“The most cooperative of writers”: Brendan Behan’s Collaboration with Carolyn Swift on The Quare Fellow

125 “THE MOST COOPERATIVE OF WRITERS”: BRENDAN BEHAN’S COLLABORATION WITH CAROLYN SWIFT ON THE QUARE FELLOW James Li le DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2024.67.8 Abs ac : B endan Behan was a w i e o whom collabo a ion was a cen al pa o he c ea i e p ocess. His wo k o he inhe en ly social a o hea e hus p o ides a ascina ing case s udy h ough which o examine collabo a i e ex ual geneses, pa icula ly when he e is an a chi al ail ha enables us o analyse hese collabo a ions. Building on he ecen u n in gene ic c i icism owa ds he s udy o collabo a i e c ea i e p ocesses, his a icle d aws on he ecen ly acqui ed pape s, a he Uni e si y o Galway, o Pike Thea e co- ounde Ca olyn Swi , who was cen al o he edi ing o Behan’s plays o pe o mance. Focusing on d a s o The Qua e Fellow ( i s s aged 1954), he essay shows ha Swi dele ed mul iple ins ances o iolen language om Behan’s manusc ip , sugges ing ha he play’s iolence was censo ed by his key collabo a o . B inging he ools o gene ic c i icism o bea on Behan’s hea e wo k demons a es he signi icance o Swi ’s ole in Behan’s collabo a i e c ea i e p ac ice and he cen ali y o collabo a ion o his aes he ic. In conclusion, he a icle calls o a e ised eade ’s edi ion o Behan’s plays which would ake in o accoun he collabo a i e na u e o his hea e wo k. Keywo ds: collabo a ion in he hea e, gene ic c i icism, censo ship o iolence, Pike Thea e, B endan Behan, Ca olyn Swi , The Qua e Fellow In a d a o he p og amme no e o he Abbey Thea e p oduc ion o The Qua e Fellow in 1984, Ca olyn Swi ied o se he eco d s aigh abou he ole in he genesis o B endan Behan’s landma k play. She ells o his ypesc ip , hen en i led “The Twis ing o Ano he Rope,” a i ing a Dublin’s Pike Thea e in 1954. Conside ing i o be “o e -long,” she p uned his sc ip back o i s p emie e: “E e y b illian line, whe he edolaen o na i e Dublin wi o uni e sally- appealing humani y, was bu ied in a dozen mo e, only sligh ly less b illian , so James Li le 126 ha he excep ional wood could no be seen o he less ema kable ees.”1 A e he Pike p emie e, she made u he changes o Behan’s sc ip : “I did a conside able amoun o ansposing o inciden s and dialogue in o de o imp o e he cons uc ion, and go he au ho ’s app o al o i .” She hen pe suaded Behan o emo e a blackou nea he end o Ac One, and showed him whe e he could ed a he esul ing ex acco dingly.2 Acco ding o Behan’s cousin Séamus de Bú ca, he au ho had p e iously e used o discuss ew i es o he play wi h Abbey p oduce Ria Mooney.3 Howe e , Swi ound Behan “mos co-ope a i e”: Wha e e he may ha e said abou discussing e-w i es wi h Ria Mooney, he aised no objec ions o he cu s and ansposi ions I conside ed necessa y. Indeed, I ound him among he mos co-ope a i e o all he au ho s I e e wo ked wi h, and I was la e o wo k wi h many in my capaci y as a sc ip -edi o in ele ision.4 My imp ession was ha , unless he was unde he in luence o d ink, no one was mo e p o essional o amenable han B endan, p o ided he was con iden ha any c i icisms came om a genuine desi e o imp o e he wo k and no o pa onise him.5 When Swi came o ewo k he sc ip o Tomás Mac Anna’s Abbey p oduc ion in 1984, she claimed o ha e