Denis Johnston
Denis Johnston was an Irish barrister turned playwright, known for his significant contributions to the theatre in Ireland and beyond. Born into a family of barristers, he initially followed the expected path of law, studying at prestigious institutions including Cambridge University and Harvard Law School. However, Johnston's passion for drama led him to become actively involved in the Dublin Drama League, where he began to write plays. His first work, "Rhapsody in Green," faced rejection from the Abbey Theatre, prompting him to rework it as "The Old Lady Says 'No!'" which was successfully produced by the Gate Theatre. Throughout his career, Johnston explored profound philosophical themes, particularly in plays like "A Bride for the Unicorn," which demanded introspective engagement from audiences. In 1938, he transitioned to radio with the BBC in Dublin, later moving to BBC television in London, where he continued to critique the legal profession through works like "The Golden Cuckoo." After relocating to the United States in 1949, Johnston's artistic journey continued, leading him to teach at various colleges and author important works, including an influential study on Jonathan Swift. His autobiography, "Nine Rivers from Jordan," alongside a posthumous compilation of his writings, reflects his multifaceted life and legacy in the arts.
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Denis Johnston
Playwright
- Born: June 18, 1901
- Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
- Died: August 8, 1984
- Place of death: Dublin, Ireland
Biography
Denis Johnston, descended from a long line of barristers, was expected to join that line. He met this expectation by attending St. Andrew’s College in Dublin, Ireland; the Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Scotland; Cambridge University; and the Harvard University School of Law, completing his studies in 1925, when he was authorized to practice law in England. The following year, he was admitted to practice law in Ireland and went to work as a barrister in Dublin, where he became active in the Dublin Drama League.
While working with this organization, he met Shelagh Richards, whom he married in 1928. The same year he submitted to the famed Abbey Theatre his first play, Rhapsody in Green, an innovative expressionist drama reflecting techniques that were sweeping Germany. The play was soon returned to him with the terse notation, “The old lady says no.” The old lady in question was Lady Augusta Gregory, the reigning, highly conservative doyenne of Irish drama who assumed the role of protector for the Abbey Theatre.
In 1929, the Gate Theatre produced the play, which Johnston had retitled The Old Lady Says “No!”. Unbeknownst to Lady Gregory, the Abbey Theatre partially backed the play’s production. Remarkably, this play vitalized the Gate Theatre substantially, and Johnston joined its board of directors in 1931. Johnston’s next play, The Moon in the Yellow River, produced by the Abbey Theatre, was more political than his first. It dealt with the conflict between the Republican forces and their Free State opponents that wracked Ireland for generations.
Johnston became concerned with philosophical matters regarding the origins and meanings of life and the essence and implications of time. Such considerations pervade his next play, A Bride for the Unicorn, a play heavily weighted with symbolism that both stimulated and demanded deep thinking from audiences. The law held less appeal to Johnston as he thought deeply about the meaning of life. In 1938, he abandoned his legal career to join British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio in Dublin. The following year, he made a more daring move, this time to London to work with BBC television, which at that time was a largely untested field.
In his play The Golden Cuckoo, Johnston reveals his scorn for the legal profession, a topic he returned to in Strange Occurrence on Ireland’s Eye. In 1948, divorced and remarried, Johnston made another daring move. He resigned from the BBC, moving to the United States as director of the Theatre Guild. During the following fifteen years, he taught at Mount Holyoke, Amherst, and Smith Colleges.
Johnston used a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955 and 1956 to write In Search of Swift, a study of writer Jonathan Swift. He dealt with some of his philosophical questions in a philosophical study, The Brazen Horn. His autobiography, Nine Rivers from Jordan, written in 1953, was followed in 1992 by a posthumous autobiography compiled and edited from his papers by his son, Rory Johnston.