Seán O’Casey – Under a Coloured Cap

The Irish Arts Center continues its documentary film series with a film on Ireland’s foremost playwright, Seán O’Casey – Under a Coloured Cap.

Sean O’Casey – Under a Coloured Cap explores the life and work of the great Irish playwright Sean O’Casey. Born in 1880 the film follows his early life including the 1916 Easter Rising, Anglo-Irish War and Civil War. In plays such as Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock, and The Plough and the Stars, which now stand with the great plays of the Twentieth Century, O’Casey often depicted the lives of the Dublin tenement dwellers he was familiar with. The film also follows his life through to his self-exile in London.

Narrated and directed by his daughter Shivaun, Seán O’Casey’s personality comes to life through rare interviews with himself, his wife Eileen and son Breon. Together with fascinating archive footage and scenes from his plays, he is revealed as a diverse and innovative artist, and optimistic humanist.