The Sanctuary Lamp
Sanctuary Lamp, The Author: Tom Murphy
First Performance: 1975, Dublin
Published: 1976; rev. 1984
Genre: Drama in 2 acts
Setting: A city church, 1970s
Cast: 3m, 1f
Harry Stone was the strong man in a circus, where his wife Olga was a contortionist. When she went off with Francisco the juggler, Harry left his wife and beloved daughter and became a homeless tramp. While sheltering in a church he meets Monsignor the priest, who offers him the job of clerk, and Harry happily sets about his duties while conversing with Jesus's presence in the sanctuary lamp. He discovers Maudie, a waif-like teenager running away from her cruel grandparents, who are fostering her because she was abandoned by her parents. The two settle down for the night in the church. While Harry goes to buy fish and chips, Francisco unexpectedly...
[The entire page is 367 words long]
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