My fascination with the genius of James Joyce, who chose Hungarian Jewish origins for his character Bloom, has been brewing in the back of my mind, while I was working on a play about a Hungarian journalist interviewing the immortal Mr Joyce. A short version of the play was performed a couple of years ago by an international ensemble of Irish, Hungarian and Swedish actors in the Hungarian Embassy and in the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin. Then it was a very quick job done, within six weeks from conception to performance.
During the past two years I returned to the piece frequently, which has by now grown into a full length play, suitable for a very versatile actress who has to manage three accents in three characters and a male, who would be playing the immortal, as well as the young Joyce and Bloom as well.
We will deliver a rehearsed reading of yet another shortened version, but as a promenade performance in the Rostrevor Inn on Bloomsday morning. The wonderful Vicky Blades will play Nora and the Hungarian journalist and Jason Benson will play Joyce/Bloom. There will be cameos by local talent. Alistair Livingstone directing, who directed Bananas! in the round as well. This time, we will use two venues, the restaurant and the pub of the Rostrevor Inn.