The Renaissance movement in the Irish theatre, 1899-1949
Item Type Thesis
Authors Diehl, Margaret Flaherty
Download date 06/10/2021 20:08:21
Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10484/4764 THE :RENAISSANCE HOVEMENT IN THE IRISH THEATRE 1899... 1949
A Thesis Presented'to
TheF~culty of the Department of English Indiana. state Teachers College
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In Partial Fulfillment of the ReqUi:tements for th.eDegree Mast~rofArts in Education
by Margaret Flaherty' Diehl June- 1949 i
. I .' , is hereby approved as counting toward the completion of the Maste:r's degree in the amount of _L hOUI's' credit.
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The author of this thesis wishes to express her sincere thanks to the members of her committee: (Mrs.) Haze~ T. Pfennig, Ph.D., chairman; (Mrs.) Sara K. Harve,y, Ph.D.; George E. Smock, Ph.D., for their advice and assistance. She appreciates the opportunities fOr research "itlhich have been extended to her, through bo'th Indiana State Teachers College Librar,y and Fairbanks Memoria~ Librar,y. The writer also desires to thank Lennox Robinson and Sean a'Casey fOr their friendly letters" She is espeCially indebted for valuable information afforded her through correspondence with Denis Johnston. Margaret Flaherty Diehl TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I.. BEGINNING OF THE DRAMA IN IRELAND ••••• .. ". 1
Need for this study of the Irish Renaissance .. 1
The English theatre in Ireland • • e' • • " ." 1 Foupding of the Gaiety Theatre .. ~ • • • • •• 1
Politics hindered literature • • • eo. • • 2
Jrrish Literary Renaissance • • • • • • e • 2
Revival of Gaelic .. Gaelic League • • (I ..~ I' • • 3
English translation of Gaelic poetr,y Cl •. • " 0 :3
The Fays aDd the new European theatre • e • C" .. 4
New interest in folk tales and mythology o • • 5 Yeats t dramas and their source legends . . " .. 6 II. TEE IRISH LITERARY THEATRE 6
Ideas 'behind the Irish Literary Theatre .. . 6
The letter to secure guarantors .. • " " • " • 0 6
FiDding a theatre eo the license .. promotors " " 7
First performance .. English actors o eo. 0 • 8
Pla;y-s of 1900... 1901 Cl"..... GI " ,. 41 •• ., o. 8
Firf.3tp+~ by Dublin a.:mateurs ... " Cl ., ., I> ... 8
Epii;,Et]lh of the ,Irish Literal'jl' Theatre Cl .. • •• 9 ...... 10 TI1eatr~ ~ocie~y The, Irish 1\fatio1'1al .. 4< • " .. 10
The Fay brothers - Ormond Dramatic Society • 10
"W.Fay>~1":,:~;:" .,'" :~;- '.met',:, ,- ." Yeats .. combined interests I> ., • " 10 ~ - i, I c; '." - :\
v
Yea~s recognized the National Dramatic SOQiety- 10 Personnel of Irish 1'fat:i6nal Theatre Society " 11 First :play in stet Teresa's Hall ... cast " " o. 11
Camden street Hall ... plays .. 0' 0' • " 12
The Abbey ,Theatre ... amat.enrstanding .. • • • • 12 Early dramatists: Synge, Yeats, Colum, Lady
Gregor,y "".,,,. " " 0 • " .' • .. " • .. ,,(I 12
Lo,ndontrips ... 1903, 1904 ... plays eo Mise Horniman " .' " " 13 The Apbey • • • • .' " " If • .' .' • " .. " .. • .. 13 Miss Hornimam provided a theatre .. " .. " 13 The Abbey grant " " " ., • " 0 0 " .. .. " "" .. 14
Abbey ac-toI's at St. Louis Fair " " " " " 0 •• 14
Opening of Abbey Tlleatre .. .. (I) " .. «J " • 0 .. ~ 15 William Boyle, 4ramatist ., .. If) " " " ?int:tncee o£ the Abbey" 15 ,Reorg$l.t1i2ja.t1on ... The NatioJutl Theatre ComJ?arJY .. 15 Directors and stockholdera " . " " .. " " . " British tour ,'. - ,-." " -',' 'b; " " .' .. .. .' iii • ", " "0 " • .." 16
FElYlSleave;th~A'bbey " " " • " 'II • ,. " .. " " " 1'7
'~~;,1.~an.,;v:~ars., J.90~:",1~14 "".... it .. " .. .." 17 >R()biD;!Sc>n,asmant;tger ... "Lady: Greg()ry" pJ.a~s ~ •• 17 18
:11 vi CHAPTER Yeats and Lady Gregory buy the Abbey ...... 19 Miss Horniman's British pride •• e e • • • • 19 ~ Yeats' pension. o • • • • • • • .. • G e 20 The American tour, trouble with Ih! P1~ybol .. ~ 20 Nugent Monck's school of ac.ting .. .. 0 ...... 21 The new "People'sfl theatre • • 8 • • " C • • 21 The Abbe,y during the revolution years, 1916-1921 22 Easter Week trouble .. ,. • .. • .. • .. • • 0 & e 22 Keogh as manager .. .. 22 Robinson returns to the Abbey " .. .. o .. " .. • & 23 Abbe,y sUbsidy .. .. • .. • .. " ...... 0 .. " • " .. 23 The prosperous years • ...... • •• • 23 Sean Q'Casey's pl~s - other dramatists 23 :Peacock Theatre for play try... outs .. iii .. .. • 24 Lady Gregory's death ...... 0 " ...... ,.. 24 The American tour, 1934 ...... • • • • ...... M.oderntrends in the Abbey • •••• 0' • • & .. • 26' The Players' Theatre •• 0 ••• • • • .. ••• 27 Present board of directors ...... 28 Ria Mooney as producer ...... " .. .. •• • o. 28 Complacency in the Abbey ."" " .. " .. .. " ... 28 Future of the Abbe,y • • • • • • • • • • •• • 29 : ) J !) vii )- ..., ~ , CHAJ?TER 1 -~ PAaH: i , i I it IV 0 'lIRE GATE THEATRE ••• 0 .. • .. • ...... • .. 0 • 0 30 I It Beginning of the Gate Theatre ••••••••• 30 Division in the Gate Theatre o. 0 • 0 • • •• 31 Gate Theatre Productions ••••••••••• 31 Longford Productions .. • .. • 32 The-Symposium of 1942 . 33 Finances and subsidies 0 • 0 0 • • 0 • .. 0 0 0 33 V. OTHER SYlALL THEATRES IN IRELAND • . .. . • • • • • 35 The Irish - speaking theatre •• .. ••• • • .. 35 Little theatre movements in Ireland . 37 VI. EARLY SPONSORS OF 'lTHE IRISH :NATIONAL THEATRE . .. 3S Abbey's freedom from commercialism • II ., • •• ,38 Leaders in the Irish Literar,y Theatre 0 .0. 0 39 W.B.Yeats ... • e- .' • • • • • • e • • '0 .. .. 0 .. 39 Lady Gregory ... 0 .. .. • • • .. • II .. • II • co Cl 40 Lennox Robinson • e • 0 0 • • • • • 0 ~ • • • 41 e • .. 0- ••• • • • .' •• • • •• $' " 42 ]'!Liss Horniman • o • • • • •• • • • • • • .. . . 42 VII. ,ACTORS OF THE IRISH l\fATIONAL THEATRE ...... 44 Qualities of '.Abbey acting • • • 0 • • • c • 0 44, Yeats' essentials of good acting •••• e- • e 45 Changes in actor personnel at the Abbey • • • • 4t5 1 J" Politibsin the Abbey .. • '11, • I> .. • • • • • • 0 • 47 Roles created by actors • • • • 0' 0 " 0 .. .' . ., 48 C011ii emporary actors in the Irish theatres o • .. 49 ~ 'I· :I, I ,I ,I t ;,-,I viii 'CHAPTER VIII.. PLAYS AND PLAYWRIGHTS OF THE IRISH NATIONAL TlIEATBE .. 0 0 0 • ...... • 0 • .. • •• • .. 0 50 Early dramatists of the Irish national theatre 50 Poetic and folk dramatists • ...... o 0 50 WoB.Yeats •••••' •••••.••••• ft\I' 50 J .M.Synge • .. .. •• .. 0' • 0 o .. • .. o· • • 51 Lady Gregory •• .. 0 .. .. " .. . .. o • • • « 52 Padraic Colum. •••••• ••• 00 ••• 53 0 0 0 George Fitzmaurice .. " ... ..o, f' • Realistic dramatists o ...... o " o .. 54 Lennox Robinson • .. • • • .. • .' • e 6 • • 54 T.. C.Murr~ '...... " " .. .. • 0 • e 54 Seumas O'Kelly ...... " • • .' .. " .. 55 Sir-John Ervine • • •• e • e • • 0.0. 55 Brinsley MacNamara._ 0 It ...... to • 4& • • 56 " .' Sean O'Case,y .. " • 0' • • .. .' 0 .' • ct .' .' 56 Comedy writers ...... - ...... ,...... • e 58 F!'ed Ryan, Yeats, and Lady Gregol'7 .. " " .' 5.8 William: Boyle o •• 0 • 0 • • • • •. 6 • • 58 W.F"Casey .0.· ... 0· •••• 00 ••• Edward McNulty • 0.." . . " • II • • 59 George Shiels ..... It ...... " .. " .. c .. " 59 ix CHAPTER PAGE Symbolists of the Irish theatre • .. .. •• ... 59 Lord Dunsany ...... • .... 60 Edward Martyn .. • • • • • .. .. • • • • ...... 60 Political propaganda pl~s .. •• 60 Social problem plays ..... • .. .. • .. •• "" 61 Modern drama • • .. • .. • ,e •• • • • .. 6 .. 61 Dramas of famous persons' lives .. • ...... 62 Social problem plays ~2 Poetic and 1egendar,y trends in drama ...... '64 E:tBtIQGRA.F.HY • 0 ••• «) ••••• e _ ..... 0, •••• 64 .AJ?PEl\fDI.XES • • • • • • • 0 0 •••••• • 0 ~ • •• ?O A. Plays produced by the Abbey Theatre Company and its predecessors, with dates of first perfor.man- ces. ••• • • .• it .,. ~ • • • .0 6 • 0: •• _ 71 ~roductions, List of first with casts ..... 0 .. 74 c. Abbey Theatre Festival Programme • • • b • 0 • 80 ,Ooples of letters from Irish dramatists • • c 0 82 I I i1 li L II II I ,L. ,I ..., I j CHAl?TER I ;, i DEVELOJP1vlENT OF THE DRAMA IN IREI..A1W During the past, fifty years many accounts have been written Of the Irie:fi Renaissance :Movement in the theatre, but altiTays of fragmentary character, with certain points stressed and other points slighted 01' omitted.. The cont'emporary nature Of themovem.ent has tended to render tnese ac'counts out... of.. date wi th~n a few years after publicati:oIl.. This study has 'been an endeavor to e,ssemble' the data into a,s orderly and complete chronoJ.ogy as possible, and to present a comprehensive review of the beg:Lnnil1ge C and evolution of the Iri~l~, ~~i:~~,t~5,~:·~o:t:~:t:5i'.ii:.::· , ",." I ), ," ' ~ ), ." • oJ '" Jirelai1d had lon~f b,e~n torn::'b3r·. W~i::SSl both e:x:ternal and -, " 4 •• .....4" ~ 4 _'.' -: irit~rnal, and' divided by pol.itical. religious,aitd economic differences; and yet, vii thittthe past fifty years this small countfy has made important contributions to the world's cIr~tieart.. Th.roughthe nineteenth century,Ireland. was a,ptb'Vinclaloutpost for English touring companies, although Irelaila: had'601'hEilmtedi ma..nY fineactOrs I!md playwrights to the English theatre, such as the $herl.da,ns" Bernard Shaw, and0sckti,'WJ.ld.e. These artists I1ad' alll'eft freland~ to i:i.ire ':tnEngl$.nd. arid> to 'writeu;pdrx English themes. FIs,ny f e1t that the Erlgiish 'theatre:h.ad"beCbme>me:tegatidyenterta:!.mnent. As'·"ea:rly ;aslS'70 t:b.eGaletyT1J.eatrenadbeeri :f'ounded?in,' 2 Dublin to supersede the degen,erating English stock cOlD.patd!es a.ndto re'Vftalize the Dub~in stage. This project, with Eng,lish play-s and English. actors, continued through 1896. The disturbing pOlitical factors of the nineteenth century were the Young Ireland Mo'Vement and. the Land Revolution period. For over aoenttlr.,y all literary genius had been concerned with politics. The Nation, a newspaper edited in 18.42 by Thomas Davis, 'VElS pUblishedirr support of the Young Ireland Movement. Finally, in 189:1." the defeat and death of Parnell eaSed the political tension, and young writers turned more to literature ~d:poet1'W. The Irish Literary Renaissance'bec.ame· a real movement in the last ten years of the nineteenth century.. It p~fJbablybegan with Standish 0' Grady' 6 History 2.!. Ireland in l880..W.:B.Ye~ts:published~. Wanderinss .af Giain, ~ Other Foems,in1889•. George Russell (A.E.) had his group of eager young writers who were beginning to be appreciated. Then,.in. 1895,. in The ReviVal ~ Irish Literature, lectures by Sir GavanDuffy,Dr. George Si@erson,a,nd Dr. Douglas Hyde ",' ".. ...