Sword Against the Sea
by William Butler Yeats, Arthur Feinsod

Name: Sword Against the Sea
Brand: William Butler Yeats
SKU: 9780573701207

Sword Against the Sea Book Cover — Sword Against the Sea Cover

Highlights

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Male

90 mins Ensemble Cast Bare Stage/Simple Set Period Costumes

Synopsis

Sword Against the Sea is an adaptation of William Butler Yeats’ six one-act plays and some of his most stirring poems about the Celtic hero Cuchulain.

Arranged in the chronological order of Cuchulain’s life and drawing exclusively on Yeats’ own magnificent poetry, this two-act play presents the hero’s failed attempt as a young man to achieve eternal life at the Hawk’s Well; his tragic slaying of his own son and the realization that drives him in despair to fight the sea; his wife Emer’s noble sacrifice to save his life by renouncing her love; and Cuchulain’s death and spiritual transcendence as an aged warrior.

Like the original Yeats Cuchulain plays themselves, this adaptation calls for collaborations among different kinds of artists in the creation of masks, the use of dance and the possibility of including instrumental and sung music.

These Cuchulain plays and poems are compressed, simplified and reshaped for a rich, uplifting evening of theater.

Press Reviews

"The innovative Sword Against the Sea... combines the beauty of Yeats’ original language with a dramatic structure that makes the tales come alive on stage."
— Robert Cullen, Sligo Weekender

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
THE POET Doubles as CONNLA. He is always present on stage and, when not reciting or performing in the CONNLA mask, watches from the side, at times adding, moving, removing or adjusting scenery, props or costumes, like the Stage Attendant in the Nō Theater.	male	—	Doubles as CONNLA. He is always present on stage and, when not reciting or performing in the CONNLA mask, watches from the side, at times adding, moving, removing or adjusting scenery, props or costumes, like the Stage Attendant in the Nō Theater.
CUCHULAIN (pron. Coo-HULL-en) – Mighty warrior in the ancient province of Ulster.	—	—	(pron. Coo-HULL-en) – Mighty warrior in the ancient province of Ulster.
GUARDIAN OF THE WELL/HAWK WOMAN A Woman of the Sidhe (pron. SHEE). A shape-changer with other guises: FIRST WOMAN, FAND and MORRIGU.(pron. MAWR-RIH-GOO)	female	—	A Woman of the Sidhe (pron. SHEE). A shape-changer with other guises: FIRST WOMAN, FAND and MORRIGU.(pron. MAWR-RIH-GOO)
OLD MAN Doubles as BLIND MAN and BRICRUI.	male	—	Doubles as BLIND MAN and BRICRUI.
AOIFE (pron. EE-fa) – Cuchulain’s Mistress. Doubles as THIRD WOMAN.	female	—	(pron. EE-fa) – Cuchulain’s Mistress. Doubles as THIRD WOMAN.
EMER (pron. EE-mer) – Cuchulain’s wife BLIND MAN FOOL – Doubles as SPIRIT OF	female	—	(pron. EE-mer) – Cuchulain’s wife BLIND MAN FOOL – Doubles as SPIRIT OF
CUCHULAIN WOMAN #1 ,	—	—	,
WOMAN #2 and	—	—	and
WOMAN #3 Three mysterious peasant women.	—	—	Three mysterious peasant women.
CONNLA (pron. COHN-lah) – Out-of-wedlock son of Cuchulain and Aoife.	male	—	(pron. COHN-lah) – Out-of-wedlock son of Cuchulain and Aoife.
EITHNE INGUBA (pron. EHTH-nah ING-oo-bah) – Doubles as SECOND WOMAN.	female	—	(pron. EHTH-nah ING-oo-bah) – Doubles as SECOND WOMAN.
BRICRIU (pron. BRIH-croo) – Mysterious creature of the sea inhabiting CUCHULAIN’s body.	—	—	(pron. BRIH-croo) – Mysterious creature of the sea inhabiting CUCHULAIN’s body.
SPIRIT OF CUCHULAIN	—	—	—