Bettina Gracias' Ulysses

Writer Bettina Gracias received funding from the Arts Council UK to write a play about the publishing of Ulysses and in particular about Sylvia Beach's role in it. As she did my research, however, she became more interested in Joyce's character and the mixed reports about his nature. Although he was certainly known to be demanding, he was also incredibly kind and generous with some people. He encouraged and supported his student Svevo in publishing his own books.

Bettina then discovered that Joyce helped save 16 Jewish people from the Nazis by contacting his friends during the Second World War. This play revolves around this little known fact and great achievement by Joyce.

The play is still a work in progress, and will further be edited and adapted to stage and screen. In honour of the centenary of Ulysses, this is a zoom reading of the play as it stands now, with actors in Dublin, London and Paris. In the meantime, Bettina hopes that this will be an enjoyable and educational work, both for those who know the story of how Ulysses came to be published and for those who don't. By showing that Joyce saved 16 lives, this work also gives a unique slant on the story of Ulysses.