•,., f'ine~'art8"hadbeen:dri'V'eriil1tohia.:i.ngdtiringthe seventh .century WEirs and the breakUp of the Catholic state. No educated Irish people knew Gaelic. Its USe was even f'cn'- .t bidden in the national schools.. Only the Gaelic-speaking peasants of' outlying districts preserved Gaelic tradition and language.. Dr. Hyd,e wished to give back to Ireland her ancient language and ciVilization. In 1893, a small group of s~holars had formed the Gaelic ~eague: Dr. pouglas HYde, Father Eugene O'Growney,Eoin Mac Neill, and T. OtNeill Russell .. The group was non-sectarian and non-political. The peopl.e seemed eager to learn Gaelic from Ot Growney' s . textbooks, and Gaelic-speaking native teachers" EYde, as' president, forced out those who were definitely national in a political sense; such men as Arthur Griffith, the rounder of the Sinn Fein movement.. Dr. Hyde, in 1894, translated ~"'~ Songs .£fConnacht into a new, rhythmic English. In 1900, La~Gregor.Y learned Gaelic, and taught Gaelic tOlaer Peasants' ,at Coole, her country home. She enjoyed translating tlae old, l,egends: and, folklore into English.. This was a tremend1,tpus ta:sk: ...".' ..... tlaea:pproach of a group ofwriters tOa Iiteratyre written in a language that they did not know, embodying ,t1:re. though:;tsofa world' divided, from, them by' mOre than lapse of time:, a, world outside the Christian cycle, and. outsid,e. the Greco-Roman traditio11 of art; a world cut off. not only from the writers but from the, living ,Irish fOr whom, :ifthey ~~t:e to::m§.k,~al;l. !:riEjh reVival, they must be' presumed to write. 1 I S~ephen GvJynn,IriSh'Literature and Dratna.. (:London; Thomas, Nelsonandsons~'1936j,p;. 129 .. -'""l""7" ., ~ ... . j :1 i ) it . I : i Oertainly the Irish dramatists Were to some extent ii' i!' W.B.Ye~t~ !, r influenced by Ibsen, Ohekho"l1, and Maeterlink.. 'I I t I and Edward Martyn borrowed the techniques of the Europeans and adapted them to Irish nationalistic drama. Like Ibsen's plays, the Irish plays were dramas of ideas. The French school of a.cting taught the Irish ?-ctors an economy and dignity of gesture, a repose of manner, a quietude which did' not originate in Irish moodiness. W. G.• Fay and Frank Fay, brothers, and leaders in t~e Ormond Drama S.ociety of Dublin, experienced the interest common to all Irish dramatists in the new, independent theatre. 'William Archer, trans~~tor of Ibsen's plays, had written .e.m article about the B.ergen. Theatre of Bjornson and Ibsen. The Fays had heard of Antoine's Theatre Libre''',hich had been established. in 188?, in theFIontmarte, for the prqduction of plays of young French Ii',riters. The London Independent Theatre of 1891, wa.s started by J.T.Grein and I.1iss A.. E.F. Horniman. In 1891, in Dublin, the Fays "Saw Sir Herbert Tree's. per:eormanceof :rbsent~ .~ Enesx ..,Q! ~ People, and were enthusia.stic about this new dramatic SUbject matter and technique .. In 1895, West Irish ~ ~.§. W!&S written by William Larminie.. After Lady Gregory met W.. B.;l'eats, in 1898, she shared with him her enthusiasm andintere.st in legend and country folk, and took him with her to the cottages to listen to the ancient Gaelic tales. Ireland was a country rich in 5 a half-forgotten mythology. Yeats had the heritage of racial dreams and the mystic philosopI1Y of a small. isolated people, with a long history behind it. Yeats' dramas, Deirdre, On Baile's Strand, The Green He~et, and The King's Threshold were enacted before audiences who knew the source legen.ds as the Greeks knew the stories of their tragedies, since neither man nOr history are entirely real. In 1892, Yeats wrote: Our history is full of incidents well worthy of drama, story, and' song. And. they ar'e incidents involving types of character of which this world has not yet heard. If, we can but put those tumultuous centuries into tale or drama,the whole world will hear a new story. Nor is this new thing we have to s~ in our past, alone. The ver,y people who come and go in this library where I write are themes full of ne,,! wisdom and new mystery, for in t;hem is that yet uncUltured thing - Irish character. And if history and the living present fail us, do there not lie hid among those spear heads and golden collarw over the w~ in the New Museum, suggestions of that age before history when the art legends and wild mythology of earliest Ireland rose out of the void? There alone is enough of the stuff th~t dreams are made on to keep us' busy a thousand years.t:.. Nov.19, 1892 2'W.B.Yeats, Letters to the New Island. (Cambridge: ~ Har:yard University Press, 1934J,-P: 159. :i "i· l I'·' CBAFTER II TIfIE IRISH LITERARY THEATRE SOIDe authorities have insisted that the Irish Literary Theatre was really part of the international dramatic movement, 'under the force of conti~ental Europe~n example .. 'It has been called an Ibsenite movement, related to the lnde:pendent Theatre in London.. ActualThy, the Irish Literary Theatre was conceived -in necessity to I,.v.:a.Yeats and Edward Martyn had been unable to interest London the~tresin the. production of their :plays., For a long time Yeats had dreamed of a small theatre for the production of' Itish dra:rna. Inl@98Lady Gregory became interested in Yeats' dream. The Irish Literary Theatre came into existence through the efforts of< W.o13.Yeats, Lady Gregory, Ed\l,rardMartyn, Geo1:'geMoore, George' iRussell, Dr., Douglas Ey-de, Standish O'Gl'ady, and many .othe:re. The first· step inorganiz~tion was taken at Coole, 'LadY Gregory'S count17 home, when Lady Gregory. and W.$. reate icomposed a formal letter, to secure moneyguaranto1"Se The . letter stated.: i•••··iWe··propose.··toha'\l"e .performed.in... Dtiblitrj,n·'tihe,t;lprin.g of ereryyear certain Celtic and Irish plB\Vs, Which what... everF'be that freedom of experiment which is not yet found in thetatres of~gla.nd, and without which no new movement in art or.· literature can succeed.. We will show that Ireland is not the home of bUffoonery and of easy sentiment, as it ha.s been represented, but the home of an ancient idealism. We are confident of the support of all Irish people, who are weary of misrepr.esentation, in carrying out a work tha~ is outside all the political questions that divide us. A guarantee fund of three hundred pounds, for a three-year experiment, was asked. Near~ everybo~ solicited responded with promises of support, promises never reqUired, since Edward Mart.Yn generously made up all losses. Yeats and Mart,yn could not find a licensed building for rent in Dublin. There was aJ;1 old act '\.;hich forbade even amateur performances outside a licensed·theatre.. At last a bill was passed, in 1898, in the House of Commons, whi.ch permitted the granting of occasional amateur licenses. George Moore had become interested in finding English act.ore in London, where he rehearsed the cast, with the aid of Miss Florence Farr, an actres6who was interested in Yeats' plaJlfora literQ,ry theatre.. The title of the movement, The Irisll,Li:terfiTYTheatre, was .suggested by Martyn. Thescheme hadgro~ ',. -~. . '8 The first pe;J:'formance was May 8, 1899, at the Ancient CQncert Rooms in Dublin. Yeats' ~ Countess Cathleen and Martyn's Heather Field were given. A political enemy of Yeats had distributed ~ pamphlet against the religious orthodo~ 9f ~ Countess Qathleen, which almost caused Martyn, Catholic,to withdraw from ..the movement.. Audience demonstrations made police assistance necessary. London critics were generous. In 190~ the Irish Literary Theatre produced three plays at the Gaiet,y Theatre, in Dublin. The plays were Maeve by Martyn, ~ ~ Fea~t .2! Fianne. by .Alice Milligan. and ...~ Bending .2l ~ Bough by George Moore. The audieno e wasenthusiaatic and appreciative. The company of English actors had needlessly feared trouble from ·~Bendins £! ~ Bou&1t. fUr Frank.Bensont s company was engaged, in 1901, to prOduce Diarmuid lmd Granie., a collaboration by Yeats and Moore. ~his collaboration climaxed the growing friction hetween the two dramatists, and was fOl1owedby Moore's withdrawal from the Irish Literary Theatre. The most important production of 1901 was the first performance, by Dublin amateurs, of Dr. Douglas Hyde's Casadh ~ tSugain (The ~isting !.f ~ Rope).. Dr. Hyde played the lead. This was the fi.rst play in Iriehever presented upon a theatre stage. After this performance, English ac'tors did not appear in the plays of the new Irish theatre. The sponsors of the movement knew that an Irish' national theatre would never become a realit,y without competent Irish actors. George Moore, as producer, had turned thepl~ over to W.G.F~ for rehearsal. After first rehearsing the pla¥ in English, and then in Irish, F~ decided that the English translation did not detract from the acting value of the play. He believed that Irish plays did not depend upon tl:te Irish language for their literary and dramatic .value. In the first number of Samhain, the journalistic organ of the Irish National Theatre (1901-1908), Yeats wrote the epitaph of the Irish Literary Theatre. \Vhether the Irish Li.terary Theatre has a successor made on its own mOdel or not, we can c.laim that a dramatic movement, which will not die, has been started.4 . 