Column

Sara Keating: Pride’s proud defiance subtly mirrored in Tennessee William’s tense play

The Glass Menagerie, showing in Cork where far-right activists have objected to LGBTQ+ literature in the city library, was inspired by the playwright’s struggle with his sexuality and his difficult family life

Darragh Feehely as Tom in Emma Jordan’s production of The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, running at the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork, until August 26

Last Sunday, the annual Cork Pride parade wound its way through the city’s streets. The procession started on Grand Parade outside Cork City Library, which has been at the centre of its own culture war in recent months.

Since early June, far-right activists have erected controversial banners outside the library, staged protests, threatened library staff and attempted to remove literature with LGBTQ+ themes from the shelves. On one occasion, the library had to be closed ...