Irish Film Institute -Bloomsday Cabaret

Bloomsday Cabaret

Director: Rosemary House

2003| colour


In Bloomsday Cabaret Canadian director Rosemary House explores the influence of music in the life and literature of James Joyce. In addition to being one of the greatest writers of all time Joyce was a well respected singer with a fine tenor voice: his wife Nora famously said, ‘Jim should have stuck to music instead of bothering with writing’. Featuring well known Irish artists such as Paul Harrington and Aine Whelan as well as leading Canadian opera singer Mary Lou Fallis, the film includes many popular titles from the era such as Goodbye Sweetheart goodbye, Sally Gardens and Love’s Old Sweet Song.
The story of Joyce and music is told against a Bloomsday backdrop, 3 Canadian musicians visit Dublin on a musical mission. The film opens mid morning on the wide seaside vista of Sandymount strand, moving on to the cacophony of Moore Street market. Paul Harrington leads the song at the fabled Davy Byrne’s pub where Leopold Bloom lunched in Ulysses. The musicality of Joyces language and his use of song throughout his work is explored by Joycean scholars Terrence Killeen and Michael Groden. The finale of the film is the Bloomsday cabaret itself. Moulin Rouge meets Bloomsday in a riot of black lace, golden curls, garters, corsets, top hats and tails it is a rowdy evening of musical entertainment and Joycean lore at Newfoundland’s rococo majestic theatre.
The Bloomsday Cabaret gives audiences unique access to the work of James Joyce, a colourful tour of Dublin in the company of intriguing eclectic characters and an exhilarating musical experience.

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