BEHAN, Brendan. The Quare Fellow (With signed Abbey Theatre programme tipped-in)

London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1956. pp. 86. Octavo. Original publisher’s cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Housed in the original pictorial dust-jacket (as issued). A highly desirable association copy of Behan’s first major theatrical success, with an original clipped Abbey Theatre programme, Dublin, temporarily playing at The Queen’s Theatre, advertising The Plough and the Stars (Tuesday, 8 January 1957 and following nights), and is inscribed by Behan with a personal presentation inscription “To Chris from Brendan Behan”, clearly written and well preserved.

Signed items by Brendan Behan are notoriously elusive, and genuine theatre-related association material—particularly Abbey Theatre programmes inscribed by Behan—are exceptionally scarce. The presence of a signed Abbey Theatre programme tipped into the book itself elevates this from a desirable first-period copy to a true association piece, firmly anchored in Behan’s Dublin theatrical milieu. A superb Behan association copy, combining his most important early play with a signed Abbey Theatre artefact. Strong literary, theatrical, and Irish cultural significance.

The Quare Fellow was first published in 1956, following its groundbreaking premiere at the Theatre Workshop, Stratford East. The play drew directly on Behan’s experience of incarceration and established him as one of the most powerful new voices in post-war Irish drama. The Abbey Theatre’s engagement with Behan’s work in this period is central to his canon and to the mid-century revival of Irish theatre.

A very good. Clean text throughout; light toning to endpapers; binding firm. Dust-jacket: Present and intact, with rubbing and edge wear, small losses at extremities, but entirely serviceable and visually strong.

[L3 8 F]