And the Irish Theatre MovementBy

Elizabeth Abernathy

Establish in 1904 in Dublin

It grew out of the Irish Literary Theatre founded in 1899 by William Butler Yeats, and Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory.

The Abbey opened up in December of 1904 with a bill of plays by Yeats, Lady Gregory, and John Millington Synge

1st State-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world.

Closely associated with the writers of the Celtic Revival

William Butler Yeats – co director

Lady Gregory – co directorEdward MartynWilliam and Frank Fay

(formed W. G. Fay’s Irish National Dramatic Company)

Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman – funding

John Millington Synge - co director

William Butler

Yeats

Important

Figures in Abbey Theatre

Jan 26. 1907 staging of Synge’s satire The Playboy of the Western World caused a riot over resentment of the portrayal of the Irish peasantry.

May 7, 1910 when all the other theatres in the city were closed in respect for the death of King Edward VII, the Abbey was kept open.

1926 Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars caused riots similar to the Playboy Riots.

YeatsLady GregoryMooreMartynPadraic ColumGeorge Bernard ShawOliver St. John GogartyWilfrid BluntF. R. HigginsThomas MacDonagh (one of the

leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916)Lord DunsanyT. C. MurrayLennox RobinsonSean O’ Casey

Synge, as a key

member of the

Abbey Theatre

greatly aided in

its success.

Famous Writers

The Nationalist Movement Used theatre to establish strong sense of national identity

The Irish Literary Movement Aimed to overcome the feeling of cultural inferiority by

advocating a return to Irish Mythologies and Legends

The Socialist Movement Aims of improving status of workers in society, mainly between

1912-1916

The Suffragist Movement Status of women, mostly in years 1912-1915, specifically

calling for women’s right to vote.

The Abbey provided an output for the Nationalist movement in artistic form. Through the Abbey Theatre and other theatres, Irish culture began to surface and reestablish itself.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561/Abbey-Theatre

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Abbey_Theatre

http://www.jstor.org/pss/25489634http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/

eich_01/eich_01_00229.htmlhttp://www.nationalarchives.ie/contactus/

news/images/2008/MayAbbeyTheatre.jpg