PODCAST: Alan Gilsenan in conversation with Nathalie Lamprecht

Irish Itinerary Podcast Episode 43 – Click HERE

In his conversation with Nathalie Lamprecht, Alan Gilsenan discusses his documentary film The Laughing Boy (2022), which tries to uncover how the song The Laughing Boy, written by a young Brendan Behan and later used in his play The Hostage, travelled via Paris to Greece and there became an anthem of defiance for the Greek left. Gilsenan discusses the circumstances that facilitated this process; the importance of translation and the way the documentary draws attention to it; the image of Behan as a kind of James Dean that obscures his talent as a writer; and Brendan Behan’s collaboration with theatre director Joan Littlewood.  

In June 2023 the Centre for Irish Studies at Charles University, Prague organises the conference Brendan Behan at 100: Legacy and New Directions, marking the centenary of Brendan Behan’s birth.