4 E.A.Boyd, Jhe contemvora~ Drama of Ireland. (Easton: Li. ttle,Bro'llm, & Co., 1917) ,p. 3 " ( . ~. \ CHAPTER III r , l ·1 THE ABEEY THEATRE :f iI ha~e i ,i The Irish national theatre movement might died in ,I , i , ! 1901, if it had not attracted two new adherents. William and Frank Fay, brothers, had been interested in amateur theatricals for years. They headed the Ormond Dramatic Society, which not only ga~e 1'1ayel in small Dublin halls bu.t also prov~ded a training ech,ool for young Irish actor.s. \'1. G.Jfay was eager to secul'e Irish Iitel'ary plays fo,r this group of actors.. He saw two acts of George Russell's Deirdre, published in Standish OtGra~fs All Irelan~ ReYiew~ and persuaded Russell to furnish the missing third act. George Russell, (A.E.. ), helped the Fays meet others who desired an Irish national theatre, particularly W.E.Yeats .. He took Yeats to an Ormond Dramatic Societ,y l'ehearsal. Yeats "las so impressed by their acting that he gave Fay Cathleen production, and persuaded Maud Gonne to play , , the titie role, which had been written for her. In the October, 1902 edition of Samhain Yeats reC:ogb.:izeci'iiieIrish National Dramatic Society as the ,1;~gitimatet:iuccessorto the Irish Literary Theatre.. He wi-ote: The lris.h'.Literary Theatre has, gi'\Ten place to a comJ;lanyof Iri,shactors.. Its Committee saw them take up the work' the more:,"'r.<, ,".'gladly'.' .. becau.se. . '.it had not formed. them. or 11 influenced them.O -He praised the first performance : It was the first performance I had seen, since I under stood these things, in which the actors kept stilili enough to give poetical writing its full effect upon the stag~. I had imagined such acting, though I had not seen it. The Irish National Theatre Society was formed. Its officers were "IT .B.Yeats as president; 1l1aud Gonne, George Russell, and Douglas Hyde as vice-presidents; 'W .G.Fay as stage manager;· and Fred Ryan as secreta,ry. The members were l.Iaire T.Q;uilm, l-laire Nic Shiubhlaigh, Helen Laird, F.J. Fay, J".Dudley Digges, P.,J.Kelly, Seumas O'Sullivan, George Roberts, T.Keohler, ,J.H.Cousins, Padraic COlum, Harry Norman, and Frank 'Walker. In 1902 six plays were staged, and two new pl~rights, ,James Cousins, the poet, and Frederic Ryan, who had socialis- \ tic tendencies, 'Were presented. There were three performances of Russell's Deirdre, the first 'W"eekin April, 1902, in the hell of st, Teresa'13 '.ro~a,l AbstfriebceAssociation in Clarendon street, Dublinl' :Maire Q.u1Im, who had. "been in the Gaelic plays of the Da,ughters of, Ireiand.,playedDel:r;dre.The cast includ.ed the two Fays, D1.1dleYDigges, l'?fa;ireni Shiublaigh(Mary Walker), Padraic Co1um,i'J";.H.COusi1'lS, and Frederic Ryan" AUdiences were large .5 Thfd.. ,ll·~ ·33. 6 .lliS!., ip~ 33,;.34. \.')' :ii i 1'2 f) H and were chiefly from the working cJ:al3ses. if ! r H Three night performances were given in December, 1902. ! I I- A hall on Lower Camden Street. was leased. Foundr,y castings from a school seat fac.tor,y and planks made the seats. A quadruple bill 'VlE!S presented: Fred Ryan's 1h! Laying ~ ~ Foundations, W.J3.Yeats' ! m .2! Broth (one act), James Cousins' The Racing Lug, and P.• T.J,lfcGinley's Eilis ~ ~ ~deirce inGaelic~ Audiences were sma~lt and press notices unfavorable. William Fay defined the Abbey Theatre as a theatrical, not a Iiterary movement, a theatre in which all weire bound together by an enthueiamn for acting. All the actors were amateurs,with the exoeption of the Fay brothers. These young men and women worked ·for a living during the day. In I the ev.ening they rehearsed and pres no ,-.-salaries,.1 no home thee,tre, very little scenery or costumes. In 1903 Yeats met .T.M.Synge in Paris and persuaded him to retu·rn to Ireland to write plays about Irish peasants. Lady. Gregory began to write her delightful comedies. The third llswdramatist 'of this period was Padraic Colum., young railway 01erkand actor.. W.B.Yeats'morality play, f.rhe, Howrglass, wa.s produced in March, 1903, at Molesworth Hall, with Lady····Gr~gorY·s first .:pl~t.T:wentt"'five.. StephenGwy:rm, .Secretary ['here w~s opposition to the grant of a patent,. especiallY by the Dublin theatres owned and controlled b.Y a London syndicate. The Society was accused of staging lIirmnoral" plays by Ibsen, ]1a.eterlink, and ,Synge. FinallY, Lady Gregory was granted .a patent, August, 1904, to produce plays by Irish ,authors and foreign masterpieces other than English. This restriction was later removed,but the restriction against selling liquor was never rescinded.. 7 :Before the Abbey Theatre opened, Miss Quinn, Dudley Digges, and P .K.Kelly went to America to appear in Irish. play'S in the Irish section of the st. Louis Fair.. They were not well received or understood, and soon returned to New. York" The average fair visitor was looking for the caricatured Irishman of clownish appearance and furry brogu~, and was incapable of appreciati;ng the refined acting of the Irish Nati ona,l Theatre players .. The Abbey Theatre opened on· Decem.ber 27, 1904, witha week Of,;fourl'lB:Y.s:W"B..yeats':Q!!' Baile'eStrand,Lady Gregory's Spreadin'g '~" '~, a reviva,lof Yee.ts'··',Kathlee%i 7.AndrewE.Ealone, The Irish Drama. (N.ew YorIo Charles Scribner' s,Sons, 1929), pP:-97, 98. 15 ni Houlihan, and J.M.Synge's 1!! ~ Shadow .2! ~ ~ .. , Lady Gregory wrote about half of the pltWs produced at the Abbey during those first two years. She performed so many diverwe tasks in the theatre that G.B.Shaw aptly called her the charwoman of the Abbey .. William Boyle was one of the .first new playwrights of the Abbey Theatre, with ~ Building ~ in 1905, ~ Eloquent DemFsey in 1906, and ~ Mineral Workers of the same year. The House Full sign usually went up at the Abbey -- . when Boyle's pl~s were offered. W.G.F~ served as stage manager of the Irish National Theatre Players from the opening until 1908" Before 1904 there had been no money for actors' salaries. With Miss Horniman's subsidy, s~ll salaries were made possible. Actors did not need to keep outside jobs and could devo~e all their ellergies to the theatre. W.. G.Fay was paid a salary of seventy pounds a yea,r. He managed the theatre, produced all plays, played the principal comedy parts; helped make the scenery, did all the painting, and kept the theatre accounts. Miss Horriiman allowed a salar,y gUarantee of not exceeding six hundred pounds a year, but the Abbey com:p~ never touched this guarantee. " Those most deeply interested in the Abbey-realized that a better organization wasno'Wl.1ec essary. 'The Irish l\fational ~heatr~ Society wasJrissolved';~daJ.imited liability 16 company, The National Theatre Cempany, formed. This c011lpa~1Y w,as established under the Friendly Societies Act, vrhichwas concerned 'tvi th artistic associations not formed for pxofit- In 1906, the Abbey play-ere made an extensive tour through northern England end Scotland. There '\vere some un rest and lack of discipline in the company. Yeats was inclined to agree with Miss Hornimants demand for a new stage manager, but Lady Gregory and Synge wanted to keep W. G.Fay in charge. Miss Horniman offered the Abbe.r a subsidy of eight hundred pounds a year up to the expiration of the :patent, a period of several years. She promised the On .Janu~ry- 26, 190'7" Synget.s /J?l~boy.£f ~\vestern, World wasPJ.:'.es~nt,ed,an~,'ltfaElfoll()wed.by.a week of,rioting.. :Members,9f the..political /clubsat.tended.the theatre and I '-',: ': ," -'''-', ';, ,,-', '::':. .> ',:',',.," ,. ," ,.:'.c, t, ~.. -.::: ,;, .. ~._ ~ .. ' ,- .".".....: .. '." "'''',:. -d .. ,"., " .' .•...,_ '" c,;"" _, '. .. , .. ", .. ': .. ',',', .... _.... ", .. r'endere¢l. the.I>:r.ClY. ·inaudible.. ~Etc1YGJ.:'egc>ry:ts l1ephew br9J.1ght some friends from Trinity College to support the play.. They 17 .unfortunately increased political animosit,y by singing "God ll Save t11.e lCing .. Finally Yeats held a meeting 111 the Abbey and discussed. the play, line by line.. This deiens.e of Synge resulted i;n very poor~ttendance at the 4bbey through 1907, although London approved of' The PlaYboy; on the]1nglish tour of the same year. The Abbey pro.veq its .freedom from e.udience c.ensorship...... :' '...... -', ..... :.in. ."-. " ,not withdrawing the play• National insecurity, more than the actual content of The Playbo;z, ·",.,ras probably the.underly"in.g cauSE;! of' the disturbances .. Padraic Colum left the Abbe.y during the trouble about The Playboy.. The following year theatrical interests in the United states attracted the Fays, who unfortunately never att~ined their Abbey success on the ~ew York stage... Ernest yattghan, busines,s manager at the Abbey in 1907, left with the :Fays. William Fay had resented Yeats t and lJady Gregory';:; ·~];)p().sition .to his idea of turning the Abbey into an art theatre... :ij'rom 190t,3 to 1914 Lenno~Robinson served B,Smanager and qir 6ctor at the Abbey!' Yieats felt that he was the best ~hese I, perspnavailable..'-,.';} ',-'::'" -,' .... ,", ";"" '," 'tifere l.ean years for the' Abbey.. 