I was very moved by your performance of “A Terrible Beauty” last evening. It was a heartwarming reminder of where many fathers have come from, one way or another. I am a psychoanalyst who hears a great deal of trans-generational trauma passed down from fathers to sons and daughters. I don’t just have “the Irish” in mind when I say that, but reading Yeats’ poem (Easter, 1916) heightened my sense of sadness – and gladness that we may be gradually getting somewhere as a species with all our “motley” differences of character and points of view. I was touched by that glimpse of the Troubles into which my father was born, grew, and finally flew – becoming who he was with me. It was terrible to be reminded of that Voice of authority that had traumatized me so – and of how I spoke back with equal and opposite intensity. Neither of us spoke with the beauty of surrender in the service of a beloved land, the birth of a nation, the mercy for innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, and the passionate defense of basic human rights that we heard in those letters. The Irish rebels’ rights were equal to those of other persons and nations, like Belgium for which some Irishmen fought, while others suffered or fought at home. Unfortunately, my boyhood rebellion against my Dad had deadly effects on the vulnerable, already traumatized human being that he was, hidden behind such absolute authority. Oh, how we keep going there in the name of “God”, or of “Greatness”, or even of “Dominion” from sea to sea! We keep on defining strength in terms of superior knowledge, force, and absolute right, rather than the capacity to bear pain and uncertainty, whether it be in childbirth or in the birth of a nation, openly witnessing and graciously accepting the limits of what we know and can do to save or protect those we love. Oh, the voices of women, last night, from whom we have so much to learn! And the light in your (Lucy’s) eyes! Irish, British, Jewish, Palestinian, Christian, Psychoanalytic, Muslim, Anti-Muslim, Democrat, Republican, Canadian. So many who had to get out of a toxic atmosphere in order to survive – but not without grief, longing and affection for what was left behind. I recall my father’s wistful singing of “A little bit of Heaven fell / from out the sky one day”. Fortunately, that mixture of feelings can spark remarkable creativity and devotion to understanding what we are all about as human beings – as Yeats, himself, embodied. Thank you for ‘bringing him home’. John Sloane
Marian Sheridan and I attended A Terrible Beauty last night and we were so moved by the wrenching testimonies and impressed with the overall production. It was a worthy tribute to the men and women of 1916 who paid the price of their ideals with their lives . It was an excellent ideas to have a photo of each man while you told his story, which personalized it for the audience. It was an inspiration to have each actor leave the stage when his character was executed. Your cast did an wonderful job delivering their lines. I would’ve been in tears if I had to tell most of those stories. And you yourself did a magnificent job of reading A Terrible Beauty by Yeats. Once again, Congratulations! I am so glad that I finally had the opportunity to see it.
Teri Normoyle
All of us were absolutely in awe of the stories you told last night, each responding in her or his own way to the messages from a century ago. I couldn’t help comparing the attitudes your group expressed with those we hear more usually today from what the media trains us to call rebels. All of us remarked on the idealism, the innocence, the quality of simplicity we heard – and the absence of fear. We were spellbound. Thank you for putting so much effort into creating a dramatic vehicle that would share such nobility. One can’t help but compare such loftiness, such high-mindedness, with its relative scarcity today. Or is it just that we’ve lost the eloquence?
Nancy Graham
I am so happy to have seen the moving performance Wednesday evening. I actually did not know about the agenda & thought I was attending a reading of your poetry.
The performance was wonderful. The images of these young men on the screen while their words were read was devastating & made the tragedy really come alive. my sincere congratulations.
It would have made a wonderful documentary; I don’t think it was being filmed, but perhaps it was filmed at the earlier performance. if not you might consider approaching TVO or the national film board.
Certainly if it was appearing on the doctumentary channel I would watch it again & again.Carol Malyon