Brendan Behan
Irish playwright and memoirist whose works drew on his experiences as an IRA member and prisoner. The Quare Fellow and The Hostage brought Irish working-class life and political conflict to the London stage with raucous humor and pathos. He died of alcoholism at 41.
Works
- The Quare FellowIrish prison drama set on eve of an execution exploring humanity amid brutality
- The HostageAnarchic musical about hostage standoff between IRA and British intelligence
- Borstal BoyAutobiographical memoir of Irish revolutionary's childhood and borstal imprisonment
- The Big HouseDrama set in Irish landed gentry house during War of Independence
- Richard's Cork LegUnfinished play set in Dublin during Irish independence and political upheaval