1n- stead of'a. th(3whreorchestra, Arthur ])strle.y, a Dublin yi.olinist,p~a;y~d.I!.';ishf{)lk tun~fl duringth.e interm.isE\ioAS. s'11aurB~tlo;W'j.stl3,!Seca,!:'pen,te:r:,yms anotJ:lI3T fB.i thfu1ly permanel:l;t.6I!1Pl,oy,~:r~. A. yeW,little\1!U0neY'J:1e3:,d to, bespre,ad 9v: e,r, the, n e,ce.Ej/p it1 ~s9f .s~l,arie,s,::00S.t1:ll11elS, ..... soenery,.a:nd 18 publicity. It was the patience and ingenuity of Lady Gregory that held the Abbey together. She could translate a foreign play into beautiful English lines, or mend a worn square of carpet. She had a genius for entertaining the Abbey company and selected guests from the audience at after-theatre suppers. From Coole, her country home, she brought delicious food, especially her famous ba.mbrock, or fruitcake. After the suppers there was prilliant conversation or songs by Sara Allgood. Often the parties were. after rehearsals, and only for Abbey players. So was friendship strengthened end unity of effort maintained. The stream of plays written by Irish dramatists for an Irish national theatre was increasing. New play\.;rights, be sidesWilliam Boyle, were Conal 0' Riordan, George Fitzmaurice, Lennox Robinson, R. J•Ray, Lord Duns any, T.C.1Ifurray,and _ Seunias O'Kelly. In 1909, the Abbey once more proved its'independence. The Abbey accepted G.B.Shaw's The Shewing.,;up of ~:1:anc2.< Posnet. Tb:eiplay had been banned by England's stage censorship_ .AI," though') the Abbey was not under this censorship, :Dublin Castle objected to the 'play' s beingsho'Wni;' Lady Gregory fought the . Castle,)va:liantly and shrewdly,atrdrwon. Public. officialdom Continued tio ":!i.espec·t the:A:p1:>¢Y's integr:ity .. i:. •Ea:rly in: 1910, 'Yeats and Lady..GregorY, '.s ole dir..ectors shic~' tne'd!eath·of· j"'.Mi.$y,ngelnthe.:p:i:':ev1:ous yea,r, took.over the Abbey from Niss Horniman. The actual transfer, at a purchase price of one thousand pounds, ,,,as to be made on the following December. Miss Horniman was to pay the subsidy to that date. After G.J3.Sha"W sympathized with IIUss Horniman's animosit,r against the Irish Yeats accused him of mischief making. In Nay, Yeats went to Normpndy to visit Maud Gonne. 'When, .through misunderstanding, the Abbey rem.ained open on Nay 7, 1910, after the death of King Edward VII., the Abbey won inc~eased nationalist approbation, but lost Miss Horniman's support. Yeats was a-y.re:y. Lennox Robinson, neWly made manager, needed counseling. He sent a telegram to Lady Gregory at Coole, but the message was tardilY delivered. The Abbey ,,,as the only theatre in Dublin which was open for a matinee that day. Miss Horniman sent Yeats a telegram, threatening stop page C?f thesu'bsidy. She d~anded public apologies, refused tOlieten to Lady Gregory's explanations, and demanded Robineon" sa:J.smissal orithe grounds that he had made the AbbeY a pOl'1tioa1 issue. Yeats' ref~sedto sacrifice Robinsqn to' Britishp:tide. ':InDec~ber,19l(),:Yeats aslted'his laWyer to challenge I .Miss'B:orn:i.irian'lS'right lto wftJihold. th.esu'beid;y. C.P.Scott, . editOr·of the Manchester Guardian, arbitrated the ci'.tlimat1 ~.; o~,~".' ,i,':'", >:)," \ ,(: 20 had refused to believe in their integrity. About this time, Yeats accepted a pension and a. seat on the new Abbey also had some private donatio~s from wealthy Irishmen. In JulY, 1911, after several good weeks in London .at the Court Theatre, the Abbey pleyers were offered an American contract by Liebler and Company. Yeats dreaded the four month tour, and insisted that Lady Gregory follow the comp.t:UJY by the next boat. They opened at the Plymouth TheQ,tre in: :Boston.. There" the Gaelic societies denounced the Abbey pl~ers as conspirators against home rule. Yeats tried vainly to reason \'1ith audiences, and finally sailed for home. Later he learned that one performance of The PIWbo;[ was half wrecked in New York; the company wa,s arrested and held. on baiL for five days iniPhiladelphia, at:th,s demand of the Irish societies;· and Lady Gregory was threatened with personal violenCe in Chicago" The Plqboy was always misunderstood :py>.Irishaudie1'lces. In Boston, Colonel. Theod.ore was a . staunch supporter of the Abbey anda>layalfriend. of Lady G:riegory .. 8 (8 .AndrewE~Ma.:l()ne, The;Irish J)l'ama...... (Ite", York:· Charle.sSoribner'sSons, 1929), pp. 113-115 .. '.J,.,'," ':. ;:f:,. ., .....: '> ,'.,...... :',,' ;"",' "'., 21 : ), Nugent Monck, organizaer of the Norwich pl~ers, ceme to Dublin and opened a schoOl of acting at the Abbey. It was intended as a secondary company, but did not last after the old company returned from the .American tour. Monck' e pupils had a season of morality pl~e, ~ qountessQ!!1h1een, ~ ~r-glass! and a new version of _The ...... Countess~...... Catl1leen of 1912 was 'a series of lovely pictures, a tapestry on stage., There ,,'!ere none of the 1899 disturbances. Yeats was even en.couraged to ask the Catholic Church in Ireland,through_ Edward Martyn, to help Monck with the religious drama. Martyn refused, slWing that the Church believed the Abbey 'both anti-Catholic and anti-Christian. After the American tour,the Abbey, under Lennox Robinson,turned frompeasa.:nt and legendary p1~s to the plays dealing with the actual living Ireland. Yeats felt that this "People's" theatre was very different from his I ea.rly ideals' for the Abbey, but he aceepted the changes and remained a loyal supporter of the theatre. st. John Ervinets rfrstplay, Mixed Marrias!, produced in January, 1911, was aiiexample of the new problem. play. Ervine'wasnever;'i"very popular in Ireland,'perhaps becaueehe did not think.of' the . theatre as an"exPression. of Irish natlonaloulture. IUs £i-:i.e:r pe'i-fodas>manager o'f' the Abbey' resulted ·jjrthe·loss of s'everai'o£the 1ll0f3'ttalen'tedaotore. ':The.tl.bb~·had' andthe:r' gob:a summer season in London,.at !tl1eCou~;t'TheeJtre,cin1912'.'En.g1ishcritics were kind. \ .\ 22 mockery in Ire::l.and .. Lenno:x>Robil1son' sLost .Le.ader, in 1916, . - "." " ---- .... was an l:tClOount of Ir~land's changing loya1tiea... Most of the playwrights were affected b~':politioal loyalties., Desmond li'itzgera1d, 'author of ~ Saint•. 1919, directed revolutionary propaganda, and later served in Cosgrave's Ministr,y. In 1921, at the climax of the war with England, the Revolutionist was given.. Its author, Terence MacSwiney, LO:i:'d Mayor of Cork,. died after his eigh'ty-dS3'" hunger strike.. Between nine 0' clock cut"f':ews and street fighting, the Abbey had a ' difficult time. During the Easter Week Uprising of 1916 the Abbe.y Theatre was in the actual battle zone, but escaped destruotion .. HallY of the prominent supporters of the theatre died in that stJ:'uggle: Padraic Pearse, James Connolly, ThOmas MacDonagh, 'and Sean Cormolly. I;n SeJ?tember, 1916, the A'b'beyopenedwith .anewcom:p~ and ,ap.~j'lmana,.ger, J.Augustus Keogh.. :ge had acted in many of Shaw,'s plws.,and produced s~yeral of them during his year ;there. ,t'het;plJ.0wipg.!ear, F,redO'Donov-anwas manager and ··.princ,ip~l:ac"t0J:'. Between 1916 and,1923 much of the Abbey e t0 ~heatreaudienc.es,were r:,' "",:"'-per 1"Y.. ," ".,"~'->~~,'--:'/,:","'was· melodrama.. '-. . ~-'-,,:.,and"'-',-farc,e... '';.', ',:,'. lese cri"l!ical"J.es~,appr,e~ia.ti,J;eof·liter,~~,'I]"a.luef3.in drama. '~ie, Wal:lf1d,itfficpJ.t,-tilIle .. for.;tpe,Appey,;put Yeats and Lady Gregory kep~.the·theatre open. i 1···1 23 Lennox Robinson returned to the Abbey as manager in 1919. During that year· he produced many of the old favorites: Yeats' Land.2! Heart's Desire and The Player 9J.1een, Lady Gregory~s Golden Apple and fi.!Dragon, a revival of Padraic W-,,-_h;::i..::t_e:;:;h;.:;,e_a~d;.:;,e.;;;d Colum.' s Fiddler's=.=;;;;;.;;;.--....., -~House, Lennox Robinson's, .. ~The - Boy and :TheClancl~, Synge t s ~ .21. ~ Saints, and Yeats' Green'He~et. With the beginning of the Irish Free state in 1921, y.eats hoped for a theatre SUbsidy. In 1924, the Abbey wal:? givelt eight hundred and fifty pounds and the Gaelic Dr~;mB, League received six hv.ndred and fifty pounds. Later the Abbey Theatre subsidy was increased to one thousand pounds antitia11y.0.necondition'ofthe subsidy-was the.appointment o£,: an additional director to represent the government .. After Nr.de Valera stopped the c.ivil war, in April., 1923,the Abbey- began to be prosperous. This prosperity 'Was partiallY due to the popularity .. of the Dubliiln s1umplays of a new d.ramatist, SeanOfCaaey.. His firstiJ3uccesa was -Juno ~·the I'wcock, 1924, aatory. of the terror of civil war in. Ireland, ofthe131ackand'Taris, and the Irish Republican Army .. -. ~Plou@!!!LtillaStars, J.nlgg6, ~:tle stoxy.of the East.er Week Rebe11iori of 19l6, '>caused:asnluch e:X:ciitf;mlentashad Syngets~J?la,ybol:.!!:th'eWestertr'World..Yelittsquarreled withO'Caseyiover 'tlieA,bbey: rej.ectionof.The Silve!, .. Tassie, 1928~ ";O'Ca~ey left Irelarid'soon after this. ~. i I I Other:impor.t@t dramatists.of the period were Brinsley Ma,cName,ra, George Shiels, Denis Johnston, Arthu!' Shields, Rutherford]i[ayne, and :Paul Carroll~ In 1927, Lennox :Robinson announced that the Peaeoek ~heatre,seating one hundred, and located i11 the Abbey :Suilding"woUld...... , .' be a:vailab:I.e ata reasonable~. rental to young II ,dramatists who wished to produce their own plays. The Abbey I !. i i! .directors were becoming mor.e narrowly critical .of new play : i I! ~} 'W'ri.ghts, ... a fac.t which naturally caused SOme resentment. ~ady G!'E;!gory's death in 1932 was a great loss to Yeats. They had worked ,together in the.theatre for lJ.(:)arlyforty years. Lady Gregory· had been his strength and mainstay 0 Y,eatst monumentum perenne for Lady Gregory was written in J.