ABSTRACT
This book examines the relationship between theatre and the state in twentieth-century Ireland before and after political independence. Its particular focus is the Irish literary theatre movement at the Abbey Theatre and, to a lesser extent, the history of theatre and national theatre initiatives for successive unionist governments in post-1922 Northern Ireland. This study is, therefore, a selective treatment of an extensive and complex topic. Much has been omitted from its ambit, including consideration of the state-supported Irish-language theatre, Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe (1928-) and alternative national theatre projects such as Theatre of Ireland (1906-12) and the Ulster Literary Theatre (1904-15). Instead I concentrate on tracking in detail an evolving theatre history in relation to the politics of the British, Irish and Northern Irish states. This task was undertaken in the first place as an attempt to counteract the long-standing assumption that Irish theatre exists outside politics and apart altogether from the determining power of the state.
