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The W.B. Yeats translations of Sophocles plays 'King Oedipus' and 'Oedipus at Colonus' are in the National Library, as part of the major Yeats Exhibition, during the first week of November.
The production is presented by Dublin Lyric Players and directed by Conor O'Malley. The first performance is at 5:30pm and the second play starts at 7pm on Monday 3 (preview) to Thursday 6 November.
Two members of Balally Players, Margaret Toomey and Declan Brennan, join a cast of around twelve actors for this production in the National Library.
Tickets �10. Bookings at 01-603 0207
The opening hours of the National Library and the length of the two plays means that an early start (5:30pm) is required. However, tickets may be used over two evenings if it is not possible to see both plays on the one day.
Click here for more information on the Library performances.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was one of the great poets of the twentieth century. He created works that are universally known and loved, and that have exerted a profound influence on world literature.
Yeats' versions of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, are among his finest dramatic works and have rarely been performed in Ireland. Previous occasions were in 1973, and before that in 1927-28, when they were performed at Dublin's Abbey Theatre for the very first time.
Regarded as two of Yeats' most challenging dramatic works, these versions of Sophocles' plays relate the great story from Ancient Greek Mythology of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who unknowingly kills his father, marries his mother and begets four children by her. The story is about how the Gods and his own actions bring about his downfall. In Yeats' versions, the focus is on Oedipus's relentless and doomed search for the truth, on his catastrophic reaction to the knowledge of his incest and on his humanity.
While Yeats' versions of Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus both incorporate splendid choral sequences, they are mainly written in a superbly spare prose which makes them readily accessible to a wide audience.
Over the past four years, the Dublin Lyric Players have presented in the Library nine plays by WB Yeats, including The Cuchulain Cycle of plays, The Words Upon the Window Pane, The King's Threshold, The Hour Glass, Purgatory and The Dreaming of the Bones. The National Library of Ireland holds the largest collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world, and in addition, holds other fascinating Yeats material generously donated by the poet's family over several years.
Material from this collection is now on display in the National Library's major exhibition Yeats: the life and works of William Butler Yeats. Covering many aspects of the poet's life and his development as a writer, this exhibition also gives visitors insight into Irish social, cultural and political life from the late 1800s to the 1930s.
Opening hours: Monday - Wednesday 9:30am to 8:45pm Thursday & Friday 9:30am to 4:45pm Saturday 9:30am to 12:45pm
www.nli.ie/yeats/
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