~35,,§l1d wf;LsentitledDramatis :Personnae. Of the four who f;;['st had planned for an Irish natiol':laJ. theatre, only th~ . i dreamer, Yeats, remamed to carr.v on. the work. Edward Ma,rtyn I J 1 had died in 1~23, and George Moore died ten years later. In 1934: the Abbey Players again came to the United statE;!s. One of their best plays on the tour was the collabo i!i rat~()n,()fPauIVincentCarroll and the deaf and dumb play wright, Teresa:peevey, Thinss .~. !!:! Caes.ar' s. The play was fj,rst PJ;'pduced in 1932, and won the .Abbey Theatre prize. On September 18, 1936, in the Peacock Theatre, in the Abbey Tl1eatl'~J3tlilding,. ~~.~.Iri~b; (4caci~9f :r:;,e,t"f;€!rs was· ;::,,:" ,', '\, ("': .. '; "', ';~,'l '--, estabii~hedast:l. def'etis~:ror Irish free express.ion in litera- ture. IreJ.and ha.d suffered much under mob censorship,· as the 25 d.emon6tr~tions ~. i against Synge,' s Playboy of 1I1.es1::er1'1 Worlq' 1 atld. Q'Casey' 19 Flough ~ ~ stars. Cosg1'E}ve had established >I ,I aBoard of Gensors, but chiefly to guard against foreign I \ I contamination. Lennox Robinson read the membership inyitation ~ i i I ! ! 1,1 letter, which was signed by Shaw and Yes.ts. Some names had ;,,1, il,I changed, because of' death and other_causes. The active list II P~draic II of 1936 included Austin Clark, Oolum, Lord Dunsany, :1' st. John Ervine, Olive Gogarty, F.R.Biggins, Brinsley Mac i: Namara, Alice ,Milligan, T.C.,Murra;y, Frank O'Ccnnor, Peadar O'Donnell, SetilllO'Faclain, Lia:m O'Flaherty, Seumas O'Sullivan, Forrest Reid., Lennox Robinson, G.Bernard Shaw, E.O.Somerville, i Francis stuart, .Tames Stephens, and'il.B.Yeats. Besides these academicians there were the associates: E.A.Boyd, John :1 ,Ii Eglinton, Stephen Gwynn, Shane Leslie, EUgene O'Neill, Walter , U 'II ::1 Starkie, L.A.G-.Strong, and Helen '\V'addell.. Some refused the .invitat10n: .Tames Joyce, Bean O'Casey, Douglas Hyde, and Dsmi.el Corkery. Mem.bers \tlere selected upon the basis of' preatiye work which is both important and. Irish in character and subject. '+here was an age limit, a;nd honors were directed" towaI'd the younger metnbers.9 The Abbey Theatre Festi'\Tal was celebre,ted from August . '6,to'20 " 19,38., Rece:ptions, lectur.es, ;plays, and excursions ,,9S,tePl1en~J1l1' }rishLiteratui'e.and Di'ama •...... (Lonflon: Tl:J.omas:Jjel.s,on,.:' "c"" ,', ",," .c.~·._.,,,.,:,·. 0..,.' ';', .:' .:' ',- and.SonsLtd.,,1936),.' :',",_ ::"'_' ,," ',: " ,'> ',._' .: '.. . _' . ',_.,.' :.:"::_,'". '_'._:' .pp.292-236,;'> :.' :'.; :,'::, ',._ '.... '. .' _: _,. , Appendix. ..'1 J \ f 26 to nearby pOints of historical interest filled every day-. Many of the fine old plays that had established the dramatic r.eputation of tile Abbey, Yeats' Kathleen E!. Houlihan and Synge' sThePl§.yboy !f :Yl& Western \vorldt were revi.ved .. i Lectures were given by Lennox Robinsotl,F.R.Higgins, andT.O. .1. I Murray, who had served the Abbey and. its traditions for many ;i years. W.B.Yeats, the onlY survivor of that first dream of I • I an Irish nationsl theatre, t~ed his frail health to be t i r .1 [ ~ present.IO I [I' I. j r i) I The Secsnd World WfJ,r seemed to stimulate the Irish peo];!le's, - need for the theatre. Traveling "fitup" companme-s:: w'ere appreciated in the remote villages" The Abbey toured under the direction of Louis d'Alton, an Irish dramatist, and an experienced producer of touring shows. Tours in rural Irelandresu1ted in an increase sf submitted plays, and new growth of local dramatic societies. Because of the war, the Abbey was unable to tour abroad. Farces aJilQ. thrillers r,· .., provided relief for war tensions in Dublin. Eetter plays included Michael MacLiammoir's Where ...... Stars Walk_- • :P1aisha.dlcmger rUns because of war conditions.. George Shiels,the C:l:':lppleddramatis't of County Antrim, had two exeellel1tpsyci161ogfcalpiays: The r Rugged. Path, and·~ 27 Stl.l1lll1it" Ria Nooney's portre.yal of the nun in Francis Stuart' s Stran~ Gues'll, and Roger McHugh's Trial at Green Stre~ Court House both indicate a. l1ewconfi.dence and vita.lity in the Irish theatre.. In. 1945, the Abbey showed' a. tendency to be preoccupied with past glories,in presenting quarter-century old problems with Sean O'Casey' SPloUsh" ~nd the .§tars.. New plays included Brinsley M~cNaJl1ara's :Marks and ~bel and George Shiel's Tenants-at-Will. Some Abbey actors recently resigned to forma new company, The Players' Theatre, with the declared purpose of' producing their own or selected ;pZLays.. Of' this group, George RealYhas written The Black strang~; Merv,ynWall has written The She,dotl1; and J:,iam Redmond is the author of ~ B.ock~of'~wn. In 1946, The Abbey produced F:ra,nkCarney' s ~ R:ighteousAr~~, and Walter Ilfachen's Mungo's Mansion., It was not a productive dramatic yeF!-~, and the Abbey "lost several actors to the"movieef. The 'Abbey' had suffered loss of independence in accej;rting a government subsiay.. Afte1' Yeelts died, the ent1re . 'Al:/bej'bdardcameunder Civil Service, (wi th a pOlitician as the man!igi.ngdirect()r~ "The:d.irectorsbegan to get rid of all s'ctorswhOdid'hot speak Gaelidi"l1ntil almost, the entire 'Cbmp~lefttogo i:rito/:Bff:tishfil:ms.; 'By '1948 , the board 28 .consisted: ofcan Ex-Minister of Finance, a medical doctor who was also af.ilm: censqr, an official from the state Radio Station, and Lennox Robinson, the latter being the only survi:sror of the Abbey Theatre directors. The standard of acting was low, and knowledge of Gaelic was about the only qualification for a job. ,Audience protest was loud. Then Ria Mooney, a Dubliner and a competent actress who trained under Eva La Gallienne,cwas appointed as producer. She has improved the standard of acting, but Ulfder a board of management composed of civil servants she call use no pl~ that is even faintly controversial in matters of polities or religion. The Abbey is forbidden to use the very tJrJ>e of pl~ which made i t f~ous. The government cannot be bothered with trouble in the theatre. This has had a definite reaction upon the type of pl~s now being written. The Abbey seems to have grown old and sedate in its fifty years of service to the ideal of an Irish National Theatre., There are no young leaders with the audacity and steadfast determination of' Yeats and Lady Gregory to carry the Abbey trad.ition on to fresh honors thrOUgh selfless idealism. The young seem. to prefer the large salaries of radio and film contracts. The Abbey is smothered under government regulations. Where is the dreamer like Yeats to see a vision of a new, free Irish national theatre? 'Wher.e are the young dr~atists like "ye~ts, Synge, and 0'Casey-to write without fear the 29 present story of the Irish!>eople? Where is the woman great enough to forget herself, fine enough to be both charwoman and godmother to the Abbey, to serVe in place of Lady Gregory? Where are. the young men and w()men who wish to act for thejoy of acting, who will earn their bread by d~ and rehearse half the night at the theatre! If none are left like these real artists, then the Irish Dramatic Renaissance isanc.ient hi,story, and. the ;Abbey Theatre is dead. Great dramatic art live.s o.n~ through human hands, and hearts, and dreams. CEAPTERIV THE GATE THE.4TRE The Gate Theatre was the first international theatre in !reland. It was founded by BIlton Edw~1"ds of England,a Shakespearean actor; and Michael l\1:acLiammoir from the Aran Islands, Irish speaking dramatist, actor, and stage designer. These men felt that the Abbey repertory 'of" poetic and peasant playTiJ was too limited. The Gate Was established to bringcto the Irish stage the best of European arid American plays. The Gate Theatre has created a demand for unusual plays not pro~ duced in the ordinarycolIlmercial theatre. It has a present reputation for serving as an acting school for film stars. The Gate opened in the small Peacock Theatre, in. 1928, with Ibsen's Peer~. In 1930, the Gate Company moved ,to their oWn theatre in the Rotunda Building, where they prasen'ted Goethe's Faust, directed by Edwards, the stage E!ets designed" 'by:M:aoLiammoir. Otherproduotions were Berkel~ SguaF..~,'iPadraicColum's Naga, arid EverYlnal1, the latter being, given "dtiringHolYWeek. lri1955, .theGateTheatre made its first appearance in .. "London a.tthe'Westnlinste:r :Balkans. Since the.Gate, like the Abbey, always had mat'lY I .part-time actor~., 'Who held o·ther jobs besides acting, there was.bad feelin.g betwet:ln those who wished to go abroad and those who could not go. ;Finally, in the smmner of 1936, Lord Longford, who had been aGate director since 1931, decided to keep the Dublin thea,tre open for those who could not leave their jobs togo to Cairo .. .He did so well that he even took his players on a short trip to London. Dissensio.nresulted between the t't'lO groups cfactors, and Longford was falselyacoused of using the Gate name.. He didnot,although as ,Chairman of the BOard he had aperfect' right.. Denis .Johnston, with a deciding vote on the board,managed the compromise under which the two groups still o.perate. Since then,Edwar.ds anet MacLiamrnoir continued as qat~TheatreProductions,andLongford pas managed his t4eat:re groUp:under Longford Productions .. ,The agreement was to share tJ:leRotunda 13uilding thrOUgh sixmontht.enancies, but actually J.TIdwarcis>:.and~1acLiammoirhave been playing longer seasons in the la:I:'ger cOmmercial,Gaiety Theatre, leaVing Longford an e;x:]ended seaf30n, in the RO.'tundaBuilding. Th~Gate Theatre Pro,ductions was.invi,t~d to open in the. ·Gaie~.Th.eatre;ltn 1940" :'Wl1ere twenty-f'ivey-ears .b.eforethe ,last pr 'WJ.l.dar's ...--.The .-...... Skin --or _.OUr ...... =T.-,;ee;;",,;t,.b. This last pll:t'lT-v remained only one week at·· the Gaiety, and caused bitter controversy amo~g both:audiences and critics. In 1946, the Gate gave Mac.. Lia1nn1oir's III Met ·~MoonliBht, And Pastures New, and O'Casey's Red Roses For Me. -...... -. --...