderstandingthecomplexandprecarious
position of an Irish actress in theAbbey Theatre of the 1930s lies in the
distinction between the amateur and professional performer, and how
thesepositionscanbemappedontothepublicandprivatespheresoflife
in Irelandduring theFreeStateperiod.Aspreviouslynoted, thematerial
and class conditions of the time enforced the ideological separation of
‘public’and‘private’(orfamilial)spheres.(O’Dowd33)Eventssuchas‘At
Homes’ provided light entertainment in a respectable, private space
occupiedforthemostpartbythemiddleandupper-classes.Other forms
of‘theatre’(thosedemandingpaymentforentranceandcompensationfor
performers)werepublicandthereforeperceivedasmorelicentiousspaces.
The work in the public arena was rarely deemed to be contributing to
national culture or professional artistic endeavours. Mooney and others
havespokenofthe‘AtHomes’,wheretheyperformedsketchesandsongs
indrawingroomsforeveningentertainment.Theywereall‘play-acting’or,
in the terms of Deevy’s plays, participating in ‘theatricals’ – a whimsical
Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd
Page265of307
hobbyforaclasswithleisuretime.TheAbbeyTheatreofthistimehovered
betweentwospaces:neitherwhollyprivatenordangerouslypublic.
To draw once again on Morash and Richards’ concept of
representationalspace,theAbbeyofthe1930sprovidedatheatricalspace
forwomentofullyemoteinaprotected,liminalplace,to‘play’withideas
of choiceandexperimentwith liberationwithouteverposinga threat to
thesocialorder.(7)Inthisspace,whichmirroredbutyetwasdistinctfrom
social reality, they could demonstrate power that was not in any way
‘truthful’inthecontextoftheIrishFreeState.Theycould‘represent’ideas
of female liberation and independence, without embodying them. The
actresses of the Company in the 1930s were at the centre of this clash
between ‘representational’ and ‘conceived’ space.Womenwhodared to
embodysuchideasratherthanto‘represent’them,whoshowedpassion,
independenceoranydefianceofnationalfeminneidealsintheirlivesoff-
stage,werereprimandedandremindedoftheirsubordinateposition.
Much like the demarcation of ‘public’ and ‘private’ space, the
delineation of ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’ status in the Abbey Theatre
Company is inherently problematic. In its true sense, amateur denotes a
love or passion for an activity; this activity does not provide a wage.
Professionaldenotesa certain levelof skill or competencyacquired from
formaltraining;italsosuggeststhatitisthemainandpaidoccupation.
Initsearliestform,theAbbeyCompanywascomprisedofshopgirls
(such as the Allgoods) and civil servants (e.g., Barry Fitzgerald and F.J.
McCormick)whoperformedintheirsparetime,rehearsingintheevenings
andperformingatweekends.(Itisusefultorememberthatbothofthese
actors adopted stage names to protect their employment.) The Dublin
Drama League was another group of people who met to rehearse and
performintheAbbeyonthetheatre’s‘darknights’ofSundayandMonday.
Butinthiscircle,being‘amateur’oftendenotedasocialclassthatwasnot
inneedof theperformers’ (generallymeasly)wage. Theactorswerenot
workersbeingpaidfortheirtimeandindustry.Rather,theycoulddevote
Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd
Page266of307
theirinteresttodramaticendeavourswithoutfinancialcompensation;they
contributedtimeandeducatedintelligencetodevelopmentIrishculture.
Theactresses inthisstudycamefromdisparatesocialclasses,and
the biographies of this thesis demonstrate how their gender, class and
practical(material)circumstancesshapedtheirartisticcareers.Croweand
Craig retained respectable positions as Catholic wives and mothers, by
carefulmanagementoftheirtheatricalcareersandpublicpersonae.Their
societal role never detracted from their commitment to the National
Theatre; their acting did not affect their social integrity. 17 Craig, in
particular, could not be deemed a ‘professional’ as she never received
adequate compensation for her labour; yet she was a full-time actress.
Mulhern’s social class alsoallowedher to investher timeand interest in
herperforming,withouteverbeingdependentonthewagesshereceived.
When Mulhern threatened to leave Ireland and end the light evening
entertainments that she provided to raise funds for the church, there is
clearevidencethatherfamilyintervened.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))
As middle-class girls, O’Connor and Mooney most readily fit the
categoryofworkingactorsdevelopingacraft.Theyretainedtheirposition
through tireless work, on and off the stage, to maintain themselves
financially. Both biographies show evidence of reading and an on-going
interest in theoriesdevelopingaroundacting,performance, teachingand
in theatreoutsideof Ireland.At thesametime, thebreadthofMooney’s
career and her commitment to theatre marks her out as a radical
modernistartistratherthanaworking-class‘labourer’witha‘craft’.
Mooney, Mulhern and O’Connor were successful in forging
professional and personal lives with forays into independence and
liberation, very different from thewomen that came before them. They
wereexposed to the rolemodelsof certainAmericanwomen thathada
lasting impactontheirownsenseofselfandpotential.Overseas, intheir
17ThepremiereofSeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars in1926,itshouldbenoted, is the exception that highlights this rule by demonstrating the effects oftransgressingsuchpublic/privateboundaries.
Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd
Page267of307
work and lives, they sought to be recognized as professional performers
and theatre artists, not merely ‘Abbey actresses’. They set the path for
generationsofactressesthatwouldcomeafterthem,providingthemodel
for Irishwomenthatseekto impressontheworldtheir talentandspirit,
andtoassertthemselvesasperformersworthyofinternationalhonours.
Theporousdistinctionsbetween‘public’and‘private’andbetween
‘professional’ and ‘amateur’, the overlaps and exceptions, make the
careersandlivesoftheAbbeyTheatreactressesofthe1930saparticularly
complex group to study in depth. It is necessary to assert that this
commentaryonIrishsociety,andtheexplorationofanactress’sprecarious
position within in, comes from an in-depth study of individual lives. In
seeking out the individual, the particular circumstances of five women,
clear patterns emerged. The induction of these patterns allows a new
understandingofthelivesandworkoffemaleperformersintheFreeState.
As previously referenced, Gough has cited Irish history as
presenting a challenge when it comes to separating women’s objective
reality from their allegorical images and metaphoric constructions. (7)
Jacksonhasalsodrawnattentiontothe‘schismbetweenthestudyofthe
historical and the study of contemporary feminist performance.’ (174) I
argue that this composite biography, which incorporates elements of
theatre history and of performance theory, serves as a form of feminist
historiography,takingonthechallengetoexplorethe intersectionofreal
and allegorical female lives and present a range of female performances
fromthesameperiodofhistory. JoanWallachScotthassetoutthe ideal
formforfeministhistory.Scottstatesthishistoryshouldbe:
not therecountingofgreatdeedsperformedbywomenbut theexposureofthesilentandhiddenoperationsofgender.[…]Withsuch an approach, the history ofwomen critically confronts thepoliticsofexistinghistoriesandinevitablybeginstherewritingofhistory.(ScottGender27)
Thisthesisseekstocontributetosuchare-writingofIrishtheatrehistory.
It does so to produce a re-constituted archive of Irish theatre that may
alloware-writingofthefutureforIrishwomen.
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March2010.www.census.nationalarchives.ieUSVisaApplication.August1940.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/465.NUIGalway,
JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoVincentO’Connor.4March1935.SanFrancisco.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/436. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Adjudications’SheetfortheSchoolofActing.c.1925.M.J.DolanPapers.NLIMss.22,556.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
LetteraddressedtoU.O’Connor.27April1933.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/445.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Postcard addressed to U. O’Connor. 22 August 1933. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/446. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Letter fromA.O’Connor to E. Choates. 24 January 1943.Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Cosgrave, M. Mercy Congregational Archivist. Message to the Author. 10 Dec2013.Email
FlorenceHackett Letter. ‘Landscape’Waterford. 31 January 1935.Teresa DeevyPapers.TCDMss10722/5.TrinityCollegeDublin.
TheAmericanTourof1934-1935AbbeyTheatrelettertoArthurShields.27December1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/117. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
ContractwithAlber&WickesInc.,ofBostonMassachusetts,USA.14August1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/106(1).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Abbey Theatre Press Release. 17 August 1934. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/108(1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
LettertoEileenandMaeveO’Connor.23March1935.HotelSirFrancisDrakeSanFrancisco. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
‘Scythiaarriveshereadaylate.’DailyBostonGlobe(1928-1960).9October1934.13.Web.
