Episodes

  • Ep.006: Tim Finnegan’s wake (p. 24:16-29:36, End of Ch01)
    Jul 11 2024

    https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. In this episode we’ll hear Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading pages 24 to 29 of Joyce’s last novel to conclude Chapter 1, with an introduction by director Adam Seelig.

    Richard’s reading (pages 24:16-29:36) was recorded with a live audience in Toronto on 31 August 2022.

    For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/podcast.

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and USA. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you for listening!

    Mentioned: Tim Finnegan, “Finnegan’s Wake” Irish American folk song, the title of Finnegans Wake, FIN FINNE & FINE as ‘the end’, EGAN as ‘again’, literary device of ‘it and its opposite’, at Tim’s wake, “Finn no more!”, better off dead?, Dublin (and Toronto) traffic, Aunt Florenza & Timmy the Tosser, “queenoveire”, neighbourhood news, Edenborough as Eden & Burg Quays in Dublin, synopsis.

    Resources:
    Transcript for this episode, including the text of Finnegans Wake pages 24-29.
    Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce: there are many free copies of FW to read online or download, e.g. finwake.comJames Joyce Digital Archive, “Chicken Guide” to Finnegans Wake provides a ‘plain English’ paraphrase of each chapter by Danis Rose.

    Edmund Epstein, A Guide through Finnegans Wake. University Press of Florida, 2009. William York Tindall, A Reader’s Guide to Finnegans Wake. Syracuse University Press, 1996. Roland McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake (4th edition). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2016.
    John Gordon’s annotations on his Finnegans Wake blog.
    Richard Ellmann’s biography of James Joyce. Oxford University Press, 1982.

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    27 mins
  • Ep.005: the prankquean (p. 19:20-24:15)
    Jun 27 2024

    https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. In this episode we’ll hear Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading pages 19 to 24 of Joyce’s last novel, which will include the famous “prankquean” fable, with an introduction by director Adam Seelig.

    Richard’s reading (pages 19:20-24:15) was recorded with a live audience in Toronto on 31 August 2022.

    For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/podcast.

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and USA. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Thank you for listening!

    Mentioned: Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), puns, Mother Goose, Hans Christian Andersen, the “prankquean”, linear/nonlinear narrative, fables, fairy tales, tripartite structure, Hope Beer in Howth, Grace O’Malley, Earl of Howth, Howth Castle, Baily Lighthouse, Jarl (Danish “chief”), Eden, Adam and Eve, quean and queen, ancient storytelling cadences, the word “And…”, Hebrew Bible, Genesis, second thunderword, wordplay with twins’ names, family unit, “meanderthalltale”, “writing its own wrunes”, ALP and HCE, felix culpa and happy fall, whiskey as water of life, synopsis.

    Resources:

    Transcript for this episode, including the text of Finnegans Wake pages 19-24.
    Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce: there are many free copies of FW to read online or download, e.g. finwake.comJames Joyce Digital Archive, “Chicken Guide” to Finnegans Wake provides a ‘plain English’ paraphrase of each chapter by Danis Rose.
    Brendan Ward’s blog post on the “prankquean”.

    Edmund Epstein, A Guide through Finnegans Wake. University Press of Florida, 2009.

    William York Tindall, A Reader’s Guide to Finnegans Wake. Syracuse University Press, 1996.

    Roland McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake (4th edition). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2016.

    John Gordon’s annotations on his Finnegans Wake blog.

    Richard Ellmann’s biography of James Joyce. Oxford University Press, 1982.

    Cited:

    Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), trans. Joyce Crick. Oxford University Press, 1999.

    “Stories of Howth”, Hope Beer website.

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    30 mins
  • Ep.004: Mutt and Jute, characterlessness (p. 13:20-19:19)
    Jun 13 2024

    https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. In this episode we’ll hear Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading pages 13 to 19 of Joyce’s last novel, which will include the dialogue of Mutt and Jute, with an introduction by director Adam Seelig.

    Richard’s reading (pages 13:20-19:19) was recorded with a live audience in Toronto on 31 August 2022.

    For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake.

