in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre
From the novel Ulysses by James Joyce
Adapted for stage by Aedín Moloney & Colum McCann
Music by Paddy Moloney
Directed by John Keating
Performed by Aedín Moloney
“It leaves you wanting just a little more as any Irish legacy will do.” — The Front Row Center
“Yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will yes” – James Joyce
A daring theatrical journey into the mind and heart of James Joyce’s most sensual hero – a woman of women, a soul of souls, the indomitable Molly Bloom.
It is Ireland in the early hours of June 17th, 1904. Molly Bloom’s husband – the philandering Leopold “Poldy” Bloom – has just come home and fallen asleep in their Dublin row house. Molly – a daughter, a mother, a lover, and a long-suffering wife – patrols the pathways of her wild and leaping consciousness. She is lustful. Scared. Exuberant. Heartbreakingly lonely. Vivaciously reckless. And profoundly funny.
With an empty nest, an unfulfilling affair, and a marriage long past its prime, Molly contemplates the love that she and Bloom once shared. Her unsentimental stream of consciousness is a song of songs that reaches backward and forward across the centuries. Molly seeks to reanimate that love of Bloom and ends up discovering herself – as a woman seeking purpose and a desire to be relevant, even after that love is over and her children are gone. Through reflection, Dublin becomes Gibraltar, age becomes youth, and a small room in Ireland becomes the world.
“a veering, vivid, ribald monologue expertly performed by Ms. Moloney” – The New York Times, 2019
Read the Performance Program here!
A beautiful and honest reflection of Molly’s life, written by James Joyce, adapted for the stage by Aedín Moloney and Colum McCann, and directed by John Keating with original music by Paddy Moloney (Founder and Leader of The Chieftains), Aedín Moloney’s one-woman performance is a tribute to the enduring mysteries of loss and love – and the affirmation found, yes, in between. It also considers, as Joyce does, a time in which a woman’s life and choices in Dublin were shaped more fully by a man. After its world premiere at Irish Rep in the summer of 2019, Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom was produced for Irish Rep Online during the COVID-19 shutdown as a Performance on Screen.
After reading Ulysses as a young girl, Aedín Moloney spent close to 30 years developing and shaping her interpretation of James Joyce’s Penelope chapter. In 2003, renowned author and fellow Joyce enthusiast, Colum McCann, invited her to perform passages from the soliloquy at his annual Bloomsday celebration. With McCann’s encouragement, Moloney recorded “Reflections of Molly Bloom” in 2017, an audio recording of the unabridged text, accompanied by the music of Paddy Moloney.
“cohesive, moving, humorous, entertaining and palpably lusty…immensely skillful” — Woman Around Town
Press from our staged production in 2019 and digital production in 2020:
“exuberant…an unforgettable affirmation of life and joy… an affirmation of female strength, liberation, and self-determination that we need to hear.” – Theatermania, 2019
“In her dynamic portrayal, Moloney offers a portrait of woman burning to be seen and celebrated” – BroadwayWorld, 2019
“an unmixed pleasure…Ms. Moloney’s performance will enthrall and transport you.” – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal, 2020
