Plays 1: Tea in a China Cup / Did You Hear the One About the Irishman? / Joyriders / The Belle of the Belfast City / My Name, Shall I Tell You My Name? / Clowns

by Christina Reid

A collection of plays by one of Ireland's finest dramatists of the 80s and 90s

Tea in a China Cup focuses on the differing experiences of three generations of women in a working-class Belfast Protestant family, a tapestry of tales linked by the central character Beth, torn between the influence of traditions and the rejection of gentility and respectability. Did You Here the One About the Irishman? shows how both nationalists and loyalists are dependent on one another; Joyriders, grew out of the work Reid did with residents at the notorious Davis Flats estate and is structured around the day-to-day activities of four Catholic teenagers on a youth training scheme running at a now-disused textile mill in Belfast and plays on the idea of Britain taking a joy-ride through Ireland; The Belle of Belfast city shows Dolly, a former music-hall star whose bawdy songs and unconventional antics conjure a magical Belfast far removed from that represented by her nephew Jack, a hardline loyalist politician. My Name, Shall I Tell You My name? is "Fierce, poignant…a formidable portrait of intransigent, archaic patriotism" (The Times) and Clowns (the sequel to Joyriders) is a "warmhearted, compassionate play". (The Guardian)

Genres: Plays, Drama

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 1998

Reviews

[EJB · Rating 4 out of 5]

lowkey would reccomend. time jumps are so good and how quickly it moves makes it enjoyable. discussion in class was also good as loads to talk about. Love a good Irish play set as far up to the 70s 🙌🙌

[ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

(for tea in a China cup)

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack: That is for the Lord God to decide.
Belle: And you're the Lord God, are you?
Jack: I am the instrument of His will.
Belle: So were the thumbscrews and the rack.

[DarrenBrennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for Joyriders, a play which explores both the marginality and complexity of working-class life, set within a 1980's Northern Irish context. Really enjoyed it.

[Karol (readwithkarol) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tea in a China Cup 5/5 stars

[Iby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Tea in a China Cup for my Irish Theatre class
Amazing play: very touching and beautifully written
Love the exploration of issues about memory and identity!!

[Grace Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating and timeline is only applicable to Tea in a China Cup! Very lovely story though, need to think about it more (also do a whole presentation on it tomorrow)