Come and join me as we rediscover one of the greatest myths to come out of the Emerald Isle: "Deirdre of the Sorrows," adapted for the stage by J.M. Synge. Deirdre, a woman of immeasurable beauty, is betrothed/condemned to the King of Ulster, Conchubar. But in true mythological fashion, there is a prophecy which prevents this--a prophecy that tells of her falling in love with another man, of heroes being banished in her name, of multiple wars waged for her honor. Loyalty, familial ties, and unadulterated love will be strained and broken, with only one question remaining: Who will be left to admire the beauty and sorrow of life? Follow me on other platforms: https://bemuse.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/talentunlimited1/?hl=en https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wiNjFbd6rluEHZF4Qffcv https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070481824821&locale=hi_IN https://www.patreon.com/bemuse https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLZ_sUa8kfdu3qa6GSzbDiw Website: https://bemusearts.com *This Season's Album Art by Brian Fisher* Edmund John Millington Synge (1871–1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play The Playboy of the Western World was poorly received, due to its bleak ending, depiction of Irish peasants, and idealisation of parricide, leading to hostile audience reactions and riots in Dublin during its opening run at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, which he had co-founded with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. His writings mainly concern working-class Catholics in rural Ireland, and with what he saw as the essential paganism of their world view. Owing to his ill health, Synge was schooled at home. His early interest was in music, leading to a scholarship and degree at Trinity College Dublin, and he went to Germany in 1893 to study music. He abandoned this career path in 1894 with a move to Paris where he took up poetry and literary criticism and met Yeats, and then returned to Ireland. Synge suffered from Hodgkin's disease. He died aged 37 from Hodgkin's-related cancer, while writing what became Deirdre of the Sorrows, considered by some as his masterpiece, though unfinished during his lifetime. Although he left relatively few works, they are widely regarded as of high cultural significance. *Any views/ideas expressed in these plays are not my own, and I do not believe in the censoring of anything controversial or problematic that the playwright/poet/author has written which will impact the way in which the story is told. The integrity of these works is much more important to me than any triggering content, and therefore I would ask that you have the same maturity and mental framework to listen to these pieces of art and appreciate them in their proper historical context.* Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/brendan-moirs-playwright-corner/donations