Cries from Casement as His Bones Are Brought to Dublin

Cries from Casement as His Bones are Brought to Dublin is a radio play written by David Rudkin that examines the life and controversial legacy of Irish nationalist and British diplomat Roger Casement. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 4 February 1973.

Development

The project began in 1966 as a commission for Rudkin to contribute to a radio series on historical rebels, and morphed into a play about Casement when he realised that the social and political climate of the country at the time bore strong parallels to that of Casement's era. Rudkin utilized Casement's own diaries in the course of his research.

Regarding the fragmentary, collage-like style of the piece, Rudkin later said, "To mediate such a quantity and complexity of material, I found myself logically evolving a variety of techniques, all of them thematic – and very much to do with radio broadcasting. (Looking at it now, I think it’s rather like a radio Citizen Kane.)"

Broadcast

The BBC broadcast of the play, on 4 February 1973, was produced by John Tydeman and starred Norman Rodway as Roger Casement. Other members of the cast include: Joan Bakewell, Sean Barrett, Kate Binchy, Michael Deacon, William Eedle, Kevin Flood, Martin Friend, Heather Gibson, David Gooderson, Sheila Grant, Michael N. Harbour, John Hollis, Fraser Kerr, Rolf Lefebure, Peggy Marshall, Meryl O'Keefe, Irene Prador, David Rudkin, Henry Stamper, Eva Stuart, John Tusa, David Valla, Mary Wimbush, and Joy Worth.

Stage adaptation

A stage version of the play was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company later that same year. It received negative reviews. "The potted history of Ireland for 3,000 years is pantomimed with custard-pie subtleties and clownish acrobatics that can raise no laughs," said writer Maeve Binchy. Another stage production debuted at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1975. It ran a year later at Project Arts Theatre, where Irish Times writer Kane Archer found it to be a powerful story undermined by its inherent radio-specific construction.

In an interview in 2015, Rudkin distanced himself from attempts to produce it for the stage. He characterized the theatre production as "... misconceived, and does not merit discussion."

Critical Reception

Rudkin's play drew parallels between the political context of Casement's life and times with contemporary issues in 1973, including themes exploring the legacies of nationalism and violence. Radio critic Gillian Reynolds praised the broadcast as a major success, with an innovative style that matched the complexity of the subject matter. "Through Norman Rodway's magnificent central performance as Casement," wrote Reynolds, "both Mr Rudkin and his producer John Tydeman found the means of bringing the irony, the sensuality, the political passion together in a work of totally admirable richness and force."

"One of the great masterpieces of radio drama writing and directing," according to radio drama producer Alan Beck, who also noted its daring subject matter for the time, including political violence and frank depictions of homosexuality.

The Sunday Telegraph observed that, according to scholars, the play's content was not always historically accurate, but nonetheless praised the writing, direction and performances to conclude that the broadcast was "a tour de force." Writer Brian Inglis criticized the work for a lack of accuracy. Rudkin replied with a lengthy rebuttal in Encounter, arguing that his work more accurately portrayed the inner life of the man and his motivations.

Professor David Ian Rabey has described the play as "astonishing" and "regrettably overlooked".

Portions of the broadcast's sound design was incorporated into The Casement Project, a dance piece lead by Fearghus Ó Conchúir and inspired in part by the play. It was commissioned by the Arts Council of Ireland in 2016.