“Words, always Words, but no Action”?: the Actor’s Body as a Heterotopic Language in Bill Morrison’s "The Marriage".
Résumé
"The Marriage" (1993) metaphorically stages the division between the south and the north of Ireland and opens Bill Morrison's trilogy, which gives an overview of Northern Ireland's history since 1922. "The Son" ( 1993) and "The Daughter" (1993) follow "The Marriage", completing the trilogy of a family saga. The three plays are gathered under the title "A Love Song for Ulster", which Maria-Elena Doyle considers as a 'designation that emphasizes not only the need for harmony among the characters but also the playwright's tender attitude toward the tumultuous province that he takes as his subject.'
This essay focuses on "The Marriage", which stages the marriage of Kate, a Catholic from the south of Ireland, to John and then his brother Victor, both Protestant men from the North. Their marriages eventually reflect the aim to reach peace and harmony in Northern Ireland, and signify to a larger extent the possible means of establishing better relationships between Ulster and the South.