A revised and updated version of this pioneering study covers the extraordinary revival of Irish drama in the second half of the twentieth century. By comparing the theatre of Samuel Beckett to more culturally specific Irish plays, the book establishes a greater international and theatrically experimental context for the field than has been recognised. Its three central chapters offer close and contextualised readings of the careers of Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and Thomas Kilroy across a span of more than four decades. The drama of Northern Ireland and its theatrical response to political violence receives sustained attention through a wide range of playwrights, including Frank McGuinness, Gary Mitchell, Christina Reid and Anne Devlin. A new chapter considers the work of such younger playwrights as Martin McDonagh and Marina Carr who emerged in the 1990s to probe the shortcomings of the 'Celtic Tiger' phenomenon. The book draws on significant productions of the period and will prove invaluable for students and theatregoers alike.

About the Author
ANTHONY ROCHE is Associate Professor in the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin, Ireland. He has published widely in the field of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Irish drama and theatre. His recent publications include The Cambridge Companion to Brian Friel (2006).


Reviews

'Much has changed in Irish theatre in the decade and a half since Anthony Roche's peerless survey of contemporary Irish Drama was first published...The appearance of this revised and updated second edition isa welcome opportunity to reacquaint oneself with one of the seminal books on the subject in recent years...Chapters on Brian Friel, Thomas Kilroy and Tom Murphy add considerable ballast to an intelligently written, well argued and essential book on a still vital tradition.' - Michael Quinn, The Stage

'Professor Roche's new edition of his book allows him to add a fascinating survey of the drama of the Celtic Tiger period. In this he convincingly highlights how a younger generation of playwrights engages with the Irish dramatic tradition as it reveals in its haunted plays the tragic flaws in Irish society that mere prosperity could not overcome.' - Terence Brown, Trinity College, University ofDublin, Ireland

'Anthony Roche's Contemporary Irish Drama was a fundamental text in the study of modern drama; this revised edition with additions and updates proves its validity, value, and relevance. The strengths of the first edition original close readings, judicious contextualizing, comprehensive references are now complemented with definitive accounts of the most exciting young playwrights and their prospects in national and international 21st-century culture.' - John P. Harrington,Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York,USA

'Anthony Rocheloves theatre, and Irish theatre in particular -he was at the opening nights; he has long known the playwrights, directors, and actors, as people and professionals; he has been in the scholarly debate about contemporary drama in Ireland all the way along. His new edition of this groundbreaking study really puts the reader on top of the subject, and up to date on many of the most successful English-speaking plays of recent times.' - Adrian Frazier, National University of Ireland, Galway

Book Information
ISBN 9780230219786
Author Anthony Roche
Format Hardback
Page Count 292
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan