Gonne/Yeats
A Literary Cabaret
by Dennis M. Corcoran and Jaz Dorsey
Program Notes
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939. Nobel Prize, 1923) is one of the world’s
foremost poets. Lesser known is the woman to whom, for whom, he wrote much
of his poetry, Maud Gonne (MacBride, 1866-1953).
He proposed to her five times. She refused him each time, remaining wholly
focused on Ireland’s struggle for freedom and the plight of her poor. Him, a man
of letters. Her, a firebrand and rebel who through striking beauty and a gift of
oratory opened many doors previously closed to Ireland’s women.
Ironic, then, that Maud Gonne, mother of Seán MacBride, Nobel Peace Prize,
1974, is so little known while the man whose poetry was so inspired by her,
dedicated to her, continues to inspire people throughout the world today. This is
their story.
Ensemble
Maud Gonne – Jordan Stiles
William Butler Yeats – Andrew Bayer
Narrator – Jamie Langen Neubacher
Fiddler – Holly Laws
Directed by Dennis M. Corcoran
Performances
May 24, 25
Central Print – 5:00pm
2612 N. 14th Street, St. Louis, Mo.
(One block south of Crown Candy)
Tickets $5 At Door – BYOB
June 13, 14
The Chapel – 7:30pm
6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis, Mo.
Tickets $5 At Door – Refreshments Available
Amharclann An Scáthán Dubh – St. Louis, Mo.
Info: blackmirrortheatre@gmail.com
Program Contents
1. REQUIEM FOR THE CROPPIES by Seamus Heaney,
excerpt THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY by Robert Joyce
2. Excerpt EASTER, 1916 by William Butler Yeats, 1921
3. THE CAP AND BELLS by William Butler Yeats, 1899
4. NO SECOND TROY by William Butler Yeats, 1910
5. IN THEIR OWN VOICE, Women and Irish Nationalism (Maud Gonne)
6. A SERVANT OF THE QUEEN by Maud Gonne, published 1994
7. Final verse EASTER, 1916.
8. WHEN YOU ARE OLD by William Butler Yeats, 1893
9. A SERVANT OF THE QUEEN referenced above
10. NEVER GIVE ALL THE HEART by William Butler Yeats, 1921
11. THE ROSE TREE by William Butler Yeats, 1921
12. SIXTEEN DEAD MEN by William Butler Yeats, 1921
13. HE WISHES FOR THE CLOTHS OF HEAVEN by William Butler Yeats, 1899
14. Paraphrased from A SERVANT OF THE QUEEN referenced above.
15. First verse MAN AND THE ECHO by William Butler Yeats, 1938-1939