Baile | Eolas | Déan Teagmháil Linn
Denis Johnston Ernst Toller
The Hall of Dr. Chavasse's house in a small Irish country town. <br> The ante-chamber to the Law Library, Four Courts, Dublin. <br> The Central Criminal Court. The State Solicitor's Office.
The German expressionist playwright Ernst Toller commissioned Johnston to adapt one of his plays, The Blind Goddess (Die Blinde Göttin, 1932), about a miscarriage of justice. Johnston took as his plot the true story of an Irish murder trial that he later used in Strange Occurrence on Ireland's Eye. Justice is presented as a blind system that persecutes individuals whose behaviour is not deemed morally acceptable and that disturbs the public. A man is sentenced to life imprisonment for having killed his wife although there is little further evidence than the facts that he was committing adultery and that his mistress had to procure an abortion. As Johnston’s title suggests, however, justice might be more of a game that initiated people may turn to their own advantage at the cost of others. Some of his characters open their eyes and stand up against such misuse.
Athchóiriú/Aistriúchán
Dráma Fada
18
3
21
In addition to the named actors, seven men play Solicitors, Barristers, Clerks and Civiv Guards.
26 December 1936
Produced by Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainistreach
Denis Johnston: The Dramatic Works, Volume 3
1992
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Micheal Johnston
Shandon20 Burdett Avenue, SandycoveCo. DublinRepublic of Ireland
The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme and from press cuttings of the time.
Irish Playography, Irish Theatre Institute, 17 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 T +353 (0)1 670 4906 | E info@irishtheatreinstitute.ie W www.irishtheatreinstitute.ie (c) Irish Theatre Institute 2026