Ulysses Revisited

For Howard Jacobson, James Joyce's Ulysses is the greatest Jewish novel of the 20th century; for Henry Goodman the novel that hugely articulated and reshaped his artistic hopes and identity as an actor.

Together they revisit, discuss and read from the iconic text published 90 years ago this February. They will contend that Bloom, this great hero of consciousness and inaction, weakness and masochism, belongs in the great tradition of comic fiction. They will also look at Bloom as a prophetic figure, the outsider, who as a Jew, can guide others out of trauma because of his intimacy with suffering. Derbhle Crotty joins them to read passages illustrating Molly's complex relationship with her husband. The session will include a dynamic look at “interior monologue”.

Howard Jacobson – the celebrated writer, broadcaster, journalist and literary scholar – won the 2010 Man Booker Prize for his novel, The Finkler Question. He writes a column for The Independent, recently publishing a collection of his articles: Whatever It Is, I Don’t Like It.

Henry Goodman is an actor of both stage and screen. He has twice attained Olivier awards and recently starred in the stage revival of Yes, Prime Minister and The National Theatre’s Holy Rosenbergs.

Derbhle Crotty played Portia alongside Henry Goodman's Shylock. Her theatre credits include: A Month in the Country, The Plough and the Stars, Bailegangaire, (Abbey and Peacock Theatres), Portia Coughlan (Royal Court Co-production), The Well of the Saints (Edinburgh Festival and Perth), The Mai and Katie Roche. Other theatre credits include The Alice Trilogy (Royal Court), The Home Place, Dancing at Lughnasa (Gate Theatre), The Playboy of the Western World, Summerfolk, The Merchant of Venice (National Theatre, London), The Weir (Royal Court on tour), Little Eyolf, Camino Real, Hamlet (RSC), Playing the Wife (Chichester), Royal Supreme (Plymouth), Miss Julie (Vesuvius) and Measure for Measure (Galloglas).

In association with Jewish Renaissance