no ewe han i e di e en sc ip s in on o he on he desk, gi ing us some idea o he complexi y o he play’s ex ual genesis.6 This a icle d aws on he ecen ly acqui ed pape s o Ca olyn Swi a he Uni e si y o Galway o illus a e he collabo a i e na u e o Behan’s wo king p ac ice, o make he case ha such collabo a ion is cen al o his aes he ic, and o a gue ha we need o e lec hese collabo a i e dynamics in schola ship on Behan’s wo k. 1 Ca olyn Swi , “The Sc ip o The Qua e Fellow” (1984), James Ha diman Lib a y, Uni e si y o Galway, MS T40, box 1, 01 . The e a e wo e sions o Swi ’s ypesc ip p ese ed in he James Ha diman Lib a y: one is wo pages long; he o he is h ee pages long. In his a icle, I e e o he h ee-page e sion. 2 Swi , “The Sc ip o The Qua e Fellow,” 02 . 3 Séamus de Bú ca, B endan Behan: A Memoi (Dublin: P.J. Bou ke, 1985), 22. 4 Swi was ec ui ed a he d ama depa men o RTÉ when i began b oadcas ing on I ish sc eens in he 1960s; she wo ked as a sc ip edi o he e un il 1970. Ge a d Whelan, “Ca olyn Swi ,” Dic iona y o I ish Biog aphy (Dublin: Royal I ish Academy, 2009), h ps://doi.o g/10.3318/dib.008414. 1. 5 Ca olyn Swi , S age by S age (Dublin: Poolbeg P ess, 1985), 139. 6 Swi , “The Sc ip o The Qua e Fellow,” 03 . “The mos coope a i e o w i e s” 127 Gene ic Behan Siobhán O’Go man has a gued o g ea e a en ion o be paid o he “o en unacknowledged aspec s o Swi ’s ole in he [Pike] hea e.”7 The Pike was a iny, 55-sea hea e in a con e ed Dublin coach house, ounded and un by Swi and he husband, Alan Simpson, om 1953 o 1961.8 The Qua e Fellow was one o hei majo ea ly successes. Focusing on he p og amme o he play’s 1954 p emie e, O’Go man no es ha i c edi s Simpson’s ole as di ec o , while elega ing Swi o he ole o “assis an p oduce .”9 Ba y Houlihan has likewise a emp ed o eco e Swi ’s d ama ic wo k, which has “su e ed le els o ob usca ion” amilia o many emale hea e wo ke s.10 As will be de ailed below, ypesc ip s o The Qua e Fellow p ese ed in Swi ’s pape s back up hese schola s’ con en ions ha he wo k dese es mo e ocus, and ha she did mos o he edi ing o Behan’s play. In pe o ming hei eco e y wo k on Swi ’s ca ee , bo h O’Go man and Houlihan use a chi al holdings o help shed new ligh on he and Behan’s wo k. Indeed, he hea ical wo k i sel may be seen as encompassing a chi al ma e ial as well as “concep ually ha which is implied by […] au ho i a i e ex s” and pe o mances.11 Fo a ound hal a cen u y now, gene ic c i icism has used p e- and pos -publica ion e sions o he published ex o d aw g ea e a en ion o he “ empo al dimension” o he wo k o li e a u e.12 Using a pe spec i e ha is 7 Siobhán O’Go man, “‘He s and His’: Ca olyn Swi , Alan Simpson, and Collec i e C ea ion a Dublin’s Pike Thea e,” in Women, Collec i e C ea ion, and De ised Pe o mance: The Rise o Women Thea e A is s in he Twen ie h and Twen y-Fi s Cen u ies, ed. Ka h yn Mede os Syssoye a and Sco P oud i (New Yo k: Palg a e Macmillan, 2016), 130. 8 The Pike’s audi o ium was c ea ed by co e ing he ya d adjoining he coach house. Fo de ails on he hea e’s layou , see Ch is ophe Mo ash, Dublin: A W i e ’s Ci y (Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2023), 46. 9 P og amme quo ed in O’Go man, “‘He s and His,’” 136. Fo a ep oduc ion, see de Bú ca, B endan Behan, 26. 