‘The Legacy of Loss’ is a new powerful, poignant drama by Anne Curtis. It highlights the crisis torn years between 1915 and 1923 in Ireland through the eyes of Muriel MacSwiney as she reflects on the events leading to her ‘celebrity status’ in London, 1920, when she supported her husband Terence, Lord Mayor of Cork in Brixton Prison.
Muriel was a remarkable woman. She was born into a wealthy, privileged family in Cork, but as she grew up, she began to recognise the poverty and injustice which surrounded her. Soon, Muriel became an active freedom fighter for political change in Ireland. It wasn’t long before she recognised her political soulmate in Terence MacSwiney. They fell in love and married, continuing to fight side by side for the Republican cause. Their marriage was cut tragically short by Terence’s arrest and imprisonment.
Shipped off to Brixton Prison, Terence went on hunger strike, with Muriel visiting him daily as he lay slowly dying. Terence finally lost his struggle in October 1920, aged just 41 years. Thirty thousand people filed past his coffin to pay their respects when it rested in Southwark Cathedral prior to being taken back to Ireland.
Muriel lived on, but it was a survival dominated by loss. The play explores the reality of loss and questions who owns a hero’s legacy. How should a sacrifice be commemorated? This new play focuses on a particular period in history, but its themes are universal: love, loss and legacy are as relevant today as they always were.
Writer and director Anne Curtis, originally from Cork City, whose family had close connections to Cork City Council during these seismic times, explains why she felt impelled to bring this story onto the stage:
‘I knew from my family that a Lord Mayor of Cork had died in Brixton Prison during the Irish War of Independence. Cork was a very small city at the time, and from my research it seemed more than possible that my grandfather and Terence MacSwiney may have known each other. This made me think of what life might have been like for the women in their lives and I was struck by the hidden voice of his wife Muriel. Most historical accounts portray her as a passive bystander. She was anything but, as I hope this play demonstrates.’
The Blue Elephant Theatre, 59A Bethwin Rd, Camberwell London SE5 0XT
Tuesday May 7th- Saturday 11th May 2024
Booking: http://www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk
CONTACT: Anne Curtis Telephone 07803 015587 Email: anne@greencurtaintheatre.co.uk.
Further details:
https://greencurtaintheatre.co.uk/the-legacy-of-loss-a-new-irish-play