-. --- , ..... In 1940, .LorigfordProductions gav:eLord Longford's Yahoo., Austin. Clarke's Sister Eucharia. arid Lord Dunsany's lh.!Strans:eiLover~· In. 1941~theytouredwith Christine L()ngfol'd.'s~ 0hanee.Atthe Gate Theatre, Longford pro.. CtUced •.•... JamesiBridie's'I'obiasallt'l,.:tb!<.Arigel','9hekhov' Si~ s·eaGuJ.1.,/MuchiA~.A:bc>utNoth1nSt"'I'he,AdJD.irable.Cr:lehton, Mrs;Wauent EarrOW-bone Lane, a tenement play-, has been given by the Gate. The idea was expressed that the Irish theatre of the future should combine ancient ideas with daring ne"" truths; a blending of the gx-andeur of legend, the simplicity of peasant life and modern realism, to fUlly express Irish temperament and imagination. Denis Johnston's A Bride for the Unicorn, ...... -.. produced at the Gate, isa good example of this ideal drama. The Gate Theatre Produoti;(ims have never been subsidized I 'by the·State. Before Longford left the Gate, he made up their deftei1.;6. ,Afterward, Ed'\'1ards and MacLiammoir paid their own way. Of'ooursethis meant economy, and less daring and experimentation. They have dQne 'Very well, and do some beautiful pl~ productions. During the war, they lacked standards of outside competition and loca.l audiences were ea.sily pleased. Longford Produotions,have alwa¥s been heavilY su'bsidiz:ed 'by the Earl ,of ·Longford, a. very rich man who loves the theatre. , , !I" I CHAPTER V OTHER SMALL THEATRES Dr lREL.A:ND .. ,The Irish-speakillg theatre was a.n early ambition of the Ga~lic League.. The first pl~ in Irish, Dr. :Hyde's Ca,eadh" an tst1ga:in (The Twisting of' ~e Rope), was produced in1902.Dv~ Hyde wrote simple, charming plays to initiate a movement of folk drama, amateur plays written and acted by amateurs in Irish-speaking areas. Not muohof merit was produced. There· has never 'been a'1'ub110 following strong enough to support a cOmPSlG'" ofprofessiOhal a.ctors. The Irish-speaking,people live 1n,rurald:f,stricts, and drama is, Oireachtas, a.h~ua!l.f·estiva.l,lhastried to encourageplq wri*ingand.aotingtic ,_()ornpetitiotls. Dramatic'.sooieties, org.ani"" ... zedbyioranohes of the Gaelic League, have prod.uced.little• .Y:Before the First World War, one company of actors, , j, ~,h:Aiste6ir{ (The P1wers)., worked/ togeth~r for several 1 1. \i yearS.'P~dbraic O'Conaire, tlle shorts'ti0:t7 wfiter, e-nd P~a.riSJ3iaBls.oiV11:"ote a.t1 36 May. They' did not have their own theatre or even a nucleus of prof,essional actors .. A. few play\n-ightEl ha'\Te written interesting Gaelic pleys... Liam (i)tFlatherty wrote amelodrame.. Piaris .Bea-slaoi/ has written many pop1llar one-act comedies. The 'best of his · I three-actpl.a.Ys are An DanaI. (TheD.a,ne) and #i! ·..Bh....e....a!1..... Chr6dha I I .(The. Valiant Woman) .Se'amus 6 h-Aodhawrote a one act I · I ·I : I satire, An Luch Tuaithe (The CountrY Mouse). •-)i :' ':~ , ' Gaelic.drama,tOcontinUe, needs to be professional,ized. ;1 ; ~ Ii Perhaps. the best wOrk has been done by the GaJ:wey Gaelic iii Theatre, started in .'. an Q&dhall, in 1929.. Michael1'!facLiammoir wrote the first play, DiarmuidagonsG:rB:inne'o ..A., young Irish soldier,Dermody,has}uad notable s1.1cceesasanactot' and producer. In his first ten years witnthe theatrane has p;rodncedninefirst performances of original pl~s in IriSh, twenty-other original pleys in Irish,and.about eigl1.t:Y r. ,) .translations .. 1 Gaelic writers have great¢1' freedomcot national II i ;i ~d ·:'1';(' expression than wr:itars in English, contribute to the preservation of the Irish langttage. ).i'or these reasons, they should be encouraged' and suppQrted, either 'by the theatre . aUdiences, or 'by state endO\mlent grants or SUbsidies. CU'lturally, Ireland has a notable contribution to make to civiliza~ion.. The tinle has come tOl' the world ot letters to regard Ireland as something mor~ than the vestig:ial appendage of the British Isles. 3'r The ~bbey Theatre has been the inspiration for hundreds of amateur dramatic societies and little theatre movements in Ireland. The Northern Drama League, founded in 1923, fostered all art, particnlarlythetheatre, and was complemen.tary to the ,Ulster Theatre, which was founded to produce pl83"'swritten in Ulster dialect by native dramatis.ts. Rutherford Mayne and Gerald Mac Namara are two of their bewt knOWJ1 playwrights and aotors. The.Leeside Players of Cork began in 1915, and the Munster Players in 191'1& All these theatres, nO matter how small, have played important partin. the growi:ng sentiment ,of Irish nationa1.1ty. Now that mO'stof Ireland is politioally freef:romEngland., one .shonldapprec1ate howmuoh the Irish theat.reshave accomplished i11 aUdienceednca.tion. TheA'bbey and,all the otherl:rish theatres ha'V8taught the Irish people that fr~,edom ill a good and desirable geal., ~e Irish theatres have done mnch to convince the Irish of their national heritage and theirprQud racia.1integrity .. CJI.APTER,VI E.A:RLY Sl?mTSORS OF TEE IRISH NATIONAL THEATRE The Irish Renaissance in the theatX"e,like all great movements, was, only'asi?;reat as the' men and women bemnd it. There were great leaders in the Irish nationaJ. theatre movement. Some gave a little of their interest and energy; , others devoted a life time. The first twenty-f,ive yeat'EI of the Irish national theatre were' almost entirely free of comm.ercialism. The Irish Literary Theatre was sUbsidized by Edward Martyn, atrd the Abbey Theatre was supported by Miss HominIan, by Yeats. lectures, and by some gifts from wealt:h$ irishmen. Actors, like"Barry' Fitzgerald (WilliamSh:f.elds) ,heldc1'8JrtimejoDs' ,:f'orself support and actedbeoa,use they enjoyed act:.blg. The Abbey grant Was ()nanon.... Profit basis. The Ab'beystage was 'be.re,'without'eiaborat'e scenerY,costumes, ,and lighting. ,Drafuatista tn-ote tor product:tori, tlotfol" :royaltiei:l. Directors dreW no salari'El$~ managers only' small,' salar.ies, a'ctors little .'o:F nothing. Usually-there were deficits'to worry about. The AbbeY ,', hadsQmethingbet:lhert~i:e:llthe f.at profi1;s at' Hol1YW'oOd.~hEl.AbbeYhad freedom: ' fr'eEJ(lomto" wfite pl8¥StlponanyContrGversial'topl0,freedoZt\ to presentpi~s s'()lelYa.ndadequateiyth:t'oughtb.e.medi~o:f'beatltifti:lacting, f~eedo:m. to: fgnore" Chu.rOh',e.ndst's:t'e,'and everl audienoe , .~I, v179' , , / tne'lite:rary thea,tre> soon' after his b'icker1ng colJ.ab~ration w:tth>Yeats in Writing.,Diarmuid ana.:Gt'anlao Martyn lost interest inth~ )rhekeye't()neoftlle J\pbey,Whea.tre was.Lady Al;lgtlst-. Greg9ry' • :JfI'0llL. that fi.rst,.af1;ernoon in 1898, When Yeats c()nfid'ecl to hermsambi-tiopfor?-n Irie;hnati()na.ltheatre, .:tP:tll~·.··,··:tim~., of,, Gregory WaS 1'1.ot wealthy, but she shared '\IT1 th others. She, was avery· practical, capaple woman, who turned her filb11ity to the present need, whether it was making costumes, providing an after-theatre supper, filling.a temporary- need as actor or director, or writing her delightful comedies as relief' from the serious dremae She m.et diff'iculties courageously, and alw~s fOWlda 'Wr:13 to circumvent them. The Abbey-Theatre woul~hayeclosedmany times if' 1t had lacked the encourage mentof Lady Grego;r,y. Lennox Robinson called her the god... mother of the Abbey Theatre. She earned that title by years of'. generous·, service. After Lady >Gregory, there. is difficu1:ty in choosing nameeby rank.Of. service. Lennox Robinson has given more of. hillll:!~lf than ~ others. He wOrked as director under the dif'ficu:ltp~tronae;e.... Q:f'Miss HornimaJ1 • .'. He.c()01'>,erc~:ted. w1~1l . , ..' the' oth.ers,eV"en'thoUgl'lheand'Lady Gt.egory had their differenoes. His allegience t() the .A,obey was above money, forheagre~d to salary cuts from as~lary that never was 42 large~ In 1924 he was dismissed from the Abbey, in sp1te ot Lady Gregoryt s efforts, as a direct result of the Carnegie Row. ll He had served as theatre manager, director, dramatist, lecturer, and dramatic ,critic.. Since 1931 he has been a director of the Abbey, and certainly has a difficult position, with the present government aupervi~:ion. Robinson has written several books on the theatre and'its personnel. W~G.Fa¥ was manager at the Abbey from 1902 to 1908, when the promiseo~ mO're money attracted him to the United sta:tes. Hedeservesf'ull credit for organizing the first thea.tre for Irish actors. ,R~ drew a very small :salary at the Abbe,y and did everything frOm scene painting toauditingtheb'ooks. He endured a lot of interference from Miss Horniman. W.G.Fay would have been a better man if he had stB3'ed intthe Abbey. His abi1ity in the theatre Was equal to that of Yeats an~ Lady Gregory. Hia loyalty to the Abbey was shallow enough to be measured in terms of money. Miss Rorn1m~ta money Vfas a splendid help 'in the early years Of the Abbey. She unhappily could not forget her stubborn personal pride and herstufty English nationalism. She felt socially inferior to Lady Gregory, and :proved her " 11 Lenno:xRobinson, editor, L:d;rGree;or;t sJournals. (:New York: The~acmillan Company, 1 47) II 1'1'. 2'72-~~2. 4:3 compulsion by being very· sttibborn ana ungracious at frequent intervals in the Abbey.. Fortunately, :Miss Horniman was associated 'dth the Abbey for only six. years.. She had had theatre experience in the·London Independent Theatre, but n.e-ver. The first prcuiuction of Dr. Douglas Hyde's Casad.h ~. ) tSugain '(The Twisting of the .Rope) by Dublin amateur actors proved that Irish p.1.ays, whether in Gaelic or English, needed Irish'actors for adequate casting. W.G.Fay and.F.J~ Fay-had a nucleus of Irisha.ctors in the Ormond. Dramatic Soc'iety, and Frank Fay ha.d a school for actors in the Abb~ Theatre. L~t.er, Nugent Monck had a sohool of acting, afte~ the Fay-s left the Abbey • Thea.ct91"sand actresses ot the Abbey were ce.:J.ebrate •..:».i.·,!12:corri.e.li.1l.•• ·si:weyg~riat;;.· .•·•• ·:r:~:i;~Ji'ri~$.·.······~~d·.··:Bi&W:t'ight~. .(J3oaton: Houghton Mifflin Co., ].913, p. 16. .. . Vl'liB.Yeats, in the 1903 issue ofSamha1m, outlined the, :pre~eql1.ieitesfor good theatre and good acting: I think that the theatre must be reformed inite plays, its speaking, its acting, and its scenery. That is to .' saw, I think there is nothing good about it at present. First. vIe have to 'write or find plays that will make 'the .theEatre .a place of intelleotUal excitenent -a :place where the mind goes to be liberated. • ... If we are to do this we must learn that .beauty and truth are always justified of themselves,and that- their creation is a. greate].' service to ourcountl'Y'than wri.ting that compromises eitherin the seeming service o,f a cause • .. • Second. If weare tore$torewords to their sovereignty we must "make speech more 1mport~t than gewture upon the stage.. •• An actor should understand how to so dis oriminate cadence from oadence, and to so cherish the musical lineaments of verse or prose that he so delights, the ear witll Q continUally var-ied music" Whird. We mus,t s.1mplify acting, especially in poetic drama., and in prose drema that is remote from real life like my Hour-Glase, Quality of VOice was oonsidered very important. Sa:ra. AllgOOd', Maud.· Gonne, and Maire O'Ne:i.ll were noted for their beaUtif'ul s~eald.ng vo;l:o as. Florenoe Fa~r (Mrs •EmeryJ" whom Arno'id:DonnetsClh'taught to reoite while she plqed. a psaltr,y, ~~()kethe mti~'hda.nst '. songs1n:De1rdre (1911J• :B'rankFay- was 40' .Em accomplished elocutionist, and taught the interpretation! of character through voice. There were frequent ohang~s in the actor personnelo'f the Abbey .• At first, the. leading actors were Maire T.. ~uinn, T.Dudley.Digges, J?:r .Kelly, .Maire NicShinbhlaigh,Maud· Gonne, HOJlorLe.velle, Miss 'Walker, Vl.(hFS37' , _Frank Faw, c .,Caulfield, and Padriac Colum.. In 1904, when ,Miss Q,uinn, Digges, .and Kelly left· for Junerica, Miss Walker became the leading la.dy at the Abbey. WhenHissWalker·withdrewin 1905, Sara. Allgood toekher pl$ce.. Bare-Allgoodt s sister, Maire O'Neill, began it11906,and plqed romantic roles. SaraAllgooclplay-ed character .andcomeQJt parts. After the 1904 Engl1sh tour more pl~ersleft:MaireNlcSh1ubhJ.aigh,Miss Lavelle, Miss Vernon, . Hiss..·Garvey,·. Frank Walker, Seumas 0'SUlllvf:ln, and George Roberts. BrigitCHDem.psey was engaged at the same season as Ma,1r.e 0'Nei11.. Padre-Ie Colum left in 1907,during the trouble about !!!!Playbol_ In 1908, the Fays,Enlest'Vaughan, and Brigit,.otDempseyleftfor,)JnYork. Miss MoGeepplayed the roma.:nl.tic. roles /inthe 19J.l~erica.n tour,· when Maire O'Neill coUldl1otgO.Afterthe:Fqs :1:eft, the leading men at the ,Abbey.were.ArthurSinclair, 'Fred 0 'Donovan, ,andJ.M.Kerrigan.. . 4cto,rs of >la~er'dat$we~e.ToDY'Q,uinn"Dolan, F .J.~QCormiek, Eri have become familiar with the faces of many fonner Abbey ,~ aotorS: Sara AJ.1good,Barry Fitzgerald, DUdley Digges, F •.TohnMacConniok, Una O'Connor, Arthur Sino1air, Anna Walker, Fred O'j)onc>van, 'and Tony Quinn. The actors of the Abbey were typically Irish in that . they .took their polities seriouelYtlI .Maud Genne was perhaps the most illustrious. She was a 'fine dramatic actress, emotionally sensitive and· beautiful. Both as Kathleen ni Houlihan on the stage, ,and as head of the women's section of the Sinn Fein,Inginide na hEireann, she was the personific;a~ tion of Ireland. Her former husband was executed during Easter Week (1916). Maire T.Quizm served in the same organization. In the Abbey was no uniOl1ism to E3et up occupatiGmal barriers. Severalpl.ay'Wrights, Dr. Hyde, Padraic COitUlm, George Russell, doubled asaetoI'e. Lady Gregory took a part when necessary. vl.G.Fay was both manager and.actor, and FrankF83f' was dramatio coach and a leading actor. Sa,rl3..lq.j:goodalidMa.ireOtNeill ",eresist.ers 0 VI. G.Fay and Brigitb' Deml>se;y,Art1'.J.p.~;Sincl~il"and Maire 0'Neill,and Dudley., Digges< and, r'{[a.rY;;Q.l;!i11l1w~rem~rried. The Abbey company wasa>cJ.o~eJ.y knitorganization. Beyond the usual quarrels and Iriisunders.tan.dings wer'e muttte.ladmira.t.ionand friendship_ 48 Leading actors created r&le6 in certain plays, and the if !1 actor' s name and the. character's name became closel:r aseO.. 'f ·ciated in audience and critic minds.. Honor Lavelle created .1 the role of the mother. in Riders ~the Sea. Jrre.tnk Fay was remembered for his ep1chero_ Cuchulain, in ...... On Bailes'... Strand. Maud Gonne \"las in het' pol~tioa1 life what Kathleel"! I E! Honl1han'was in symbol, the spirit of Ireland. Barry Fit~gerald was the original Captain :rack Boyle in Juno and , ...--.---- the ?gycock, ,and the first Fluther Good in ~e ~lougB and ~ stars. Sara Allgood waS famed for her leading reles in both of these plS3'"s in 'tilhich Fitzgerald.. had created the male leads. Her sister, )1ai:r-e O'Neill, presented i!- delight:ful. comedjr role of :Margaret.Flaherty in The PIWb0;Z .2! the' Western 'World. ArthurShieldsp1wedDeni.s, in ~ White Headed. Boy,' a thousand times, allover the wo:rld. Fred (D'DonovaJlwas remembered. for Naisi in Deirdre -of __the Sorrows..1SJ7 __ :r.:M. i i Kerrigan ''las excellent as Natty Murnaghan in The King's mhresh0i.4·,W.G•.FS3'". created many Abbey roles: MartinDoul ,I' in The, Well .!! ~Saints,Christo:p~erlJIahon in~eJ21&boy .2!:cthe!$stel1!World,.J'ohhny J3accach inThe,.!!!!ioorn~ ~.' -..-,Thei'Stars,.<..-...... th1.l:t... Sinclair.\1as rem.enibered fQr several, .roles.= I>a.ire Thomas Hearne in ----The Unic01"l1. From -...-the sta~s. There reall"!'J 'h{tB never been a "startl system in the Abbey. No part was too small for th:emost cOtlE3cientiol,ls interpretation. AlDiliV, 49 not rellutat1on, was the criterion of casting. Each pleweI', was an equal artist in creating what took place behind the Abbey fGotlights. At the Gate ,Theatre, Hilton Edwards has plqed many leading r&les. Receme from the Charles Doran Shakespearean Company' o:fWilld6or~J}fichael MacLiammoi:r had also senedas an actor, in the London Little Theatre. MacLiammoirhas starred in many of his OWf1l'la3,ts_ including'And Pastures - -...-...... """- An ontstabdingmodern actress of the .Abbey Theatre is, Ria ~ooney, who studied under E'Va. La Gallienne. The present state of actors in Ireland is at ,an artistic low level. The best Irish .actGrs and.' act':cesses are sca.ttered among the varI'ous Irishcompanies,'1ti":British films, looking fpr work in London and New York, and in HoiU.:ywood films. The Abbey standar(is for acting a.re very low, a knoW'ledge "EriglfsbtaCtorswhO·,live' inDublin;~ .All" the Ir1shi companies , emplOy ~,SInAiligr~u:pot>:full;" time·· aotors and use :par~time ·~~tof.s·tofil::t'thei:Fca.ete.' "J CHJ,J?TEIL VI,II i I I t PLAYS A1ID PLAYWRIGHTS OF THE IRISH NATIONAL THEATRE The Irish Litera:ry .TheEl,tr.e had in its .repertory ot: plW~ only the .dramas written 'by its.sponsors; W.B.,¥eats, George Moore, and Edw4rd Martyn•. During the firstyt3e;~s of the Abbey Theatre the plays whioh were produced were usualljr wri) tten by the directors •. managers, actors, end sponsors of th.etheatre. These early dramatists of the Abbey were W.J? Yeats,, j .~l.Synge, Lady Gregory, William. BoyleS) PadralcColum, W.•~.Casey, Lennox Robinson, Norreys Connell, Seumas O'Kelly, T.Q.~1"ray, and ~t. John Er-v.ine. S.ince then ,there has been a steadily increased production of Irish plays written for Irish actors and Irish theatres. W.B.Yeats (1865-l939)knew and loved the west of Ireland f:rom boyhood. He wished to establish a poetic stage, of act~~gandsceni~ s~pliclty'. ,.Hisplays.fall into .. three tY-P~s. demons to ,',se:Veher.:l;>eoPlefromfamine.':', ,,', ;' .'., >,.: ~-",:,,::',:, ," .c-: ;:;," ",' "', . ", ", TheIl'ishat first called, ;~h~:p;~:~or-t11.0d().x';.EU?-fl1f1?t11t... t()\ I.:t"~~l1.:W9manh()()d,.:',ahd un:fi t"fc()'j:q~t,:h0lic:: greenHelmet~ These plqs were of' kings a:nCil poets, simple t _ plotsandpreoiae passion unitedtobe~u.tif'ul expression. -The Green Helmet is a heroiefarce based upon the old sto:r;wy, Theill'east of' Briarin, in whiahthe grea.t heroll Cuchulain• .....-. .. '---.... " ',' " ,resists the sea. spirit and ",ins the magic helmet. ~ King' a Threshold is from the alassi.a .tragedy of' the love story of Deirdre and Ne-isi, a,ndaovers only the tragia last act· of the oldOeltie·· epic. After the heroiopleys Yeats wrote no play~ for fifteen yea.rs.. .Then he beaameinterested irrthe NO" play-s of Ja.pan,and wrote in purely formal and . abstract aspectspf'. the theatre, pl~s :tm:te ~e ~ ~ ~ .Moon_____ and Resurrection.'." u '" These pl!:\"tTswere""V l"trricl3J.Slfo:r.-.,dancers., , , iand'.masks, anClfo:rpresentation,on.a very small, intimate etag;e. 'Yeats.-met .rOhnMill,ingtonSyng~(lS7:1-l909) in. Paris• He .persuaded this Irish clergyman' s.son to go .to the Aran Is1.a.nd,sto ,satire of Irish i~ora.nce and stu.l?1,dity!' The story is of' t' phristy l~a.hont he.If-idiot, who belie\Tes himself a parricide, and wins the re~);Iect ,of, a. prinliti,,"e. cO.tl1l1lUnity where outlaws are a.dmired. -rhearrival ·of his father onoe more deflates ':~ ",~< t '\ ' his ego. The play alway,s oauS,eddisorder and rioting from Irish aUdiences" Syng~'~Riders .!2..the Sea (1904) is almost ~reekin its' stark simplioity and tragedy" .Synge died at thirty-eight. His, last PI.