Stanislaus and James is an imaginative exploration of the relationship between James Joyce and his younger brother Stanislaus. It is 1953 and Stanislaus, now a professor of literature in the University of Trieste, is sharing some of his memories with us.
Growing up together in late nineteenth-century Dublin, the brothers shared childhood memories and the same literary instincts. When James emigrated to Trieste in 1904 with his wife-to-be Nora, Stanislaus followed and became his brother’s keeper, touchstone, conscience, biggest fan, and major financial donor/rescuer. He was also a primary source for his brother’s masterpieces.
As James's literary career took off, psychological and lifestyle differences emerged. In 1922 Ulysses was published, taking the literary world by storm. The brothers drifted apart, meeting for the last time in Paris in 1926. James died in 1941, the last letter he wrote was to his brother. Stanislaus died on the 16th of June 1955, the anniversary of the day featured in Ulysses, 16 June 1904 - Bloomsday.
the Space @ Niddry St (V9)
Sun 13 – Tues 22 August 2023
12.10 pm (40 mins)
I'm very intrigued by the demise of the production: is this a look at James from a new perspective, or an attempt to rescue his brother from obscurity?
A good question. It is an attempt to consider why they lost touch: they met for the last time in 1926 and James died in 1941. Also it shows how Stanislaus had supported James financially for 10 years in Trieste and how some of his ideas were used by James. Stanislaus has some negative feelings about his father and the time with James in Trieste.
How do you feel about the character that you're playing? Have you come to like or dislike or understand the man any better through performing him?
Yes, I feel I have come to know him by playing him - certainly how he felt about his father, mother and James. There is an element of supposition about him in terms of why the brothers did not see each other for some 15 years as they had been very closely involved in their childhood and in Trieste.
Is there are any relationship between Joyce's prose and the writing of the script? Or does the narrative call for a different dramaturgical approach?
There is no relationship between the script and James' s writing. It is purely Stanislaus reminiscing about his parents and his relationship with James.
Does this play fit in with any particular tradition of theatre? The preoccupation with a literary figure does seem to speak to a particular approach.
The style of this show is very much the one-person playing the character on a basically empty stage. It depends completely on interpreting the character as he tells the story.
And the inevitable finale. What are you hoping to experience at the Edinburgh fringe this year?
We (myself and the writer John O'Byrne) are hoping to find a curious audience who will find it a stimulating experience and discover a somewhat different angle on James Joyce as provided by Stanislaus. We would also hope that performing it might lead to further opportunities.
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