Eamonn Jordan Archives - The Play Podcast

Eamonn Jordan

by Douglas Schatz | Sep 27, 2023 | Contributor

Eamonn Jordan

Eamonn Jordan is Professor in Drama Studies at the School of English, Drama and Film, at University College Dublin. Eamonn has written two books on the work of Martin McDonagh: From Leenane to LA: The Theatre and Cinema of Martin McDonagh, and, Justice and the Plays and Films of Martin McDonagh, as well as edited essay collections on contemporary Irish theatre.

Podcast Episode(s)

066 - The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Recommended Play(s)

Eamonn recommended The Weir by Conor McPherson,
By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr, and
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

066 – The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

by Douglas Schatz | Aug 23, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton
The Pillowman
Duke of York’s Theatre, London, August 2023

066 – The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

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Martin McDonagh’s 2004 play The Pillowman is an uneasy mix of gruesome fairy tales, child abuse and murder, overlaid with McDonagh’s signature black humour. It is true to say that McDonagh’s work provokes contrasting responses. His plays have certainly been popular with audiences and producers, but they have also attracted hostile criticism from some reviewers and academics. Their blend of graphic violence with ironic comedy can be disturbing, which of course may be part of the author’s point.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to explore the shifting terrain of this unsettling play with an expert, Professor Eamonn Jordan. Eammon is Professor of Drama Studies at the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin, and is the author of two books on the films and theatre of Martin McDonagh.

As we record this episode a new production of The Pillowman is playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End. You can listen to our review of that show here:
The Play Review – The Pillowman.

Eamonn Jordan

Recommended Play

Eamonn recommended The Weir by Conor McPherson,
By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr, and
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

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071 – Clyde’s, by Lynn Nottage

Dec 4, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

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Lynn Nottage’s play Clyde’s is set in a truck-stop diner on the outskirts of Reading, Pennsylvania. This is no ordinary diner though, because the short-order cooks that make the sandwiches that the diner is famous for are all ex-cons. The eponymous proprietor, Clyde, has not offered these characters a second chance out of the softness of her heart, but they discover some unexpected hope for their futures in their communal sufferings and support.

Lynn Nottage has won the Pulitzer Prize for drama twice, and as we record this episode the European premiere of Clyde’s is on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in London. I am delighted to be joined by the show’s director Lynette Linton, who also directed Nottage’s last play Sweat at the same theatre in 2018.

070 – King Lear, by William Shakespeare

Nov 17, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

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The poet Percy Shelley called King Lear “the most perfect specimen of the dramatic art existing in the world”. It is a prodigious play in every sense. There are ten major roles, it has multiple significant plot lines, an elemental stormy setting, intense domestic conflict, and acts of war and violence which roll on with a propulsive tragic energy and conjure a challenging philosophical vision.

As we record this episode a new production directed by and starring Sir Kenneth Branagh arrives in London’s West End.

I am very pleased to be joined in this episode by Paul Prescott, who is an academic, writer and theatre practitioner specialising in Shakespearean drama.

069 – A View from the Bridge, by Arthur Miller

Nov 1, 2023 | Podcast Episodes

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Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge tells the tragic story of Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman who works on the docks under Brooklyn Bridge. Eddie lives with his wife Beatrice and 17-year old niece, Catherine, whom they have cared for since she was a child. But Catherine is no longer a child, and her natural desire to pursue her own life will tragically rupture the lives of this family and the close-knit immigrant community of Red Hook.

As we record this episode a new production of A View from the Bridge is touring the UK, and I’m delighted to talk with its director, Holly Race Roughan, about this powerful play.