A Comparison of Across the Barricades and A Shadow of a Gunman

A Comparison of Across the Barricades and A Shadow of a Gunman

This essay will analyse the comparative and contrasting points between

Across the Barricades and A Shadow of a Gunman. Joan Lingard wrote

Across the Barricades. The Playwright's dramatic intent was to convey

a romantic relationship set against the background of the Northern

Ireland conflict in the 1980's and 1990's.

A Shadow of a Gunman is another play set in the Northern Ireland

conflict, however it is set in the early twentieth century in the

1920's. Sean O'Casey wrote the play. The playwright's intention for

this play was to convey a comical/romantic theme with a tragic twist

at the end. We only read an extract from A Shadow of a Gunman.

A Shadow of a Gunman is set in one room in a tenement building (where

everyone share the communal bathrooms and live in one room apartments)

throughout the play, while Across the Barricades is set in the

characters local areas. The latter I find more realistic however,

because in real life we move about in day-to-day activities.

The two plays have a different style of giving information to the

audience, for example in Across the Barricades the two main

characters, Kevin and Sadie, performed soliloquies to give information

about characters and past events, this gives the audience a better

understanding of the main characters also the play used newsflashes to

illustrate daily events. In A Shadow of a Gunman information is given

away through hints and rumours by characters entering and exiting the

one room setting.

In A Shadow of a Gunman the two main characters are Davoren and

Minnie, Davoren is a poet however the rest of the tenement building is

under the impression that he is a heroic IRA gunman on the run. Minnie

is a young lady who is attracted to the idea of dating a gunman; once

Davoren figures this out he plays the part hoping to become more

intimate with Minnie. Davoren replies, 'oh it is as easy as throwing a

snowball after a while' when Minnie claims that he is an IRA gunman.