BRENDAN BEHAN (1956) Photo archive


Set of 4 vintage original black-and-white photos, overall near fine or better:
  • Two 8 x 6" (20 x 15 cm) portraits, both with old photo agency stickers on verso, one has holograph notation of 1956, which would correspond to the time of the Joan Littlewood production of Behan's The Quare Fellow.
  • One 9 x 7" (23 x 18 cm) UPI photo dated 10/12/56 with mimeographed text on verso. Behan with Ria Rooney, who produced The Quare Fellow for the first time in London.
  • One 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm) photo. Text on verso mentions the upcoming show Impulse, which Behan was preparing for an April 1, 1961 premiere in New York; sadly, Behan's crippling alcoholism became so severe that the show was cancelled.
Brendan Behan (1923-1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright and activist who wrote in both English and Irish. He is widely regarded as one of Ireland's greatest writers.

In 1954, Behan's first play, The Quare Fellow, was produced in Dublin. It was well received; however, it was the 1956 production at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford, London, that gained Behan a wider reputation. This was helped by a famous drunken interview on BBC television with Malcolm Muggeridge. In 1958, Behan's play in the Irish language, An Giall, had its debut at Dublin's Damer Theatre. Later, Behan's English-language adaptation called The Hostage met with great success internationally. Behan's autobiographical novel, Borstal Boy, was published the same year and became a worldwide best-seller. (Wikipedia)






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