The Darkest Corner: documenting institutional abuse and its consequences at the Abbey Theatre

Abstract

Documentary theatre, as a theatrical genre, has not maintained a continuous presence in Irish theatre. The Darkest Corner series, produced in 2010 by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland's National Theatre is, therefore, one of the first examples of Irish theatre using the genre to address political and social issues. Presenting three plays, Gerard Mannix Flynn's James X, Richard Johnson's The Evidence I Shall Give and Mary Raftery's No Escape, the series examines the widespread abuse of children in state institutions. Before analysing the documentary play commissioned by the Abbey, Raftery's No Escape, this article will begin with an exploration of documentary theatre in Ireland. It will then examine the material used for the play, the Ryan Report, published following the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, something of great political and social interest to contemporary Ireland and, finally, the play itself.

Keywords:

• Ryan Report
• documentary theatre
• Abbey Theatre
• The Darkest Corner series
• No Escape
• James X

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my gratitude to the Abbey Theatre, Dublin for its permission to use production photographic images.

Notes

 1. Silver Stars was written by Seán Millar and produced by Brokentalkers Theatre Company in association with the Abbey Theatre at the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, 2009.

 2. For example, in 1967 the new Abbey Theatre produced Recall the Years, by Walter Macken. Although not strictly documentary theatre, the play provided an overview of the theatre's history using aesthetic qualities borrowed from the living newspaper form.

 3. Mahon Tribunal.

 4. Moriarty Tribunal.

 5. Department of Education and Skills.

 6. .

 7.

 8. Inglis, Lessons in Irish Sexuality, 30.

 9. Inglis, Lessons in Irish Sexuality, 65.

10. Inglis, Lessons in Irish Sexuality, 22.

11. Inglis, Lessons in Irish Sexuality

12. Inglis, Moral Monopoly, 68.

13. Inglis, Moral Monopoly, 69.

14. Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.

15. The Darkest Corner programme.

16. The Darkest Corner series programme included the plays The Evidence I Shall Give (Johnson), 26–27 April 2010, No Escape (Raftery), 14–24 April 2010 and James X (Flynn), 29 April–1 May 2010 and public talks with Mary Raftery and Róisín McBrinn (director, No Escape), 15 April 2010 and Gerard Mannix Flynn, 22 April 2010.

17. Ryan Report, vol. 4, section 1.169–1.173.

18. Lonergan, ‘The Values of Irish Theatre’.

19. Lonergan, ‘The Values of Irish Theatre’

20. Raftery, No Escape, 14.

21. Raftery, No Escape, 11.

22. Raftery, No Escape, 13.

23. Raftery, No Escape, 15.

24. Examples can be found in both sections of Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry that include Bernadette McAliskey's and William Patrick McDonagh's testimonies.

25. Abbey Theatre, The Darkest Corner series programme.

26. Abbey Theatre, The Darkest Corner series programme

27. Abbey Theatre, The Darkest Corner series programme

28. Hare, ‘Mere Fact, Mere Fiction’.

29. Hare, ‘Mere Fact, Mere Fiction’

30. Norton-Taylor, Bloody Sunday, 31.

31. Hare, ‘Mere Fact, Mere Fiction’.

32. Hare, ‘Mere Fact, Mere Fiction’