Theatre and Ireland

'[a] brilliant series...these mini paperbacks each give an insightful, focused overview of a key topic...start collecting now.' - Whatsonstage.com 'In this book Lionel Pilkington tracks with great clarity the complexity of Irish buffoonery, national theatricality and dissent.' - Fiona Shaw 'This is a valuable, concise book written by a fine scholar whose work is widely known and admired. It will prove an excellent addition to reading lists for courses in modern drama and Irish Studies.' - Stephen Myers Watt, Adjunct Professor of Theatre and Drama, Indiana University '...Palgrave Macmillan's excellent new outward-looking, eclectic Theatre& ... series.These short books, written by leading theatre academics, do much to reintroduce some of the brightest names in theatre academia to the general reader. Plus, the matrix of references to bigger books soon builds quite a comprehensive catch-up reading list for those of us who graduated more than a decade ago and are interested in where contemporary thinking is at...' - Guardian Theatre Blog, September 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2009/sep/10/theatre-critics-academics-artists

What is the significance of theatre and performance within Irish culture and history? Expanding the field of Irish theatre to include mumming, wake games, prison protests and theatre riots, the book argues that Ireland's longstanding association with performance illuminates key aspects of its cultural history and politics.
What is the significance of theatre and performance within Irish culture and history? How do we understand the impact and political potential of Irish theatre?

This innovative survey of theatre in Ireland covers a range of drama and performance, from the 17th century to the present. Expanding the field of Irish theatre to include mumming, wake games, prison protests and theatre riots, the book argues that Ireland's longstanding association with performance illuminates key aspects of its cultural history and politics.

Foreword by Fiona Shaw