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Patrick Lonergan is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at National University of Ireland, and a leading authority on Irish Drama. His other publications include Theatre and Globalization (2009), The Theatre and Films of Martin McDonagh (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2012), and Theatre & Social Media (2015).Drawing on major new archival discoveries and recent research, Patrick Lonergan presents an innovative, highly readable and informative account of Irish drama and theatre since 1950. The book focuses on the many Irish dramatists who have achieved international prominence during that period, starting with Beckett and Brendan Behan in the 1950s, continuing with Brian Friel and Tom Murphy in the 1960s, and concluding with the many great dramatists who emerged in the late 1990s – including Martin McDonagh, Enda Walsh, Conor McPherson and Marina Carr. The book also explores the contribution to world theatre of major Irish companies, focusing not just on the Abbey and Gate theatres, but also on such groups as Druid, Field Day, and Charabanc. Organised by decade, Irish Drama and Theatre since 1950 provides a wide-ranging account of major developments combined with case studies of the premiere or revival of major plays, the establishment of new companies and the influence of international work and artists, including Tennessee Williams and Bertolt Brecht.
This book draws on newly released documents - including the Abbey Theatre Archive, Druid archive, and Friel papers - to provide an insight into the full production process, bringing to light the contributions of directors, designers, actors – and of course audiences too. Readers of the book will understand Irish theatre in its social and cultural contexts, seeing how the production and reception of Irish plays has been influenced by such issues as European integration, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Celtic Tiger period, the Irish language, and the changing status of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The 1950s – Internationalising Irish Drama: the early plays of Samuel Beckett, the beginning of the Dublin Theatre Festival, and Brendan Behan in London
2. The 1960s – Shifting Form: Philadelphia, Here I Come! by Friel, Famine by Tom Murphy, and An Triail by Mairead Ni Ghrada)
3. 1970s – Politics and Crisis: the establishment of Druid Theatre, Stewart Parker’s Spokesong, and Tom Murphy’s Sanctuary Lamp
4. 1980s – Contesting Space: the establishment of Field Day, Charabanc’s Lay Up Your Ends and McGuinness’s Observe the Sons of Ulster
5. 1990s – Renewals: the Gate Theatre’s Beckett Festivals, Marina Carr’s Midlands plays, and Friel’s Faith Healer
6. 2000s - The End of the Beginning of the End: Enda Walsh’s The Walworth Farce, Synge and Irish interculturalism, experimental practice in Ireland after the crash of 2008, and theatre in Northern Ireland after the Good Friday Agreement
7. Critical and Performance Perspectives:
Thomas Kilroy on Irish theatre in the 1950s and 1960s
Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy on Irish theatre in the 1970s
Louise Lowe on contemporary experimental theatre practice
Conclusion
Chronology
Notes
Further reading
Index