Tour May & June
‘He wants me to read his auld book, but sure no one in their right mind could make head nor tail of it.’
A RARE JOURNEY celebrates the life of a truly remarkable Irish woman Nora Joyce, in a highly entertaining roller-coaster 75-minute play, filled with the music and song the Joyces knew, and delights in Nora’s quick and often razor-sharp wit. The play separates Nora from her famous literary alter ego Molly Bloom, and dispels the lazy myths that have often cast Nora as an inconsequential appendage of her famous husband. A Rare Journey, Nora Joyce’s Odyssey was inspired by Brenda Maddox’s biography NORA, The Real Life of Molly Bloom.
Written and performed by Paula Greevy-Lee, this one-woman show separates the funny, wise, sharp-witted, complex, and compassionate Nora from the half-truths that have dogged her since her death aged 67 in 1951.
Directed by Gerard Lee
“Paula Greevy-Lee gives a flawless performance as the often put-upon but always resilient Nora” Jack Gilligan, Dublin City FM
Beginning in 1946, five years after James Joyce’s death, A RARE JOURNEY opens with an older Nora, preparing to meet a young American journalist for lunch in a café in Zurich. Wary of journalists, and anxious about what questions she might be asked about life with her famous husband, Nora ‘rehearses’ for the encounter by retracing the exhilarating highs and best-left-unsaid lows of her extraordinary life since the fateful day in 1904 on Nassau Street when she locked eyes with the eager and cocky young man she was destined to spend her life with.
They moved from city to city across Europe with their children Georgio and Lucia in tow, sometimes fleeing from war and sometimes from unpaid bills, and Nora was the rock that enabled Jim to keep writing. And through it all she looked on with a bemused smile, keeping up a rich commentary on the antics of the rich and famous literati.
‘This one woman play really shines bright…a particularly impressive feat for Paula Greevy-Lee…captures the audience with charm and wit…Greevy-Lee also has a beautiful singing voice.’ The Reviews Hub
Promo Video https://youtu.be/PUZd9Rn1AW4?si=TLuUYU1h-6GWYYvl