Three Plays: Sive; The Field; Big Maggie [Paperback]

John B. Keane (Author), Ben Barnes (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0853429073 | ISBN-13: 978-0853429074 | Publication Date: December 31, 1990 | Edition: Revised

The Field is a fierce and tender study of the love a man can have for land and the ruthless lengths he will go to in order to obtain the object of his desire. Sive is a powerful folk-drama set in the south-west of Ireland which concerns itself with the attempt of a scheming matchmaker and a bitter woman to sell an innocent young girl to a lecherous old man. Big Maggie sees Maggie's determination to create a better life for herself and her children after the death of her husband. But her vision of the future is not one which sits comfortably with her offspring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Mercier Press; Revised edition (December 31, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0853429073
• ISBN-13: 978-0853429074
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,213,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars POWER-LAND-LOVE-So John B!, December 22, 1999

By 

Edward Hayden (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Plays: Sive; The Field; Big Maggie (Paperback)

This Book is such good value. Not only do you get three plays but i tell you you get Some entertainment. A most enjoyable read!

SIVE- I love Sive it is an extremely sad story about a young girls who is being sold into marriage by her uncle and aunt. Her grandmothewr is againstit especially because the man is about 70 and also bercause Sive is already in love with Liam Scuab. On the eve of her wedding sive makes a decision that will chande everything-Forever!

THE FIELD- Everyone knows the bull but the bull will go to whatever lenghts he must to get the most important thing in the world(to him) and that is land. But will he succeed and will Mrs.Butler-the widow who is selling theland get a fair price. Main characters include the bull,the birtd and Tadgh. Is tadgh like his father-Is he his fathers son?

BIG MAGGIE- Now widowed ansd free Maggie decides that she will wear the trousers but she finds that the harder she gets the childrenb just fly thenest and all move away. even her son(the homebird) has to choose between his mother or the love of his life. His decision will also change what is to come. Will Maggie continue to fight alone? Does Maggie even know.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Power of the Kingdom, January 14, 2004

By 

Sailoil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Plays: Sive; The Field; Big Maggie (Paperback)

The Author, John B Keane, was a Kerryman through and through, and all his books wallow in the heritage of that county of Ireland. (Kerry is known in Ireland as "The Kingdom") Well known for his novels such as the Bodhran Makers and Durango, it is for his plays that Keane will be best remembered.

Celebrated on the stage of the National theatre of Ireland in the 1980's these three plays went on to tour widely round the world, and the Field was made into a powerful film starring Richard Harris, Tom Berenger, John Hurt and Brenda Fricker.

Each is a mixture of innocence and cynicism, earthy humour and godlike aspiration.

Sive, the tale of a beautiful girl sold under the table to an old man. A tale of corrupted innocence and how greed can shatter families.

The Field, a deep rooted story of the importance of land to rural people, how it transcends even family loyalties, but how it finally breaks the hardest of hard men.

Big Maggie, Keane at his best, giving voice to the repressed sexuality of the Irish woman.

Three wonderful plays with themes that transcend the parochial nature of their setting. They have a simplicity and universality that is almost the equivalent of Greek plays such as Antigone or Lysistrata.