10 Ba y Houlihan, Thea e and A chi al Memo y: I ish D ama and Ma ginalised His o ies, 1951- 1977 (Cham: Palg a e Macmillan, 2021), 53; see also B enda Donohue, “Women and he A chi e: Wha Vision o he P esen Will Be P ese ed o he Fu u e?” in Na iga ing I eland’s Thea e A chi e: Theo y, P ac ice, Pe o mance, ed. Ba y Houlihan (Ox o d: Pe e Lang, 2019), 163-79. 11 Pe e Shillingsbu g, “Li e a y Documen s, Tex s, and Wo ks Rep esen ed Digi ally,” Cen e o Tex ual S udies and Digi al Humani ies Publica ions 3, h p://ecommons.luc.edu/ c sdh_pubs/3. 12 Pie e-Ma c de Biasi, “Towa d a Science o Li e a u e: Manusc ip Analysis and he Genesis o he Wo k,” ans. Jed Deppman, in Gene ic C i icism: Tex s and A an -Tex es, James Li le 128 pa icula ly sui ed o pe o ming a s like hea e, he “wo k” has been seen by gene ic c i ics as in ol ing no only he ex s and pe o mances associa ed wi h i , bu also he wo king p ocess behind i .13 Mo e ecen ly, he ocus o gene ic c i icism has begun o u n owa ds au ho ial collabo a ion as pa o an e o o challenge he s ill dominan Roman ic concep o he au ho as soli a y genius.14 In his 2022 monog aph Gene ic C i icism: T acing C ea i i y in Li e a u e, Di k Van Hulle de o es an en i e sec ion o “ he sociology o w i ing,” no ing ha “[ ]ex s w i en o pe o mance, such as d ama ic wo ks, o en in ol e a complex sociology o w i ing” due o he wide ange o di e en collabo a o s in ol ed in s aging he ex .15 As such, gene ic c i icism p o ides a help ul se o ools wi h which o eco e an unde -acknowledged collabo a o in he c ea i e p ocess. The Genesis o The Qua e Fellow I was ac o Sally T a e s who d ew Simpson’s and Swi ’s a en ion o The Qua e Fellow. T a e s had ead he play when i was s ill a one-ac e ; she encou aged Behan o expand i in o a “ ull-leng h play” and ied unsuccess ully o in e es he uncle Micheál Mac Liammói in s aging i a he Ga e Thea e.16 When he playsc ip a i ed a he Pike, Swi ecalls, ed. Jed Deppman, Daniel Fe e and Michael G oden (Philadelphia, PA: Uni e si y o Pennsyl ania P ess, 2004), 37. 13 See, o ins ance, Houlihan’s gene ic analysis o he wo k o Thomas Kil oy: Ba y Houlihan, “‘C ea u es o His Imagina ion’: The Becoming o Plays and he A chi e o Thomas Kil oy,” in Na iga ing I eland’s Thea e A chi e: Theo y, P ac ice, Pe o mance, ed. Ba y Houlihan (Ox o d: Pe e Lang, 2019), 103-21. Fo u he examples, see Na halie Lége and Almu h G ésillon, eds., “Théâ e,” special issue, Genesis 26, no. 5 (2005). 14 Fo ea lie models o such schola ship, see Jack S illinge , Mul iple Au ho ship and he My h o Soli a y Genius (New Yo k: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 1991) and Je ome J. McGann, The Tex ual Condi ion (P ince on, NJ: P ince on Uni e si y P ess, 1991). The la e s a es: “The uni e se o li e a u e is socially gene a ed and does no exis in a s eady s a e.” McGann, Tex ual Condi ion, 75. This is all he mo e he case when he au ho in ques ion was known o ge up ons age o add o he pe o mance o his own ex s h ough songs and in e jec ions. See Michael O’Sulli an, B endan Behan: A Li e (Boulde , CO: Robe s Rineha , 1999), 180, 269. 15 Di k Van Hulle, Gene ic C i icism: T acing C ea i i y in Li e a u e (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2022), 105. 