Ireland’s only full-time ensemble theatre company, Blue Raincoat, bring their acclaimed production of the Flann O’Brien classic novel The Third Policeman to Scotland in June.
First published over 40 years ago, The Third Policeman is a classic modern novel from one of the major figures of 20th century Irish literature. Set in an archetypal Irish village the book contains characters that range from a disembodied soul named Joe, village policemen with a machine for storing light until it is needed, a murderous rake called Finnucanne, a one legged gallows maker, walking corpses and the trickiest man in all of Ireland … oh, and bicycles … lots and lots of bicycles. The novel further abounds with the theories of De Selby, an eccentric philosopher who believes that the world is not round but shaped like a sausage and who’s footnotes invade the book to a point where there’s almost no room left on the page for the original story, or indeed for its purported author … a man guilty of the vicious murder of an elderly neighbor who must wander the hideously surreal and darkly paradoxical realms of the afterlife as a consequence.
Adapted for the stage by Jocelyn Clarke The Third Policeman is a murder mystery, an hilarious comedy, a fable of eternal grief and – most importantly – the story of romantic love between one man and his bicycle.
Directed by Niall Henry with design by Jamie Vartan. Blue Raincoat Theatre Company ensemble cast is comprised of John Carty, Fiona McGeown, Sandra O’Malley, Kellie Hughes and Ciaran McCauley. Sound and multi-media design is by Joe Hunt with lighting design by Michael Cummins.