NoTitle.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page290of307
Detroit Evening Times. 23 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.
LettertoE.&M.O’Connor.4March1935.SirFrancisDrakeHotel,SanFrancisco.Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
DetroitNews.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
DetroitTimes.22January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
DetroitNews.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
San Francisco News. 2 April 1935. May Craig Papers. IE UCDA LA28/116. UCDArchives,Dublin.
LetterfromW.O’GormantoV.O’Connor.4March1935.SirFrancisDrakeHotelSan Francisco. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/436. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.&M.O’Connor.4March1935.SanFrancisco.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
BetweentheToursLettersofF.R.Higgins.TheCarrollClub Inc.,120MadisonAvenue,NYC.NLIMss
27,897(2).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AideenO’Connor’sScrapbook.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
FolioNotebooksofSeanO’CaseyV.6.39.NewYork:TheHenryW.andAlbertA.BergCollectionofEnglishandAmericanLiterature,TheNewYorkPublicLibrary.
UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AideenO’Connor’sScrapbook.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Diariesof JosephHolloway. July - September1936.NLIMss1969:347.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
AbbeyTheatreMinuteBooks.3558.AbbeyTheatreDigitalArchive.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
DiariesofJosephHolloway.19August1936.July-September1936.NLIMss1971:342.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Shields,L.ManuscriptofSaturday’sChild.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/512.17.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page291of307
OntheLondonStageProduction Image. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/202. NUI Galway, James
HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/560.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
The Cambridge Gownsman. 20 February 1937. IE UCD LA: May Craig PapersLA28/219-3.UCDArchives,Dublin.
Manuscript of Saturday's Child... Has Far ToGoby LB Shields. 8. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/512. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
JournalofDenisJohnston.March1927.William(Denis)JohnstonPapers.TCDMss10066/165.164.TrinityCollegeDublin.
SaddlemyerA.,ed. ‘Letter fromGeorge toWBYeats.19March1937.’WBYeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.460.
Treanor,A.‘BehindtheAbbeyScenes.’IrishPress.28July1938.Web.Saddlemyer, A. ed. ‘Letter from George toWB Yeats. 19March 1937.’W.B. &
GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.460-4611937PocketDiarykeptbyShields.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/372(1).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.TheAmericanTourof1937/38Letter fromF.R.Higgins toMayHiggins.19September1937.CunardWhiteLine.
NLIMss27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LetterfromF.R.HigginstoMayHiggins.24October1937.CunardWhiteLine.NLI
Mss27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LetterfromF.R.HigginstoMay.24October1937.HotelEdisonNewYork.NLIMss
27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Letter to E. O’Connor. November 1937. New York. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/428. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
DanceHallsandLiminalityCatholicBulletin.October1936.VolXXVINo10.795McGlinchy,J.PPVF.‘Maxims&CounselsfortheChristianFamily.’
CatholicBulletin.December1934.VolXXIVNo12.999‘Survey by Dublin Senior Justice – Edward J. Little.’ The Irish Times. 7 February
1938.4.Web.TheUSTourContinuesLettertoE.O’Connor.HotelEdison,NewYorkCity.28thNovember1937.Shields
Family Papers, T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.21December1937.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.511
LettertoE.O’Connor.HotelEdison,NewYorkCity.28thNovember1937.ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.26July1938.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.544
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page292of307
Bulliet, C.J. Unknown Newspaper. February 1938. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks:Volume 26 American Tour 1935. Mss 25,511-23. National Library ofIreland,Dublin.
