deathbedxcv 's review for:

Three More Plays by Sean: O‘Casey, Seán O'Casey, SEAN O’CASEY

5.0

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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‘Three More Plays’ by Sean O’Casey 

 

THE SILVER TASSIE 

 

“And he said unto me, Son of man, can this exceeding great army become a valley of dry bones?” 

 

‘The Silver Tassie’ is an anti war play by Sean O’Casey, and it is the first in the collection ‘Three More Plays’. Akin to something like ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ by Dalton Trumbo, it follows enthusiastic young Irish men, primarily one named Harry Heegan, and the haunting effects of war. Harry, his friends, and his family start the play happy and eager for the war. I mean Harry’ won the silver tassie, he’s made the goal, he’s an athletic star! What could go wrong? Well…not to spoil the plot…but everything. In the battlefield soldiers are followed by the Croucher aka death. Back at home, those same soldiers have to live with surviving death. 

One of the most daunting lines of dialogue, of which there are many, is “But wy’re we ‘ere, wy’r we ‘ere, - that’s wot ‘e wants to know!” For me this line perfectly illustrates the uselessness of war and how some people are eager to fight without truly knowing why they are fighting. 

 

PURPLE DUST 

 

“He has now persuaded himself that in the country peace and goodwill are to be found; and expects that everyone else should find them there too.” 

 

I would describe the plot of ‘Purple Dust’ as a depiction of a gentrifiers worst nightmare because it follows these two wealthy English stockbrokers who move into this dilapidated Tudor mansion in the fictional Clune na Geera, Ireland. They come to Ireland thinking that the Irish workmen and locals will bend to their ways. Instead everything falls apart on them; their life, their women, the mansion, etc. I found this play to be one of O’Casey’s most relatable for me because I come from a low-income neighborhood and I’ve been slowly seeing gentrification come over my neighborhood like some evil moss or ivory.  

I also found this to be one of O’Casey’s most colorful plays. You have the title itself, ‘Purple Dust’, which I believe the meaning behind it is explained in this one quote; “It’s meself is sayin’ ourselves came late, but soon enough to see the finery fade to purple dust, an’ glow o’ th’ quality turn to murmuring’ ashes.” There’s also the English characters very colorful clothing, and the Yellow-bearded man. 

One of the scenes that I believe perfectly encapsulates the gentrifier/local relationship is when Pages, one of the stockbrokers, gets his foot caught while moving furniture because he told the workmen to move right instead of ayste (east). 

 

RED ROSES FOR ME 

 

“Let the timid tiptoe through the way where the paler blossoms grow; my feet shall be where the redder roses grow, though they bear long thorns, sharp and piercing, thick among them!” 

 

‘Red Roses For Me,’ follows working-class Protestant hero Ayamonn Breydon as he leads workers during the a labor strike to gain an extra shilling a week. The play doesn’t explicitly say it, or gives a date, but it is likely that O’Casey wrote this play to take place during the Dublin lock-out of 1913, which was a strike caused by poor working conditions, lack of worker’s rights, and inability to unionize. 

It is interesting to put a Protestant in the forefront of your Irish play, considering the history of them and the Catholics. But O’Casey’s made his Protestant protagonist open minded, meaning that he welcomes Catholics and even atheists as comrades. With this the author is able to both critique religion and show his full support for the Irish working class. That is to say that the Irish Working Class is not a monolith based on Catholic sentiment. 

One thing I truly appreciated among other things—I can’t hide it anymore I am def an O’Casey fanboy—is his use of nature and especially flowers and fruit. There’s the title of the play. Then there’s the cross made of daffodils which becomes a huge deal in a Protestant church later on. And there’s also the use of red berries to represent blood. I feel this language is contrasted well against the terrible conditions of the workers and the tenements.