It’s funny to reflect how the performing arts, theatre in particular, are a lot stronger when they have a literary basis. As Melbourne staggered to emerge from what looked like its umpteenth lockdown — one where you could exchange viruses at eating venues but not have a dinner party or go to a show — it was interesting to see that just in time for Bloomsday, June 16, the calendrical James Joyce celebration, Naxos brought out a complete recording of Finnegans Wake, the supreme gobbledygook masterpiece written in a jabberwock of cross-lingual puns to a basic Irish lilt and blarney.

The...