LettertoE.O’Connor.St.Louis.February1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor. Philadelphia. 31 January 1938. Shields Family PapersT13/A/440. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
LettertoE.O’Connor.St.Louis.February1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Images from the Abbey Tour. 1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/326 andT13/B/327. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor fromA. O’Connor. Saint Louis. 24 February 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/441. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor from A. O’Connor. San Francisco. 4 March 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
San Francisco, c.1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/320. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Unknownlocation.c.1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/303.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Unknownlocationc.1937.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/202.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor. San Francisco. 4 March 1938. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor fromA. O’Connor. Saint Louis. 24 February 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/441. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor. 4 March 1938. San Francisco. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Letter to Eileen and Maeve O’Connor. Hotel Sylvania, Philadelphia. 31 January1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/440. NUI Galway, James HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoEileenandMaeveO’Connor.Minneapolis.18April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers, T13/A/444. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.O’Connor.HotelClark,LosAngeles.5April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
AnEmergencyApproachesLettertoE.andM.O’Connor.Minneapolis.18April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/444. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Dent,A.‘AbbeyTheatreDramaFestival.’UKSpectator.18August1938:15.Web.‘WhatDoesItMean?’EveningHerald.11August1938:N.p.Print.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page293of307
LetterfromS.RichardstoD.Johnston.Dublin.1927/28.Papersof(William)DenisJohnston.TCDMss10066/287/2649.TrinityCollegeDublin,Dublin.
Letter to Eddie Choate. Abbey Theatre, Dublin. 28 April 1939. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/150 (20). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.26July1938.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.544
LettertoE.Choate.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.28April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(20).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter from F.R.Higgins of TheNational Theatre Society Ltd to J. FitzGerald. 12September1939.Dublin.Copygiventotheauthor.
Clive,K.‘EchoesoftheTown.’TheIrishTimes.26August1938.4.Web.‘FromTheDramaMailbag.’NewYorkTimes.29January1939.X3.Web.JournalsofAideenO’Connor.PrivatecollectionofChristineShields.SpringMeetingPlaybill.ShelahRichardsPapers.ITA/128/1/1.
DublinCityLibraryandArchive,PearseStreet,DublinKinshipandFriendshipLetter to V. O’Connor. 4 March 1935. Sir Francis Drake Hotel San Francisco.
Shields Family Papers, T13/A/436. NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.BendOregon.6June1940.Folder259.PapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
‘Reminiscences.’PapersofMayCraig.IEUCDLA28/240.UCDArchives,Dublin.LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.10March1940.Folder259.The
Papers ofMary Lasker. ColumbiaUniversity, RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker,Bend,Oregon.29December(1941?).Folder544.The Papers of Mary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books &Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LettertoM.LaskerfromK.Swift.Oregon.10March1940.Box259.ThePapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LettertoE.Choate.Dublin.April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(21).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. May 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(27).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. May 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.28April1939.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(20).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.June1939.Cork.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.21June1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(41).
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page294of307
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoE.Choate.25May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(30).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoE.Choate.May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(28).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Telegram from A. O’Connor to E. Choate with reply. New York. Shields Family
Papers, T13/A/150 (43). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. 21 June 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(41).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
PreparingforNewYorkLetter to E. O’Connor. 4 March 1938. San Francisco. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.29June1939.Cobh,Cork.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(46).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.June1939.CobhCo.Cork.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to C. Shields. 17 February 1953. Convent ofMercy, Cobh. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/518 (1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Kindred Manuscript. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/124. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LetterfromShieldstoE.Choate.HollywoodAthleticClub.23August1939.ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/151 (27). NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Neuffer,E.‘In45thstreetapartments,timeofchangeforactors.’NewYorkTimes.4January1988.Web.
USDepartingAlienIncomeTaxReturn.28February1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/452 (1) & (2). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.28April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(21).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. New York City. April 7 1939. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(4).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.9September1946.Folder544.PapersofMaryLasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; Butler Library,NewYork.
LettertoM.LaskerfromK.Swift.Oregon.10March(1940?).Folder259.PapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LettertoE.Choate.Hollywood,California.12January1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoP.V.Carroll.NewYork.19Sept1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/151(32).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Shields,C.Messagetotheauthor.16March2010.Email.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page295of307
PocketDiarykeptbyArthurShields.1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/372(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Various Equity Contracts. November 1938 – 1941. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/454. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate from A. Shields. 23 August 1939. Hollywood Athletic Club.Shields Family Papers, T13/A/151 (27). NUI Galway, James HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoA.Shields.NewYorkCity.1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/153(57).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
‘NewsoftheStage:“HeavenlyExpress”.’NewYorkTimes.18April1940.Web.LettertoA.Shields.NewYorkCity.1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/153(57).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LifeinHollywoodLettertoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.May1943.PapersofMaryLasker.Folder544.
ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/154
(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.MedicalBillsforA.O’Connor.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/471.
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Letter to E. O’Connor. 24 February 1938. Saint Louis. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/441. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
JournalsofAideenO’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofChristineShields.
Letter to E. Choate from A. Shields. 15 October 1940. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/153. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
Morehouse,W.‘Amusements:BroadwayAfterDark.’NewYorkSun.21February1941:6.Web.
Atkinson, B. ‘The Play: Barry Fitzgerald Appears in 'Tanyard Street.’ New YorkTimes.February51941:16.Web.
LettertoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.May1943.Folder544.PapersofMaryLasker.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoM.Lasker.BendOregon.May1943.Folder544.MaryLaskerPapers.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter from Shields to E. Choate. Hollywood, California. 14 April 1941. ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
JournalsofA.O’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.LettertoM.Lasker.VanNuys,California.ChristmasDay.Folder259.MaryLasker
Papers. Columbia University, Rare Books &Manuscripts; Butler Library,NewYork.
Letter to E. Choate. California. 26th December 1941. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/154(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page296of307
Letter from Kay Swift. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/467. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. 20 January 1942. Hollywood. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter toE.Choate.25May1942.Hollywood. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/155(9).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.23August1941.California.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. 1942. Hollywood, California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(12).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
PhotoAlbumofC.Shields.Copiesgiventoauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.JournalsofA.O’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.LettertoE.Choate.12January1943.Hollywood,California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoE.Choate.25January1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Laboratorybloodtests.October1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/366.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. 12 November 1943. California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(19).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. Choate. 26April 1943.Hollywood, California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(23).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
LettertoM.Lasker.BeverlyHills.9September1946.MaryLaskerPapers.Folder544.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.
Weber,K.Messagetotheauthor.16March2013.Email.Letter to E. Choate. October 1946. California. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/155
(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.PhotoAlbumofChristineShields.Copiesgiventoauthor.PrivateCollection.DeathCertificateforA.O’Connor.4July1950.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/472.
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoA.Shields.28January1947.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/241.
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LetterfromV.JacobsontoA.Shields.20February1950.California.ShieldsFamily
Papers, T13/A/211 (7). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
1950 Pocket Diary kept by Arthur Shields. California.. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/372(10).NUIGalway, JamesHardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.2July1950.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/156. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
LetterfromM.Judge.June1949.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/450.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
InterviewwithC.Shields.Hollywood,California.September2011.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page297of307
DeathCertificateforA.O’Connor.4July1950.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/472.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter from B. Mortished to A. Shields. 8 July 1950. Dublin. Shields Papers,T13/A/252 (1).NUIGalway, JamesHardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
CodaLetter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields Family
Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)
IntroductionAbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–
23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Columnist Judy O’Grady wrote thatMulhern “talks with her eyes”. The Detroit
News.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
FamilyandBackgroundLetter fromA.O’Connor to E. andM.O’Connor. 23March1935. San Francisco.
Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman SpecialCollections,Galway.
Censusof Ireland1911.TheNationalArchivesof Ireland.N.d.Web.Accessed22March2010.www.census.nationalarchives.ie
26September1933.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-
38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.TheAmericanTourof1934/35‘Abbey Theatre Press Release.’ 17 August 1934. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/108(1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
UnknownPaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks.Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.Dublin:NationalLibraryofIreland.
Letter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26:American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.
Letter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.
DetroitPress.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26:American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
Page298of307
TheAmericanTourof1937/38No title. New York Times. 17 September 1937. Shields Family Papers,
T13/A/561(17).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoW.B.Yeats.19September1937.’W.B.
YeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.491-492Letter from F.R. Higgins to May. Wednesday 22 September. Samaria, Cunard
White Line. Letters of F.R. Higgins.Mss 27,883 (7). National Library ofIreland,Dublin.
Dayton,D.‘MaureenDelany:OffStage.’NewYorkSun.6December1934.PapersofMayCraig.UCD:LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.
UnknownPaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Letter to E. O’Connor. 31 January 1938. Philadelphia. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/440.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.
Letter to E. O’Connor. 24 February 1938. Saint Louis. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.
UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
SanFranciscoNews.2April1935.PapersofMayCraig.IEUCD:LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.
PhiladelphiaInquirer.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.28.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
PhotooftheAbbeyCompanyontour.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/327.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.
Undated Image. Elbert A. Wickes Theatre Arts Collection: Box 4 Folder 17.ClaremontCollege,Honnold/MuddSpecialCollections,California.
LettertoE.Choate.21June1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(41).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.
AftertheUSTourof1937/38
‘PopularAbbeyActressDead.’FermanaghHerald.24November1939:8.Web.LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(30).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Rynne, M. Pilgrims. Act III. 10. Mary Rynne Collection. NUI Galway, James
HardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.‘EnnisWoman’sFirstPlay.’IrishIndependent.11thOctober1938:12.MaryRynne
Collection.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(27).
NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Unknownpaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-
38.NLIMss25,511–23.37.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Shields,Christine.Messagetotheauthor.16March2010.Email.‘LateMissMulhern.’TheIrishIndependent.20November1939:8.Web.‘DeathofAbbeyActress.’TheIrishIndependent.18November1939:11.Web.‘PopularAbbeyActressDead.’FermanaghHerald.24November1939:8.Web.Hogan.R.&M.J.O’Neill,eds.Holloway’sIrishTheatre.Volume31938-44.38
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Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)
MemberoftheAbbeyTheatreCompanyLetter fromF.R.HigginstoMay.19Sept1937.NLIMss27,883(7).CunardWhite
Line.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Temperament:MooneyandLeGallienneLetter to Pat Laffan from Mooney. 25 June 1962. Private Collection of Patrick
Laffan.TheInfluenceofAllaNazimovaAtkinson,Brooks. ‘ThePlay: InPastelShades.’NewYorkTimes.5October1928:
17.Web.OutsideofRehearsals‘Rita Romilly Benson Dead at 79; Actress Taught at Arts Academy.’ New York
Times.7April1980:D11.Web.EndofDaysinNewYorkAtkinson,Brooks.‘PlaysandPlayersoftheMid-Februarystage.’NewYorkTimes.
15Feb1931:105.Web.LettertoE.O’Connor.23March1935.MailedfromSanFrancisco.ShieldsFamily
Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.
AftertheCivicRepertoryTheatreCorrespondencebetweenS.O’Casey&R.Mooney.7OB5715.TheHenryW.and
Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The NewYorkPublicLibrary,NewYork.
San FranciscoNews. 2April 1935.Papers ofMayCraig. IEUCD: LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.
‘WutheringHeightsRevived.’IrishIndependent.13February1935:6.Web.‘TheGateTheatre:WutheringHeightsRevived.’IrishTimes.13February1935:8.TheSecondCompanyEthel Mannin to F.R. Higgins. 9 February 1939. Ria Mooney Papers, Acc 6548.
NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.‘NewPlayattheAbbey:ParnellofAvondale.’IrishTimes.2October1934:6.Web.Letters fromF.R.HigginstoMay.Sept/October1937.NLIMss27,883(7).Cunard
WhiteLine.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LettersfromMooneytoT.Helburn.TheatreGuildArchive.YCALMSS436Box139
f-1.3656.YaleCollectionofAmericanLiterature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.
TeresaDeevyandplayingKatieRocheHolloway,J.August1936.N.p.NLIMss1971.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Review ofKatie Roche.DailyMirror. 13 October 1937. Papers ofMay Craig. IE
UCDLA28/231.UCDArchives,Dublin.ElizabethConnor,UnaTroyandMountProspectLettertoE.Connor.24May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9).National
LibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd
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LetterfromL.RobinsontoE.Connor.12February1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
ReviewofMountProspect.LondonTatler.15May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9)NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
Letter from L. Robinson to E. Connor. 2 Feb 1940. Una Troy Papers. NLI Mss35,687(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.
‘AbbeyTheatre:MountProspect.’IrishTimes.April231940:4.Web.Fallon,GabrielTheIrishMonthly.28May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687
(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.TheAbbeySchoolofActingAbbey Minute Books. 14 February 1936. Dublin: NLI Acc 3961, v4, 1924-32.
NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.AbbeyMinuteBooks.6March1936.Dublin:NLIAcc3961,v4,1924-32.National
LibraryofIreland,Dublin.Saddlemyer, A. ed. ‘Letter from G. Yeats to W.B. Yeats. 3 April 1937.’W.B. &
GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.467Photograph of The Abbey Experimental Group. Josephine Fitzgerald. Private
Collection.LettertoRiaMooneyfromJackYeats.19January1939.170B6454.HenryW.and
Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The NewYorkPublicLibrary,NewYork.
‘ThePeacockTheatre.’TheIrishTimes.Jun061939:6.Web.TheGaietyTheatreLetterfromMooneytoT.Helburn.27October1953.TheatreGuildArchive.YCAL
MSS 436 Box 139 f-1. 3656. Yale Collection of American Literature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.
AftertheFireLetter to T. Helburn from R. Mooney. 1 Sept 1953. The Theatre Guild Archive.
YCALMss436Box139 f-1.3656.YaleCollectionofAmericanLiterature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.
Letter fromR.Mooney to T.Helburn. 7April 1955.TheatreGuildArchive.YCALMSS 436 Box 139 f-1. 3656. Yale Collection of American Literature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.
EugeneO’Neill’sLongDay’sJourneyIntoNight‘ExcellentActingbyAbbeyPlayers.’IrishIndependent.29April1959:10.Web.BrianFriel’sTheEnemyWithin‘FineStudyofSaintInNewPlayAtAbbey.’IrishPress.7August1962:6.Web.Letter to M. O’Malley. 2 July 1969. Goatstown, Dublin. Lyric Theatre Archive.
T4/851.NUIGalway,HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.ConclusionLetterfromA.ShieldstoL.Shields.November71959.ShieldsFamilyPapers,
T13/A/519.NUIGalway,HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.
Appendix2:InterviewwithPatLaffan
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Appendix2:InterviewwithPatLaffan
TranscriptionofRecording/Notes3July2013 7BeechwoodPark,DunLaoghaire11am-coffeeandbunsCurrentlysufferingboutsofanxiety-panicattacks.‘I'ddofilmingbutIcouldn'tdostagework.’English-basedfilmingjobsonly.‘Shedidn'ttalkalotaboutherself-NoneofusknewanythingaboutAmericaetc.’‘Iwasin3playsdirectedbyher.’PromptedherinLongDaysJourneyIntoNight.Didan interviewintheAbbeywithherandBlythe-aweekafter leftEngineering inUCDOnway to Connecticut - to directDeirdre of the Sorrows - claimed to have earlierdraft.TheBuddhist-thenow-havingthewilldoingtheworkoftheimagination.GaietySchool-continuationofRia'sworkandteaching...Bythen,early1960s-shewasbeingeasedout.November1961:BrianFriel'sTheEnemyWithinAwfulplay:CopperFacedJackShewasbeingmuscledout-FrankDermodyandTomasMacAnnaMooneyevercamebacknearthetheatreafterherretirement.Neededmoneytokeepherfather.‘RiaremindsmegreatlyofNinetteDeValois(fromWicklow)’‘Shewassmall,feisty,attractive,sexywomaninheryouth.’DeirdreMulrooney:DocumentaryonYeatsanddance.(perhapssimilarity=Yeats’affectionforRia).BrianFriel'sTheEnemyWithin3weeksrehearsalperiod:theplaywas‘kindofperfect’.AllknewitwashighqualityDePaorwomantoconsultoncostumesetcPlayworked-diditinDerry
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Friel:Well-heeledschoolteacherwithfancycar-drovethemaroundDerry‘Cutebejaysus’.Stillhammeringawayupthere(inDonegal)Blythewasincrediblyconventional-itwasmore'artistic'-didn'ttakeoffintermsofaudiences(alright;wellreviewed)buttheplaydid-especafterPhiladelphiaVincent Dowling’s animosity to Ria Mooney: She told him he'd a tinny voice