16 Ca olyn Swi , “The Fi s P oduc ion o ‘The Qua e Fellow,’” in p og amme o The Qua e Fellow, di . Tomás Mac Anna, Abbey Thea e, 1984, n.p. I would like o hank Abbey Thea e a chi is Mai éad Delaney o p o iding access o his documen . “The mos coope a i e o w i e s” 129 we we e sligh ly daun ed o he pages o he sc ip we e all o di e en sizes and quali ies and he yping he p oduc o a numbe o di e en machines, all well pas hei p ime. Mo eo e , he speeches we e hick wedges o dialogue, nea ly all wi h a minimum o ou sen ences, and ull o subo dina e clauses. As soon as we s udied i , howe e , we ealised he e was pu e gold wai ing o be p ised loose om he excessi e e biage.17 Simpson’s accoun likewise d aws a en ion o he ma e ial he e ogenei y o he documen , hough wi h an impo an change in emphasis: I was a a he unp epossessing documen , yped wi h se e al di e en ypew i e s o a ious deg ees o mechanical disin eg a ion, on pape o a ying shapes and sizes and dubious o igins. I soon ealized ha his was o me.18 No e Simpson’s ocus on he i s -pe son singula – “ his was o me” (emphasis added) – a he han he i s -pe son plu al o Swi ’s: “As soon as we s udied i , howe e , we ealised he e was pu e gold wai ing o be p ised loose om he excessi e e biage” (emphasis added). This gi es some indica ion o he collabo a i e dynamic be ween he ma ied co-di ec o s o he Pike, which had a di ec in luence on he genesis o Behan’s wo k.19 While Simpson would acknowledge Swi ’s ole as ex ual edi o , he inpu was no gi en he same s a us as his di ec o ial wo k. Swi ’s ex ual al e a ions o Behan’s play ex would now be ca ego ised as he wo k o a d ama u ge, hough his was no a widely used wo d in he Anglophone hea e o he 1950s.20 P aising Behan as “ he mos coope a i e o w i e s,” she 17 Swi , S age by S age, 138-39. 18 Alan Simpson, Becke and Behan, and a Thea e in Dublin (London: Rou ledge and Kegan Paul, 1962), 40. 19 Twel e yea s la e , Simpson p o ided ano he accoun o ecei ing Behan’s manusc ip : “While I lo ed he dialogue I ound i somewha epe i i e and in olu ed and in need o some cu ing. He had a lazy habi o s a ing o on a subjec , d opping i , and hen coming back o i la e on, and so diminishing i s d ama ic impac .” Alan Simpson, “In oduc ion,” in B endan Behan, The Comple e Plays (1978; London: Me huen, 1995), 7. This in oduc ion also con ains a acsimile copy o a page om a ypesc ip o The Qua e Fellow which I ha e so a been unable o consul . See Simpson, “In oduc ion,” 16. 20 See Magda Romanska, “In oduc ion,” in The Rou ledge Companion o D ama u gy, ed. Magda Romanska (Abingdon: Rou ledge, 2015), 3. The Google Books Ng am Viewe o he wo d “d ama u ge” – albei d awn om hei selec i e co pus – shows a sha p James Li le 130 s a es ha his coope a ion du ing he play’s i s un “emboldened me o a emp imp o emen s o he sc ip which I had no ei he he ime o he cou age o a emp be o e.”21 Simpson’s accoun e i ies his: “B endan p o ed an ex emely co-ope a i e au ho […] he pe mi ed my wi e o cu and ea ange a ious pa s o he dialogue, and me o change he i le.”22 Swi ’s ole is u he backed up by co espondence in he Pike Thea e a chi e be ween Simpson and Abbey managing di ec o E nes Bly he on he play Pos e i y Be Damned, w i en by Behan’s b o he Dominic.23 Thei exchange shows ha Swi ’s edi o ial wo k was common knowledge in Dublin hea e ci