Irish Theatre

Ireland may be small, but it has made an impact on theatre thanks to playwrights like George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Early Irish dramas leaned toward political commentary and served government purposes, but this changed as playwrights started meeting the needs of the people. Attending plays became a popular pastime in Ireland and audiences grew as new theatres emerged. However, with the 19^th century, many writers were forced to relocate to London or America to establish careers due to the economic struggles in Ireland.

Although it appears that there were religious plays performed in Ireland as early as the 14^th century, the first well documented production was in 1601. It was a play called Gorboduc, written by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Nortan. It was a story of a divided kingdom descending into anarchy and was applicable to the situation in Ireland at that time. After that, private performances became common all over Ireland for the next thirty years.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Ireland experienced a period of colonialism and political upheaval, which had an impact on Irish theatre. Many of the early Irish playwrights wrote in English and focused on themes of patriotism, nationalism, and social justice. The most famous of these early playwrights was Oliver Goldsmith, whose play "She Stoops to Conquer" was first performed in 1773 and remains a classic of English-language theatre.

In the 19th century, a new generation of Irish playwrights emerged, including Dion Boucicault, Lady Gregory, and William Butler Yeats. These playwrights were heavily influenced by the Irish Literary Revival, a movement that sought to promote Irish culture and language through literature and the arts. They wrote plays that explored Irish identity, history, and mythology, and helped to establish a distinctively Irish style of theatre.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Ireland’s economy improved and the government was able to subsidize the development of Indigenous writers, directors, and performers. Many theatres were encouraged to produce the work of Irish writers which encouraged them to return home. The Abbey Theatre was built during this period of time, and it produces Irish works to this day.

Sources cited:

“Irish Theatre.” Ireland, https://www.ireland101.com/page/irish-theatre.

“Irish Theatre.” Irish Theatre - Academic Kids, https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Irish_theatre.