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and the United States. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Special thanks to Øyvind and Susanna Haga for advising Richard and me on Scandinavian pronunciations for the dialogue of Mutt and Jute.

    Thank you for listening!

    Mentioned: Robert Houle, Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), dialogue, Mutt and Jute, Mutt and Jeff, Laurel and Hardy, Jutland, Denmark, Vikings, Battle of Clontarf (1014), Brian Boru, dismantling the norms of fiction and drama, four-dimensional characters, August Strindberg, characterless, characterlessness, pronouns ‘you’ and ‘me,’ Waiting for Godot, miscegenations, the Gospels, Mamalujo, Jewish calendar, 1132, Galileo on how things fall, Finn MacCool, Rush (Dublin County), “allaphbed”, synopsis.

    Resources:

    Transcript for this episode, including the text of Finnegans Wake pages 13-19.
    Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce: there are many free copies of FW to read online or download, e.g. finwake.comJames Joyce Digital Archive, “Chicken Guide” to Finnegans Wake provides a ‘plain English’ paraphrase of each chapter by Danis Rose.

    Edmund Epstein, A Guide through Finnegans Wake. University Press of Florida, 2009.

    William York Tindall, A Reader’s Guide to Finnegans Wake. Syracuse University Press, 1996.

    Roland McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake (4th edition). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2016.

    John Gordon’s annotations on his Finnegans Wake blog.

    Richard Ellmann’s biography of James Joyce. Oxford University Press, 1982.

    More on characterlessness: Adam Seelig, “EmergeNSee: Get Head Out of Ass: ‘Charactor’ and Poetic Theatre”. The Capilano Review, Vancouver, 2010, pp.32-52.

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    36 mins
  • Ep.003: the museyroom (p. 8:9-13:19)
    May 30 2024

    https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. In this episode we’ll hear Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading pages 8 to 13 of Joyce’s last novel, which will include the famous “museyroom” scene, with an introduction by director Adam Seelig.

    Richard’s reading (pages 8:9-13:19) was recorded with a live audience in Toronto on 31 August 2022.

    For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake.

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and the United States. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Thank you for listening!

    Mentioned: “the museyroom”, character Kate, Phoenix Park, Brendan Ward, Dublin, Mullingar House pub, Chapelizod, character HCE (Earwicker), Battle of Waterloo, Duke of Wellington, Napoleon, John Gordon, Wellington Monument, British Empire, “tip,” character ‘the hen,’ character ALP (Anna Livia Plurabelle), synopsis.

    Resources:

    Transcript for this episode, including the text of Finnegans Wake pages 8-13.

    Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce: there are many free copies of FW to read online or download, e.g. finwake.com

    Brendan Ward’s excellent article, “In the Museyroom” (13 August 2022), in his blog, Finnegans Wake - A Prescriptive Guide.

    James Joyce Digital Archive, “Chicken Guide” to Finnegans Wake provides a ‘plain English’ paraphrase of each chapter by Danis Rose.

    Edmund Epstein, A Guide through Finnegans Wake. University Press of Florida, 2009.

    William York Tindall. A Reader’s Guide to Finnegans Wake. Syracuse University Press, 1996.

    Roland McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake (4th edition). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2016.

    John Gordon’s annotations on his Finnegans Wake blog.

    Richard Ellmann’s biography of James Joyce. Oxford University Press, 1982.

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    28 mins
  • Ep.002: riverrun (p. 3:1-8:8)
    May 16 2024

    https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to the opening pages of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. In this episode we’ll hear Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading the first five pages of Joyce’s legendary last novel for a live audience, with an introduction by director Adam Seelig.

    Born in Ireland’s capital and raised in both Dublin and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Richard Harte has made Toronto his home for the past 25 years. He’s performed on prestigious stages across Canada, hundreds of times with One Little Goat Theatre Company, and made numerous TV appearances. He is also a member of Toronto’s Anna Livia Company, performing Joyce’s Ulysses every Bloomsday (June 16).

    Richard’s reading (pages 3:1-8:8) was recorded live in Toronto on 31 August 2022.

    For Wake text and Episode Transcripts, visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake.

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and the United States. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Thank you for listening!

    Mentioned: riverrun, music, sound, rivers, water, streams of consciousness and unconsciousness, dreams, dream language, multiple languages, characters ALP (Anna Livia Plurabelle) and HCE (Earwicker), comedy, Mother Goose, what makes something funny?, circularity and “recirculation,” synopsis, Roland McHugh, John Gordon, Edmund Epstein, Marshall McLuhan’s copy of the Wake (accessed at Fisher Rare Books Library), Thierry Bissonnette, Gertrude Stein.

    Resources:

    Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce: there are many free copies to read online or download, e.g. finwake.com

    James Joyce Digital Archive, “Chicken Guide” to Finnegans Wake provides a ‘plain English’ paraphrase of each chapter by Danis Rose.

    Edmund Epstein, A Guide through Finnegans Wake. University Press of Florida, 2009.

    William York Tindall. A Reader’s Guide to Finnegans Wake. Syracuse University Press, 1996.

    Roland McHugh, Annotations to Finnegans Wake (4th edition). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2016.

    John Gordon’s annotations on his Finnegans Wake blog.

    Richard Ellmann’s biography of James Joyce. Oxford University Press, 1982.

    For fun: “What’s So Funny? Well, Maybe Nothing,” John Tierney. New York Times, March 13, 2007.

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    32 mins
  • Ep.001: The song that gave Finnegans Wake its title
    May 4 2024

    ⁠https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    Welcome to the inaugural episode of James Joyce’s divine and delirious comedy, Finnegans Wake. Published on 4 May 1939, Joyce’s last novel celebrates its 85th anniversary today, 4 May 2024.

    In this episode, director Adam Seelig briefly discusses “Finnegan’s Wake” (with apostrophe), the comedic 19th-Century Irish American folk song that gave Finnegans Wake (without apostrophe) its title, and invites Irish-Canadian folk singer Kevin Kennedy to perform the folk song for a live audience as a way to kick off Chapter 1 of Joyce’s extraordinary novel.

    Kevin Kennedy is a gem. He was born in Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland and moved to Canada in 1968. He has performed for decades across eastern Canada and the United States, and like Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte, he is also part of Toronto’s Anna Livia Productions, who perform Joyce’s Ulysses every Bloomsday, June 16th. Kevin has recorded over 700 Irish folk songs, viewed and heard over 100,000 times on his YouTube Channel, “Kevin Kennedy — Irish.”

    For a transcript of this episode and for more on One Little Goat Theatre Company’s Finnegans Wake project, please visit https://www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake

    “James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake” is produced by One Little Goat Theatre Company, an official charity in Canada and the United States. If you’d like to support our work, please visit us online to make a charitable donation.

    To get in touch, email us at onelittlegoattc@gmail.com — we’d love to hear from you.

    This podcast is made possible by Friends of One Little Goat Theatre Company and the Emigrant Support Programme of the Government of Ireland. Thank you for your support!

    Thank you to Darina Gallagher and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin for your partnership.

    Thank you to the artists for this episode: Kevin Kennedy, Sound by William Bembridge, Podcast production by Sean Rasmussen, Stage Management by Laura Lakatosh, Rehearsal Stage Management by Sandi Becker, Directed by Adam Seelig.

    Thanks to our live audience of Pip Dwyer, Cathy Murphy, Nomi Rotbard, Arlo Rotbard-Seelig; and thanks to our rehearsal audience of Jackie Chau, Jordy Koffman, Andrew Moodie & Shai Rotbard-Seelig.

    Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa and the Irish Consulate in Toronto and to Production Consultants Cathy Murphy and Andrew Moodie.

    Thank you for listening!

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    13 mins
  • Introducing James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
    Apr 26 2024

    Arguably the most outlandish book ever written, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake turns 85 years old on 4 May 2024. Join us on that celebratory date as we launch our podcast series of Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte reading the entire epic, comedic novel, with introductions to each episode by director Adam Seelig.


    Finnegans Wake is a production of One Little Goat Theatre Company. For more please visit ⁠www.onelittlegoat.org/finneganswake⁠


    Thank you for listening and see you soon!

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    1 min