“The Rent Woman” – The Lost First Play by Brendan Behan

A Play-Reading Directed by JIMMY MURPHY Discovered deep in the National Library of Ireland late last year, The Rent Woman is Act One of Brendan Behan’s long-lost first play, written in his early twenties in Mountjoy Jail, and burning with raw energy. Ferocious, funny, and unfiltered, the play offers a vibrant glimpse into Dublin tenement life, class conflict, and the emerging voice of one of Ireland’s most iconic writers. This is Behan before the myth: alive with promise, precision, and social bite. Originally written in English and later reworked into Irish as An Bean Cíosá, the play adds a fascinating bilingual dimension to Behan’s evolving theatrical vision. At this exclusive event at the ICC join Ireland’s acclaimed playwright Jimmy Murphy, for a live reading of the play, an inside look at the play’s remarkable discovery, and a conversation about its continued relevance — and what Acts Two and Three might still reveal about Behan and his relationship with the Irish language.” Jimmy Murphy considers Behan to be one of his literary hero’s, an authority on Behans’ work, Jimmy will introduce the play reading and take part in the Q&A following the show.