cles: “Ca ol has done qui e a lo o wo k on i in he way she did o ‘The Qua e Fellow,’” Simpson w i es, o which Bly he eplies: “I hope M s Simpson will make a job o i as she did wi h TQF bu we do no eel ha in his case she has he ma e ial o wo k on which she had when she ackled B endan’s play.”24 Simpson’s awa eness o Swi ’s edi ing skills was such ha he e en asked he o come o he Abbey and c ea e “wha one migh call a de ini i e sc ip ” du ing his 1969 p oduc ion o The Qua e Fellow – a ull eigh yea s a e he couple had sepa a ed.25 Swi pu s i down o gende inequali y ha Simpson is o en p esen ed by schola s as being he sole di ec o o he Pike, and his maps on o esea ch showing ha women a e o en w i en ou o hei li e a y collabo a ions wi h male colleagues.26 In sum, i is clea ha Swi was Behan’s majo collabo a o on he Pike Thea e p oduc ion o The Qua e Fellow. In spi e o inc ease in he use o he wo d om he 1960s onwa ds. See Google Books Ng am Viewe , h ps://books.google.com/ng ams/. In 1963, Swi claimed ha he Abbey Thea e would bene i om employing a “play doc o ,” i sel a synonym o “d ama u ge.” “‘Play Doc o ’ Needed by Abbey, Says Lec u e ,” I ish Times, 5 Ma ch 1963, 5. 21 Swi , S age by S age, 2. 22 Simpson, Becke and Behan, 40-41; emphasis added. 23 I wish o hank Ba y Houlihan o kindly sha ing his ansc ip ions o le e s om he Pike Thea e Pape s wi h me. 24 Alan Simpson o E nes Bly he, 6 June 1959, T ini y College Dublin MS 10813/398/411, pa ially q d in Houlihan, Thea e and A chi al Memo y, 43; E nes Bly he o Alan Simpson, 12 June 1959, T ini y College Dublin MS 398/412. Fu he e idence o Swi ’s edi o ial ole a he Pike comes in co espondence om Simpson o Louis Elliman, in which Simpson claims ha Pos e i y Be Damned should be pu on a Elliman’s Thea e Royal: “by he ime Ca ol has inished ‘ ixing i ,’ i will ha e conside able impac .” T ini y College Dublin MS 10813/387/389, q d in Houlihan, Thea e and A chi al Memo y, 42. 25 Simpson o Swi , 23 May 1969, James Ha diman Lib a y, Uni e si y o Galway, MS T40, box 1. 26 Swi , S age by S age, 110-11; Be e London, W i ing Double: Women’s Li e a y Pa ne ships (I haca, NY: Co nell Uni e si y P ess, 1999), 3-4. “The mos coope a i e o w i e s” 131 he impo an inpu , howe e , his c ucial collabo a i e wo k has no been p ope ly acknowledged.27 Since none o he ypesc ip s p ese ed a he Uni e si y o Galway ma ch Swi ’s and Simpson’s desc ip ions o a he e ogeneous ypesc ip cobbled oge he om di e en pape sou ces, i is likely ha hey a e om a la e pe iod in he edi ing p ocess. Fi s ly, he e is a p omp copy which seems o ha e been used du ing he Pike Thea e’s 1954 un, wi h s age di ec ions and ins uc ions o blocking w i en on he blank e sos. The e is also a se o pa s which co esponds o his p omp copy. In addi ion, he e is a ypesc ip which appea s o be a la e e sion o he ex , possibly edi ed o a p oduc ion a Dublin’s Olympia Thea e which ne e ook place.28 Finally, he e is an Abbey Thea e playsc ip , p epa ed o Simpson’s 1969 p oduc ion o he play a he hea e.29 Wha ollows is an analysis o edi s o he p omp copy, whe e he mos subs an ial changes o he ex can be ound. I is he e ha we ind he iolence o Behan’s play subs an ially al e ed. Edi ing Behan’s The Qua e Fellow Violence is a key pa o Behan’s w i ing, jus as i was