Eclipsed

by Patricia Burke Brogan

Patricia Burke Brogan's Eclipsed is a play with a stinger in its tail. Framed by a present-day prologue and epilogue, the two-act work is set mainly in 1963 in a convent laundry at St. Paul's Home for Penitent Women in Killmacha, Ireland. The Galway-based author is a former nun who worked in an institutional laundry when she was a novice. Eclipsed was inspired by the practice - which started in the time of the Famine, and lasted well into the 1960s and even longer - of making pregnant and unwed Irish mothers work as 'penitents' in church-run laundries. Supervised by nuns who regarded these women as mindless vessels of evil, the women were treated as virtual slaves and their infants were forcibly put up for adoption. First produced by Punchbag Theatre in Galway on February 14th 1992, Eclipsed has since been performed all over Ireland as well as in England, Scotland, America and Italy. The play won a Fringe First at the 1992 Edinburgh Festival, as well as the prestigious Moss Hart Theatre Award in 1994. It was also awarded the Critics' Choice and Best of the Weekend by the Los Angeles Times in 1995 and received four nominations for the Los Angeles Theatre Area Awards and two awards from Dramalogue. Eclipsed was first published by Salmon Publishing in 1994 and reprinted in 1997.

Genres: Plays, School, Irish Literature, Ireland

80 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Emma Getz · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a dramatic standpoint, this is a great play that contrasts the horrors and abuse that took place in the Magdalene Laundries with the friendship and silliness that comes with a close group of young women. Historically, this play is an important work in an issue that is still being brought to light. It is not able to cover everything about these tragedies, but it does really well with its confines and shows the multiple ways these women were abused, the "forgotten" women-and literature like this, going forward, is giving the spotlight to these women who otherwise never had a voice.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this play for school, but I enjoyed it. It was easy to imagine each character as all of their personalities shone throughout the play. The stage directions were very good and I think it would make a great play with the flexibility of what you are able to do with the directions. It had a very strong ending and was a glimpse of history. However, nearly every sentence ended in an exclamation mark! Not once did I see a full stop. This was hard to understand and I didn’t quite understand why this was a choice the playwrite went through with.

[مہهديہ أل يہأسہر]

At the beginning, I would like to thank the writer for what he narrated in the depths of this play.. I am interested in this play because it is part of my requirements to obtain a master's degree, so I want help in obtaining this play

[Sarah Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this play for school but genuinely found it to be a thought-provoking, shameful glimpse into my country’s past.

[BooksByTess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waiting on my letter from Elvis...

Would've given it three stars if not for the over abundance of exclamation marks in the script!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's how it felt to read)

I'd still love to see the play performed because I do think the story has merit but the production we watched in class didn't do it any justice either 😣

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to get a real feel for this as a script but definitely something I would like to see on stage. Just seemed jumbled. But kudos to Burke-Brogan for bringing this issue to light.

[Darareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing was alright, strong end. Good stage directions. Tells an important story.

[Aeshna · Rating 2 out of 5]

it makes life in the laundry seem like summer camp!

[Áine McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply heartbreaking depiction of a dark part of Irish history

[EmReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play man. This freaking play. My heart sank to my feet from the opening scene and stayed there. A beautiful love letter to female solidarity

[Megan Imhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

required read, but still worthwhile. Ireland, Magdalene Laundries, Nuns, Elvis, you know how it is.

[Brigid Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an exceptionally thought-provoking play and even just reading the screenplay, the characters come alive. i need to learn more about penitent women

[Jory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling.

[Peace☺︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Martha.O.S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short play set in the Magdalen Laundries involves a group of women working in the laundries under the watchful eye of Mother Victoria and novice nun Sister Virginia. The women, “fallen women” have parted with their babies and are given no choice but to stay imprisoned by the punitive Mother Victoria. The year is 1963, and another timeframe is used, 1992, where one of the babies comes back seeking her mother.

Reading a play was quite a change for me but I really enjoyed it. The dialogue was very strong and along with the stage directions and some other details, I could visualise it very clearly.

The subject matter was bleak but the play was not without humour. The banter among the laundry workers was really well done. We learned the backstories of the characters in how the dialogue unfolded in the present. The confinement and harsh judgement that these women are subject to is truly despicable but that they have no contact at all with their babies is reprehensible and surely contributes to a collective trauma, a very dark part of our history, which has been too long in a shadowy silence.

The hypocrisy at the helm of these institutions was wonderfully shown in the horribly cruel way the women are treated, spoken about and spoken to, and the almost constant interspers of prayer, religion and chant really shines a light on the hypocrisy at play here.

Overall a really good read, definitely not one I would have independently picked up but I’m very glad I did. The ending is surprising and the link between the two timeframes is a good way to draw the play to a close. It shows how our actions don’t just exist in a vacuum, but have lasting consequences that can live on for generations.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally enjoyed this play. The characters were interesting, especially Sister Virginia, but I feel like I probably missed a lot of stuff due to a lack of background knowledge. Hopefully discussion in class will help with this a bit. Also, I imagine I might enjoy this more if I watched it, especially as the stage directions didn't really allow me to get a good picture of what was going on on stage.

[Molly Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play was beautiful, and I think seeing it in person would be a heartbreaking experience. I wanted the lines themselves to be a little more poetic, but the construction of the play was so good it almost made up for a lack of lyricism.

[Duaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to help