DENIZEN - A VERSE DRAMA - Dave Duggan

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa

DENIZEN is a verse drama by Dave Duggan that presents a citizen confronting violence, regime change, and the moral question of whether violent action can build a future. Set in a literary and theatrical frame, the play challenges the protagonist through a chorus of other citizens, foregrounding how political violence, poverty, discrimination, and oppression shape human organization. Drawing echoes from Dante and Shakespeare, it argues for peace with justice rather than peace maintained through war.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages84

Reading Time2 h 9 min

AccessFree to download

Reproduction and Performance Caution

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri(1265-1321)

Foreword

DENIZEN # A VERSE DRAMA AM TH PARAH B RTOYOURSELF DAVE DUGGAN Dave Duggan is a dramatist and novelist,living in Derry.McLaughlins 100,a film of his bespoke theatre work ina hardware shop,premiered at Foyle Film Festival 2013.His theatre work has been seen across Ireland and in NewYork,Edinburgh,Liverpool and Afghanistan.RTÉ andBBC have produced his radio and online drama.Furtherfilm and television work includes writing the Oscar-nominated Dance Lexie Dance(Raw Nerve Productions,1996).His second novel is A Sudden Sun(Guildhall Press,2012).Recent work includes AFare PlayFor Voices(BBCRadio 4,2013),with Amanda Burton,Bronagh Gallagherand Alan Wright.MAKARONIK(Aisling Ghear,2014)is a new stageplay.Dave blogs at breathingwithalimpand more details of his work are on www.facebook.com/DaveDugganWriter # D ENIZEN A VERSE DRAMA DAVE DUGGA N are u GUILDHALL PRESS First published in May 2014 byGuildhall PressUnit 15 Ráth Mór Business ParkBligh's LaneDerry Northern IrelandBT480LZT:(028)71364413-www.ghpress.com Copyright CDave Duggan/Guildhall Press ISBN 9781906271879 Guildhall Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Councilof Northern Ireland as a principal funder under its Annual Funding Programme. Supported byThe National Lottery°through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. The author asserts his moral rights in this work in accordance with the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1998. # Reproduction and Performance Caution All rights whatsoever in these works are strictly reserved.Requests to reproducethe text in whole or in part should be addressed to the publisher.Applications forperformance,in any medium,including readings and excerpts,by amateurs orprofessionals,should be addressed to the publisher.No performance may be givenunless a licence has been obtained. ll rights reserved.No part of thispublication may be reproduced or transmited in any formor by any means,celectronicor mechanical,including photocopy,recording,or any informationstorage or retrieval system,without permission in writing from the publisher.The book issold subject to the condition tha it shall not,by way of trade or otherwise,be lent,re-sold orotherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover otherthan that in which it is published and without a similar condition,including this condition,being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. DENIZEN by Dave Duggan received a staged readingon 9 February 2014 at The Danske Bank Studio of TheMillennium Forum,Derry.The cast was Sorcha Shanahan,Orla Mullan and Lloyd Hutchinson.Production was byBlue Eagle Productions and Nerve Centre. The writing of DENIZENby Dave Duggan was supportedby public funds through an Individual Artist Award fromCulture Company 2013,acting for Derry City Council.This publication is supported by Arts Council NI. Cover design by Guildhall Press based on original artworkby John McCandless from a selfie by Lloyd Hutchinson. FOREWORD Ne mezzo del Camino di nostra vitami ritrovai per una selva oscura,ché la diritta via era smarrita. Midway upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost. # The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri(1265-1321) Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-82) The words of Dante take us into the dark forest ofpolitical violence in the company of Denizen,a man withregime change on his mind and blood on his hands.Heembodies a practice widely used by states and by anti-state individuals and groups.He uses violence to createpathways for change. These pathways have never been straightforward.Never been bloodless.So much of human organisation isbuilt on violence;the violence of poverty,discriminationand oppression.Many states,including today's liberaldemocracies,owe theirexistence to direct violence and war.Current international arrangements

FAQs

Who wrote DENIZEN and what form is it?

DENIZEN is written by Dave Duggan and presented as a verse drama.

What question does the play confront?

The text explicitly raises the question: can violence build a future?

How does the work frame peace and justice?

The foreword states that the new telling validates peace with justice rather than destroying peace with poverty, oppression, and war.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa