Moll

By John B Keane

Moll is a hilarious and highly successful comedy about life in an Irish country presbytery.'When a presbytery gets a new housekeeper it becomes like a country that gets a change of government, or like a family that gets a new stepmother'. Moll Kettle would work for no less than a canon for, in her own words, 'Tis hard to come back to the plain black and white when one is used to the purple'.
John B. Keane was one of Ireland's most prolific and respected literary figures. He was born in 1928 in Listowel, County Kerry and it was here that he spent his literary career, running a pub which provided him with inspiration for his characters and ideas.

His first play, 'Sive', was presented by the Listowel Drama Group and won the All-Ireland Drama Festival in 1959. It was followed by another success, 'Sharon's Grave', in 1960. 'The Field' (1965) and 'Big Maggie' (1969), are widely regarded as classics of the modern Irish stage and jewels in a crown which includes such popular hits as 'Many Young Men of Twenty', 'The Man from Clare', 'Moll', 'The Chastitute' and 'The Year of the Hiker'. His large canon of plays have been seen abroad in cities as far afield as Moscow and Los Angeles. 'Big Maggie' ran on Broadway for over two months in 1982 and 'The Field' was adapted into an Oscar-winning Hollywood film, starring Brenda Fricker and Richard Harris, in 1991.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mercier Press
• Release date: Mar 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781781172759

John B Keane

John Brendan Keane, who died in his native Listowel in 2002, remains one of Ireland’s most popular writers. He was the author of many awardwinning books and plays, including Big Maggie, Sive, The Year of the Hiker, Sharon's Grave and his masterpiece, The Field.

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© The Estate of John B. Keane, 1991

ISBN: 978 1 78117 274 2

Epub ISBN: 978 1 78117 275 9

Mobi ISBN: 978 1 78117 276 6

Moll is a copyright play and may not be performed without a licence. Application for a licence for amateur performances must be made in advance. Terms for professional performances may be had from JBK Occasions, 37 William Street, Listowel, Co. Kerry.

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Inhalt

CHARACTERS

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

BRIDGE ACT ONE, SCENE ONE TO SCENE TWO

BRIDGE ACT ONE, SCENE TWO TO SCENE THREE

BRIDGE ACT ONE, SCENE THREE TO SCENE FOUR

ACT TWO

SCENE ONE

BRIDGE ACT TWO, SCENE ONE TO SCENE TWO

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

OTHER TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR

CHARACTERS

This revised version of Moll was first presented by Groundwork in association with Gaiety Entertainments at the Gaiety Theatre on 10 June 1991.

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

To set a scene or provide an amusing philosophical commentary on the preceding one, a series of extracts from Canon Pratt’s diary have been selected with appropriate accompanying action on the fore-stage. These ‘front cloth’ vignettes also enable the stage to be set for the following scene and ensure a continual flow of action.