orsomethinglikethatandshekeptcastinghimasvillains-heplayedIggyinMacAnna'splays-knownas'PQ'or'PissQuick'Dowling.RiaMooneygotLaffanajobonGuinnessad-wrotetothankherandsentflowers–shesentletterfromCunardLineinreply(June1962–copyprovided.)AppearedinLoversMeeting-wasarevival;didn'tknowshehadbeeninoriginal;half-witwoman;denturesflewout–didn’tmatterbecauseitwasincharacter.Still in college when he saw Long Day’s Journey – ‘We knew it was a hugebreakthroughfortheAbbey’–Theyweregiven2monthstorehearse–‘Theyweren'tthestarriestactors-butthesheersincerityoftheproductionwascompelling.’RevivedinnewAbbey:whenhepromptedMooneyfromstageleft(withofficialstagemanagerstageright).Couldn'tprompther–‘shewasallovertheplace.’Betweenfirstandsecondtime,shewasputontranquilizers-mayevenhavesaid itherself,althoughhecan’tbecertainofthat.LaffandirectedLongDay’sJourneywithSiobhanMcKenna-shewasn'tgreat-Oncemarvelousinrehearsalsandmayhavebeendrunkthattime.MooneymuchmorecontainedinO’Neill–‘Sheknewwhereshewasat.’Keptscrapbooksfrom1964onwards.Pretty sure themoney came from the US for her to retire - she didn’t hide thesethings.Ongoodishtermswithsomeoftheolderactresses.NotsureifEileengotonwithher---GottoknowandlikeEileenCrowe-inShadowofaGunman–Laffanhadnotrainingandshehadagoathim.MichaelO'Briainwasgoingawayforafilmandtheyneededtoreplacehim-playranonforthewholesummer.MayCraigandEileenCrowedidn'tspeaktoeachother-askedforseparatedressingrooms.Craigwas‘Aniceoldone-usedtohelpwithmakeupetc.’ShelahRichards-usedtomeetherinDunLaoghaire‘lookingforgossip.’
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‘The history of the Abbey is the history of the country - everything reflects oneverythingelse.’ArthurShieldssawmeinLennoxRobinson'sFarOffHills(inparthehadoriginated).EileenCrowe:wonderful inLennoxRobinson–Hertimingwaswonderful–Shewasmarvellousinlightplays–butoverthetopinO'Casey.ShewasRobinson'sfavouriteactresses-healmostwrotepartsforher.LennoxRobinsonwasagreatcraftsmen,oneofthebest.Iwouldn'tbeabitsurprised[ifMooneywasalesbian.]Thatwholemovmentinthestates-JunaBarnes.Therewasa‘touchofthesapphicabouther.’RiaputtingabouttherelationshipwithHiggins-thatmayhavebeenexaggerated.Thetheatrehasalwaysbeenaretreatforgaypeople-theGatebecameghettoised–‘Youcouldn’tgetinunlessyouweregay!’TheAbbeywasnever - noonewith a gay agendahasever thrived - PatrickMasontried-GarryHynesdidn'tlastlong-sheworkedbestinstudiosituations.She's a fantastic survivor - so powerful - as is Lynne Parker. Both have a sense ofhumour.When joined Queens - 1st: Lower dressing room - after a few months, invited upstairstothedressingroomthere.Drinkbeingtaken-outsidetoilet–Peoplehavingagoatyouandsettingyouup.NeverbeeninaproductioninLondonwhentherewasn’tarowfromthefirstday.TheFar-OffHills:therewastalkofturningitintoamusicalbutitneverhappenedMorrison‘madedogsarseofTheBigHouse’andnotinterestedanymore.ChurchStreet:stageversionintheQueensandthenafilmversion.HughHunt:quitedry-butveryefficient-wasinthewar-veryyoung,straightfromOxford - father killed inWorldWar 1 - cousin of Cruickshanck - Irish connections -fatherinvolvedin1912Curraghmutiny.Dermodyleft-Blythegothimoutofascandalwhenheaccostedsomeoneinapublictoilet -disappeared to London - found jobas clerk inBritishRailways. Talentedbutnotabletosellhimself.RiaMooney was brought in to clear up the situation with Lennox Robinson - verymessywithdrink.GoodproductionofPloughandtheStars-welldesignedandacted-quitepowerful–‘Ithadalotofballsaboutit.’-O'Herlihywasanarchitecturalstudent.She had a good eye for actors – ‘She was a worker.’ - Maybe the Abbey wasn'tsuitableplacebutsheneededtowork-atAbbeycouldauditionandgetstart.