Finnegans Wake

Twenty-five years ago, Theatre Kingston produced its greatest success, Finnegans Wake: A Dream Play, adapted and directed by Craig Walker from the novel by James Joyce. This spring, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its premiere, Finnegans Wake: A Dream Play is back for a brief revival in a new production again directed by Walker. It will be running May 21 to June 7 in the Homestead Baby Grand, the very theatre in which it began before going on to conquer the Toronto theatre scene.

It is exceedingly rare for a show to receive rave reviews in so many different publications. In The Globe and Mail, a review entitled “Theatre to wake the dead” raved that the production was “brilliant;” the Toronto Star asked “Who knew Joyce could be fun?” and described the show as “a roistering, rowdy bundle of fun with thought-provoking and mythic resonances,” in Now Magazine, a review entitled “Reason to Rejoyce” celebrated how “Joyce’s modernist tricks are more than matched by writer-director Walker”

The story follows the dreams of a guilt-ridden Irish pub-owner, HCE, who has fallen from his former greatness, and is now struggling to make sense of the welter of accusations against him. The members of his household appear in ever-shifting identities, and it appears that HCE’s dream has scooped up not only all of Irish history but much of the mythical narrative of humanity. Original and traditional Irish songs drift in and out of the narrative in a story that is by turns bewildering, erotic, frightening and hilariously funny. This show is a wild ride quite unlike anything you have ever seen before, except perhaps in your own dreams.

Rosemary Doyle and Kevin Head, both of whom were featured in the original production, are back in this revival, and are joined by Sean Roberts as HCE, with other roles played by Melissa Morris, Siobhan McMahon, Aiden Robert Bruce and Jake Henderson. Andrea Robertson and Clelia Scala are designing set, costumes and puppets, and Tim Fort is designing lighting. Be sure not to miss this unforgettable show, which people will be still talking about years from now!

Those in Kingston who had missed the show the first time were filled with regret and repeatedly asked when the show would be back. Well, the long wait is over.