Look Back at Brendan Behan

'The Quare Fellow', the play which established Behan's reputation in Ireland and abroad, was produced by Carolyn Swift and Alan Simpson for Dublin's Pike Theatre in 1954. A 1956 production of 'The Quare Fellow' by Joan Littlewood for the Theatre Royal, Stratford brought Behan to international attention. Drawing on Behan's own experiences, 'The Quare Fellow' is set in a prison in the twenty-four hours preceding an execution. The play is a critique of capital punishment; "the quare fellow" refers to the condemned man who is never seen.

Joan Littlewood recalls receiving a script for 'The Quare Fellow' in the post, Behan's first visit to her theatre in London, and how she and Behan became friends and collaborators.

In early 1964, the Irish Government announced the abolition of capital punishment. In the only surviving Telefis Éireann interview with Brendan Behan, the writer gives his opinion on the decision. By 1964, Brendan Behan was suffering badly from a combination of the effects of years of heavy drinking and diabetes. In this clip, although Behan is somewhat slow in conveying his thoughts, his passion for the subject comes through.

Brendan Behan died a short time after this interview on 20 March 1964.

In late 1961, a film version of 'The Quare Fellow' was made in Ireland. Director Arthur Dreifuss, on location at Kilmainham Gaol, talks about his own opposition to capital punishment and the power of Behan's play in showing an audience how society at that time was exacting its justice.

The film starred Patrick McGoohan, who later starred in the cult television series 'The Prisoner', and writer Walter Macken.