The Art of Billy Roche

Billy Roche musician, actor, novelist, dramatist, screenwriter is one of Irelands most versatile talents. This anthology, the first comprehensive survey of Roches work, focuses on his portrayal of one Irish town as a microcosm of human life itself, elemental and timeless. Among the contributors are fellow artists (Colm Tibn, Conor McPherson, Belinda McKeon), theatre professionals (Benedict Nightingale, Dominic Dromgoole, Ingrid Craigie), and scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. Essays and interviews illuminate Roches musicality, his poetic use of Wexford dialect, his mythic imagination, his preoccupation with love and loss, and his relation to other Irish dramatists. Posters and photographs help to clarify Roches inventive use of stage space and his fictional transformation of town space. Two selections by Billy Roche himself exemplif the range of his work. His first play, A Handful of Stars, which helped pave the way for other Irish playwrights in London, is represented here by a key scene featuring teenage rebel Jimmy Brady. And from Tales from Rainwater Pond, Roches recent collection, the poignant story A Lucky Escape is reprinted in full.