Looking back on "'Tis Pity She's a Whore"

Now on in Dublin’s Project Arts Centre is The Making of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore”, a reworking of the John Ford-written 17^th century darkly thrilling drama. The original play, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore deals with the hidden and lustful desires of one man for his sister in the 17^th century Italian city of Parma. This modern staging of the play places the action on a film set and works the themes of the original around this engaging twist which is being staged by Siren Productions and directed by the Irish Times Award-Winning director, Selina Cartmell.

The play itself certainly has a chequered and daring history, finding itself almost forgotten from the collected works of John Ford as early as the mid-17^th century. Interestingly, the play received a full production from Druid Theatre from June to July 1985. Staged at Druid Lane Theatre in Galway and directed by Gary Hynes, the play featured a strong cast and featured the talents of Pat Leavy, Malcolm Douglas, Marie Mullen, Mairéad Noone, Ciaran Hinds, Maelíosa Stafford, Séan McGinley, Jane Brennan, Ray McBride and Darragh Kelly. 

The Druid Theatre Archive here in the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway, holds a rich record of this production that includes programmes - which detail cast lists, headshots, productions credits and an article detailing thoughts on the play written by author John Banville - entitled "In the teeth of the whirlwind"; posters, photographs flyers, invitations, tickets and play posters. There are also many press reviews and articles from regional, local and national press. This unique collection of play records and ephemera is a fantastic research resource and provides an insight into how one of Ireland’s premier theatre companies staged a work over twenty-five years ago which has now found its place back on a major Irish stage.

The files T2/121 – 125 and T2/380 relate directly to this Druid production and their descriptions and details can be viewed on the Druid Archive online catalogue: http://archives.library.nuigalway.ie/cgi-bin/FramedList.cgi?T2

For more on the current production of The Making of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore by Siren Productions see http://www.projectartscentre.ie/