in his li e. Fo ins ance, ma i al iolence is accep ed as a no m by he p isone s o The Qua e Fellow, while sexual iolence owa ds women is no malised in he casual e e ences o ape made by he p isone s in Bo s al Boy.30 Behan himsel has been pos humously accused o a emp ing o ape Le y Co in Pog ebin, hen an employee o his publishe Ba ney Geis, in a New Yo k ho el oom in he 1960s.31 His publishe and 27 A le e om Denis Johns on which men ions “ he aging success ha you made wi h Godo ” sugges s ha Swi may ha e also been esponsible o he ex ual edi s o Becke ’s Wai ing o Godo o pe o mance a he Pike. Denis Johns on o Ca olyn Swi , 9 Feb ua y 1957, T ini y College Dublin MS 10813/395/478; q d in Houlihan, Thea e and A chi al Memo y, 42. The mos widely ci ed his o y o I ish hea e eco ds hese edi s as being made by Simpson: Ch is ophe Mo ash, A His o y o I ish Thea e, 1601-2000 (Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2002), 199-208. Fu he esea ch is hus equi ed o de e mine who was esponsible o he edi s o he Pike p oduc ion o Godo . 28 Acco ding o Swi and Simpson, his planned p oduc ion was cancelled because Behan’s b o he Seán Fu long, while employed a he Olympia, had sold copies o he le -wing Daily Wo ke o he audience. Simpson, Becke and Behan, 56; Swi , S age by S age, 152. 29 Fo a lis o Qua e Fellow manusc ip s, see he Appendix below. 30 B endan Behan, The Comple e Plays (1978; London: Me huen, 1995), 43; B endan Behan, Bo s al Boy (1958; London: A ow, 1990), 160. Fo mo e de ails, see James Li le, “Qua e Memo y in B endan Behan’s Bo s al Boy,” I ish Uni e si y Re iew 50, no. 2 (2020): 297-98. 31 Te y P one, “Collec i e Silence Spa ed Sexual Agg esso s Like B endan Behan,” I ish Examine , 17 Ap il 2023, h ps://www.i ishexamine .com/opinion/columnis s/a id-41118052.h ml. James Li le 132 close collabo a o Rae Je s also ecalls Behan’s wi e Bea ice elling he ha Behan would bea wi h his is s anyone who woke him up om an alcohol-induced sleep: “I da es om his days on he un,” she old Je s, “and he imagines i is a policeman come o ake him away.”32 Based on Je s’s accoun , i would appea ha Bea ice he sel was amilia wi h su e ing such iolen a acks om he husband.33 In addi ion, his wo k ea u es ac s o iolence ca ied ou on p isone s by p ison o icials, as well as iolence be ween p isone s hemsel es. Finally, as has been discussed in de ail elsewhe e, Behan himsel was a Republican who – o a pe iod a leas – suppo ed he use o physical o ce agains he s a e; John B annigan has ap ly desc ibed his ea ly w i ings as being “imme sed in he na a i e adi ion o di inely-sanc ioned iolence agains England.”34 Wi h all o his in mind, i is clea ha di e en o ms o iolence a e cen al o Behan’s li e and wo k. The main ocus in The Qua e Fellow is on s a e iolence owa ds condemned p isone s. In he p omp copy, howe e , much o his iolence is cu om he sc ip . Take, o ins ance, Neighbou ’s desc ip ion o he su e ing o a p isone who was hanged, which he ecalls om his ime wo king in he p ison hospi al: I cu he hood away, and his head was all wis ed. His ace was black, and he eins swelled in kno s and he wo eyes we e he wo s , s a ing, bu s ing, bloodsho , ang y like a bull’s, igh ened like a abbi ’s.35 The passages s uck h ough, desc ibing in de ail he hanged p isone ’s bulging eyes and swollen eins, a e omi ed om he la e ypesc ip : I cu he hood away, and his head was all wis ed. His ace was black and he wo eyes we e he wo s , igh ened like a abbi ’s.36 32 Rae Je s, B endan Behan: Man and Showman (1966; London: Co gi, 1968), 70. 