In some ways, ‘Counterparts’ is one of the more overlooked stories of Joyce’s Dubliners – but the reason for that is unclear. True, it does not have the regretful poignancy of ‘Clay’ or ‘The Dead’. Nevertheless, it does contain a sad brutality which in many ways marks it out as a keynote to the rest of the collection. Its protagonist is many things at once. Funny and appalling. Lost and found. Surrounded and alone. Its depiction of a ‘day in the life’ of a simple office worker marks it as a precursor of things to come in Joyce’s canon. The many different moods in the story, the colourful characters that populate it and the locales it visits mark it as a great vehicle for a theatrical adaptation. We hope you enjoy this one-man play inspired by this haunting and definitively Joycean tale.
Adapted, directed and performed by Jim Roche
Original music composed by Denis Clohessy
Live musical accompaniment by Fellimidh Nunan and Conor Sheils