Penelope (play)
Encyclopedia
Penelope is a 2010 tragicomedy play written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh
. The play concerns the attempts of four men seeking to win over Penelope
in the absence of her warrior husband, Odysseus
, who has been away for the previous twenty years fighting the Trojan wars.
formats. Each man hopes to win her affections through their monologues. But as the day wears on signs and premonitions of Odysseus’ return grow more ominous and they formulate a plan to work together in order that one of them may succeed in winning Penelope, thus saving the others from Odysseus’ revenge.
In a final sequence Quinn performs a quick-change cabaret routine to the music of ‘Spanish Flea’ and ‘A Taste of Honey’ by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as the others aid his performance. Variously Quinn costumes himself as male and female lovers of exceptional note —such as Napoleon and Josephine
and Rhett Butler
and Scarlet O’Hara— it is when he strips down to his toga, as Eros
the Greek God of Love, that he is stabbed by Burns. Dunne and Fitz take part in the stabbing and Quinn is killed. Burns makes a final address to Penelope in which he argues for their collective redemption through love and human affection. Burns concludes his speech with the words “love is saved” and at this moment "the barbecue goes up in flames. As their dream predicted, it begins from its legs and quickly spreads to the rest of the frame and grill" thus signalling the deaths of the men as above them Penelope withdraws from the stage "and into her new future".
Enda Walsh
Enda Walsh is an Irish playwright born in Dublin and currently living in London. Walsh attended the same secondary school where both Roddy Doyle and Paul Mercier taught. Having written for the Dublin Youth Theatre, he moved to Cork where he wrote Fishy Tales for the Graffiti Theatre Company,...
. The play concerns the attempts of four men seeking to win over Penelope
Penelope
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him....
in the absence of her warrior husband, Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, who has been away for the previous twenty years fighting the Trojan wars.
Plot synopsis
The play opens with the four men, Fitz, Burns, Dunne and Quinn, in an empty swimming pool, going about their daily lives with only Burns seemingly at odds with his environment. There is a blood stain on the wall which we learn was caused by the suicide of a fifth man, Murray, only the day before. Burns attempts to scrub away the blood to no avail. A barbecue stands towards the rear of the pool, it has never been lit and is the source of great curiosity and some fear by the men. In a shared dream they see it lighting heralding their death at the hands of Odysseus. Penelope, separated from the men, stands on a platform above and unseen from the pool. A television screen relays the successive addresses by the men for her perusal in a contemporaneous nod to reality televisionReality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
formats. Each man hopes to win her affections through their monologues. But as the day wears on signs and premonitions of Odysseus’ return grow more ominous and they formulate a plan to work together in order that one of them may succeed in winning Penelope, thus saving the others from Odysseus’ revenge.
In a final sequence Quinn performs a quick-change cabaret routine to the music of ‘Spanish Flea’ and ‘A Taste of Honey’ by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as the others aid his performance. Variously Quinn costumes himself as male and female lovers of exceptional note —such as Napoleon and Josephine
Josephine
Josephine is a female name, a feminine form of Joseph. It may refer to:-People:* Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first Empress of the French.* Josephine Brunsvik, Hungarian Countess, most likely Beethoven's Immortal Beloved* Josephine -Other:...
and Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
and Scarlet O’Hara— it is when he strips down to his toga, as Eros
Eros
Eros , in Greek mythology, was the Greek god of love. His Roman counterpart was Cupid . Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite....
the Greek God of Love, that he is stabbed by Burns. Dunne and Fitz take part in the stabbing and Quinn is killed. Burns makes a final address to Penelope in which he argues for their collective redemption through love and human affection. Burns concludes his speech with the words “love is saved” and at this moment "the barbecue goes up in flames. As their dream predicted, it begins from its legs and quickly spreads to the rest of the frame and grill" thus signalling the deaths of the men as above them Penelope withdraws from the stage "and into her new future".