Rhapsody in Stephen’s Green was first performed (as The Insect Play) by the Gate Theatre Company at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, on 22 March 1943. The cast was as follows:
| THE TRAMP | Robert Hennessy | |
| A LADY IN THE GREEN | Rosalind Halligan | |
| CHILDREN | Tony Mathews, Teddy Lucas, Eileen Ashe, Collette Redmond, Ita McManus, Deirdre King, Dolores Lucas, Peggy Kennedy, Maeve Kennedy | |
| A GIRL STUDENT | Patricia Kennedy | |
| A YOUNG MAN | James Neylin | |
| A VISITOR | Liam Gaffney | |
| THE KEEPER | William Fassbender | |
| THE DRONE BEE | Stephen King | |
| BASIL BEE | Cecil Monson | |
| CECIL BEE | Norman Barrs | |
| CYRIL BEE | Antony Walsh | |
| A YOUNG BEE | Robert Dawson | |
| HER MAJESTY QUEEN BEE | Betty Chancellor | |
| A DUCKLING | Alexis Milne | |
| THE VOICE OF THE EGG | Jean St Clair | |
| THE DUCK | P.P. Maguire | |
| MR BEETLE | William Fassbender | |
| MRS SEETLE | Sally Travers | |
| A STRANGE BEETLE | Tyrell Pine | |
| MR CRICKET | J. Winter | |
| MRS CRICKET | Meriel Moore | |
| A PARASITE | Liam Gaffney | |
| A BLIND ANT | William Fassbender | |
| THE CHIEF ENGINEER ANT | J. Winter | |
| THE 2ND ENGINEER ANT | Sean Colleary | |
| THE POLITICIAN ANT | Antony Walsh | |
| A MESSENGER ANT | Liam Gaffney | |
| A CROSS-CHANNEL ANT | Norman Barrs | |
| SLATTERY | Val Iremonger | |
| GREEN ANTS, RED ANTS, ORANGE ANTS, ANTS OF THE GAEL AND ANTS OF THE PALE. | ||
| DIRECTOR/PRODUCER | Hilton Edwards | |
| SETTINGS | Molly MacEwen | |
| COSTUMES | Micheál MacLiammóir | |