33 “Bea ice looked dis augh , and he calm and con ol I had come o associa e wi h he was missing as she explained ha whoe e woke B endan in his condi ion would be ea ed o a se ies o humps on wha e e pa o he body happened o be in he line o his is s.” Je s, B endan Behan, 69. 34 John B annigan, B endan Behan: Cul u al Na ionalism and he Re isionis W i e (Dublin: Fou Cou s P ess, 2002), 47. As B annigan goes on o poin ou , “in his la e w i ings he e eals a mo e sub le c i ical na ionalism” (47). 35 The Qua e Fellow, Pike Thea e p omp copy (1954), James Ha diman Lib a y, Uni e si y o Galway, MS T40, box 1, 25. I ollow he pagina ion on he p omp copy. 36 The Qua e Fellow, Pike Thea e ypesc ip (c. 1954), James Ha diman Lib a y, Uni e si y o Galway, MS T40, box 1, 26. I ollow he pagina ion on he ypesc ip . In he e sion Simpson published as pa o his Comple e Plays, his passage has been edi ed u he : “I cu he hood away; his head was all wis ed and his ace black, bu he wo eyes we e he wo s ; like a abbi ’s; i was ea ha had done i .” Behan, The Comple e Plays, 60. “The mos coope a i e o w i e s” 133 La e , when he wa de Regan deba es he lo o he condemned p isone wi h he isi ing Depa men o Jus ice o icial M Healey, de ail on he g uesomeness o killing is again cu om he p omp copy:37 M Healy. Bu we gi e a condemned man e e y spi i ual acili y. I en u e o say some o hem die holie dea hs han i hey had inished hei na u al span. Regan. Bu ha ’s no ou eason o hanging hem, si . In coun ies whe e hey ha en’ much eligion, hey s ill h o le hem o chop hei heads o o shoo hem, bu hey don’ un i as a kind o a mission. We don’ ad e ise “Commi a mu de and die a happy dea h.” You wan o be e y ca e ul in wha you’ e saying, si , o you’d ha e hem all a i . They ake eligion e y se iously in his coun y, si .38 Once mo e, he dele ed lines a e omi ed om he la e ypesc ip .39 The ex in The Comple e Plays con ains u he edi s, wi h Regan’s speech d as ically pa ed back in compa ison wi h he ea lie e sion quo ed abo e: HEALEY. Well, we ha e one consola ion, Regan, he condemned man ge s he p ies and he sac amen s, mo e han his ic im go maybe. I en u e o sugges ha some o hem die holie dea hs han i hey had inished hei na u al span. WARDER REGAN. We can’ ad e ise “Commi a mu de and die a happy dea h,” si . We’d ha e hem all a i . They ake eligion e y se iously in his coun y.40 Each o hese cu s goes agains he play’s own call o mo e hones , open desc ip ions o iolence ca ied ou by he s a e. Regan himsel makes he poin o Healey ha hanging should be called “[n]eck b eaking and h o ling” in o de o make he b u ali y o capi al punishmen clea o all in he e ms used o desc ibe 37 I ollow he spelling o Healey’s su name in he body ex o The Comple e Plays. This su name is s ill spelled wi hou he second “e” in Simpson’s 1969 sc ip . The Qua e Fellow, Abbey Thea e playsc ip (1969), James Ha diman Lib a y, Uni e si y o Galway, MS T40, box 1. 38 Pike Thea e p omp copy, 36. 39 Pike Thea e ypesc ip , 41. 40 Behan, The Comple e Plays, 67.