The Stage

The Quare Fellow

Published Thursday 2 June 2005 at 11:50 by Aleks Sierz

Fifty one years ago, the last hanging took place in the Irish Republic and Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow - which opened in Dublin and was then restaged by Joan Littlewood at Stratford East in 1956 - drew on his own experiences of Mountjoy Prison to give an authentic flavour to this unflinching account of a barbaric practice.

As the Quare Fellow, a man who butchered his brother, spends the last day of his life in the condemned cell, the other prisoners discuss his imminent execution with a mixture of gruesome fascination and gallows humour. Meanwhile, the wardens try to control both the inmates and their own anxieties, while the hangman arrives to measure up the victim, and prisoners dig his grave.

Behan’s comedy is as black as a hearse, and by keeping the Quare Fellow offstage, he focuses on the effects of the execution on those prisoners who survive, whether gobby, troubled, prankish or resigned. The result is a fascinating mix of social documentary, moral outrage and a deeply humane account of life in adversity.

Powerfully directed by Kathy Burke, this engrossing production has a strong cast of 17, including Sean Campion’s unhappy Warden Regan, Ciaran McIntyre’s bristly old-timer Dunlavin, Tony Rohr’s whiney Neighbour and Jay Simpson’s jokey hangman. Designer David Roper creates an aptly oppressive atmosphere, and the rest of the cast rarely disappoint. Dominic Dromgoole’s Oxford Stage Company should be heartily thanked for reviving their 2004 production and giving audiences another chance to enjoy this rare modern classic.