~~ Deirdre .2! the Sorrows, was never finished. It is the old story of the young love Of, Deir.cire and Na1ai .and ,the re",engeful Conchu.'bar, High King. ' This, :pl~ had 'a. c§l..lmstyletl"ltiLt promised greater plays" Synge wrote ~nthe wild spirit fUld,Qolor of ,his own life philosop~" ,.~e rh;vthm. and beau'ty of his, pr.ose are equalled only in the ,f';nes.~ blaJlk .. verse,. :r.aQyAu~st~Gregory(1852-19~2) ser1t,ed the Irish drama~iomovem~tatfirElt., ~s a;'bio~apher., p.istorian, t1:;J.eatre ,director" callec.tor of folk-lore,essayist, atl,d patrOn of' Irish lettera.'V/P.en 'the Abbey,n~eded comeQy,s!le'bec13!.Uea. dre:rn~"tiB't,anq,wrote about .. f~r:tY playfli" H.er shorter comedies, illust1"~ted. plever in construction,,'<- , .. ,'" •..•<:~ areC' .., b.est _._ by the far9 " ,. c. ....-. "_", :',.: ,.: .. ':,' , c \ .. ,"', , ',.: .. ',.' -' .. -', ,; .... i a1 s:e:t'~adingg!theNew;si(l99~),or:ayacinth~alve:V:{19061. ~e. 'latter is not only a presentationofOlq. pe()pletsdre~s but ". ,:, '-":'-.:' ',.. :. '.. ~', <.. : ..;< , :' .. ' ><,.; \"",,:- .'<',', ':-:\'/ ::.,}'~ ' :.- '. "'" ' '. "'" alSo asymb0:i.izgti()n "of..the;rish ha'bitor.consideringne'bul0us pos~ibilitiesl::1.sinevita.bleconclusions Her folk history pJ.qs~~r~ never !,;P01>u1e:r..Thebest "ras .q.rania {19l?),a tragic legend of only four oharactersf the love of DiarmuidJ - anclGrania, Grania'sreturil to the king. Finn, after the d.eath dfDiarmuid.From. 1919 to 1921, she wrote lovely realistic fantasies: The Golden Apple, ~·Drason, and &ristotlels Bellows.. These plws 'brought eX"tra;vagant beaut:Y to the tr.agic .and realistic Abbey stage. J,;,ady' Gregory' a pI83'S were the product ota rich humanity arid. a kse1'l sense of the ridiculous. She had a strol1gsympatby for the oommon Irish people. a poet.ic teeling for the ,Western ISles, and an effective' usedfdialeot speeoh... Her worst fault was that' she often $mothered drama uridera wealth of beautiful words. l'adraic Coltrm. (1881- ) was the youngest C)f the early folk dramatists. He was only t'-ienty... one when his first Abbey sUCcess, :BrQken Soil, was staged in 1903. Later revised as . ------FiCl;dler's House, the plB¥ is the story of Con Hourican's . fi1iar,rea,lizatiO!lof life on the open road, with his beloved fiddleaxid daughter, l'iaire. ~ Lanq (1905) and'Thom!:! i1usker!7 (1910) wereplB¥S of rural life. He came to> America dti.~i:ng >t11e Irish. W~r,butdidn()t J.ive up to ,his early :promiseofb~66l1J.inga.great d.ramatist. His pI83'S were serious ex;pressiOns ...... Name (1908),',.,"",,,,,'.a one-act melodr?DJ,a,was the story of a, family n.ameJ?rotected from shame. bY" . theaccidenta1death of the murderer.~·Dreamer(1915), the story of Robert Emmett s rebellion in 1803, was lUte a prophecy of the 1916 Easter White,lIeaded~2Z,g~.o~comedy andpolitioalsa.tire,was ~'.',: prOduced.' .... ,., ,co' ',',,'.' ":Robinson..i '.' ", ',' ." ",.' :,.was-:"'- .. ", .. ""at hi.sbest__ . in satirical comedy. -, Vlhen LovelY Woman (j,,936) is.a.;Later· e~:ple. T~C·J4U:r~EW (3.~79~ ,), .o:ne.oftheleading Irish CathOlic, '4J::~tists, best reprel;je:nts Catholic thought 111 Eire, in oontrast t()R~bi1'lS021's;P:rotestt¥1t'V1ew. 1¥fur1'S3" was $; veItY ~~J.mocie s't'W'rit ~:r:, ~ TheVJheel. :!!Fortune (1909) fI !Clond.l5lmned'ba:rter and the 55 commercialism in :rural marriages. Hi.s best play, Autumn Fires (192"'~, on theaame theme used by Eugene O'Neill in Desire Under the Elnuh wa.s: a tragedy of quiet despair. Murray is said. to have brought respectability to realism.. His dialogue and character creation are excellent. He presents real people in real situat~ons, without comment. Since 1913 he has lived in Dublin, end is President of the Irish Playwrights' Association. Seumas ~tKelly (1881-1918) died when a young man, e~d was not well knOVJZ1, even in Ireland. He was one of the political grou:p' who objected to"~ Platbat, and did not come into the Abbey until 1910, with the production of The , - Shiuler's Qhildo This plf33t is his best, a drama of renun... ciation. Molly Woods, shuiler, or beggar, tries to take her son from his adopted home, and is finallY arrested. and conaemned to a future of tmhappiries6. It is a :play o,f great' intensity, full of sYmpa.thy for the social problem involved. O'Kelly is best remembered asa novelist and sho:l:'t stoZ'jT writer. His tragediesareibett"er than his comedies. 0ther Irish dramatists before the First World War were Joseph Campbell, SeumasO'13:rien, Thomas McDonagh, R'u.therford l\layne, and Lewis PUrcell. st. JOM Ervine (1883.. learne to the Abbey as a p:ro ... dueer ill 1915. His l:>est ,;Play, "Jolm Ferguson. (1915), is a strong characterization o:f'theupstanding:father who olings 1 :1 : to,his religliousfali.th through adversity e Ervine was, not Pclp~jI I ..:tior very S""Caseful ..se.tl Abbl!t\T producero He showed a di,vided allegiencebetween the English and Irish theatre~ and was not considered a irinaere Irish dramatist. J3rinsley Maclifamara. (189()- ), an outstanding realist, also toured in .America as an actor ':Iith the .Abbey 4l His first play, The Reb~llion !B Balleycullen(1919), was a Satire on i Irish jingoism. ~ ~ ~ Heffermans (1926), 'a. comedy of self-righteouB people, was a. favorite at the Abbey.. ~ Master (1928) was ~olitical satire on revolution and its after effects following the General Election of 1918. He deals with the New Ireland in much the SBmemantler as Sean' O'Caeey, v11 thout the 0' Casey humor. MacNa:mara returned to comedy with Marks ~,Mabel (1946), a (iountry.. to'W'n farce of 'made marriages' 'and wedding 'dowry'. His novel vn:-iting perfected him in details of character present~tlon. Sea.n a'Casey (1884- ) was the great discovery of the Abbey a.fterthe Irish War. He'W'as cons~derea the greatest Irish dramatist since Syn.ge. He came from the Dublin slums, ala.bore;r, who·a.t the ageoffo~teen learned to'read from a . voluzite oi'Shakespeare• "Hisweakeyeskepthimotttof school as ,.a; Cihild~'He attendedithe'Abbey,to l'eQ,X':a7L pleywritingby watcl;iing pla#s~ .... arid,a.t·the ··agffof'thirty....lliriehadh:i:e first "(v aucOessinTheSha:doWOf o&.GUbrzlal'r(,:J.923). It· :l.e'abri:J.l:l.a:.nt ----. . . " ,... '", . 'I, -', - meltMtaIlfao:e'coward1:cej ··~;:Blacit ... t:l.ria~ Tatf·:t-a.fd>:t:ri· f1DU'bl in iElriemeftt, a:womans.~Crif'iced;thrOtlgh.m.eritsdowatdice. ·"iim~ · I ~ 1 5"1 and the.)?a.vcock (1~24) wasa-nother story of the terror of the Irish Civil War, the Blaclc-and-Tans, and the Irish Rep,ublican Army. Juno., the real mother of real children, is saorificed te. abstract,mo,.therh()od, II'eland 0 The PlouGh and (.1~26ha --.-the ...... Stars.-- story of the 1916 Easter Week Rebellion, was of the slaat1;erine; of dreamlil'. I:U1d the surv1valof commtuiities·;',. '. On,.. ce more, Nora, the woman and mother, suffers in the name of patriotism. Sean O'Casey :16 a realist in the strictest'¥" sense. He is the best portrayer of the Dublin slume. His );llays .are .slices; of Te;;tl .life, slight in plot~ '4iheem.piuieis upon names and characters. O'Caseyfaithfully portrq.ed the' h'tJini~ ty'i;>es heknew's0 .well, witn.a slight c,arica.ture emphasie..!theJ?lough and the Stars caused as :m.u.ch furor as had .ThePlgZ:bol ..21:'~, Western W0rldnineteen years earlie.r.TheAbbey' s rejection of The Silver Tassie (1928) led to a quarrel 'between 0' Casey-and the dir.ecto!'s of the. Abb,ey. 0'Casey was tired of the continual political 1?lrors. :aeknE?W that he would 'be prosperous and more con tented in: Engl:an,d" 'eyen.though his heart would alwaya be1n his 'beloved .Ireland~ '·TheSta.re['urn,Red (l~40) wasa6tory ...... , ...... of the 1913 DUb:Lin William,13oyle'sTlie:BuildinsFund(1905) was cme of the first lori.g'ercoriiedies~ It'wel.shis first and best play, the storY O'fOldMrs ~'Grbga.n and her revenge upon her greedy he'irs~ ""'The·EloguerJ.~ Dempsw' (1906 )"w~ brQad farce satire, 'the' ca:rficitur'e,·'of a·peftY·politioianto produce easy laughter W~F.Cas ey gave'the..A.b'bey 'tWo comedies in 1908, The 59 ,!; , \ Suburban, Grove and The Man Who Missed the Tide. He showed '.' --...., ------.. ---- f promise of being a. good comeqy dramatist and then went to , J London as a journalist, and later wro,te plB¥s for, the English theatreS. He was unique i11 being the only dramatist to use Suburban Dublin on the stage. EdWard McNulty, a novelist, saw Irish life through a patronising English fog. He achieved accidentsl popularity withftte ~,Mwor (1914) ," said to be intended as a. cruel satire of DUblin, but metamorphosed by the comic genius of Arthur Sinclair into very good burlesque farce, which awakened civic conscience with hearty laughter.. v Bedmates (1921) ,and Insurance ~,ofthe sQrIle yea.r, esta'b~ls:ned Geor:ge Shiels as a. corn.edywriter. Shiels, an 'ifivralid une.ble to leave his home, has never seen onect his plays produced. This is a s,eriou.s handicap for a, playwright. Fantasy'a.ndsymbolism in the Irish Theatre foundits best expression in Edward Martyn, Dunsany, andY"eats. Yeats wastheonly.Irishdrq,matist to write a, fairy story, ·The ~.'-.Land.of HearttsDesire. The church objected to,thepla;y on the;gro:uncl.s,"t;llatitOffendedthereligioussens:i.~ilitiesof 'the people. Thecleriical,ban preventedthe;r-ich fairy....lore ":~' :ofthe cO,untrybeingJused: ol1;,:thelrish:stSl,ge. ..Irish aUdiYence~ J~es enjoyed ;Sir Barrie or Maurice Maeterlinckg but noilrishfai~Pl83"}was:pr"ducede:x:ceptLe.dy(Gregoryt8, 'ThEW Go ld.Ei!Aj)ple••,whichwa.sapl~ ,for children. LordDun~a.ny (1878- ) avoided the disapProval ·of the, church by inventing a geography and theology for his fantasies .. He .'is veryE'nglish in his sympathies andattitudes.. His first PJ.BY, Th~o.Gli ttering Ga,te; (1.909), .13, one-act dialogue, is a created hierarchy of gods, and an example of Dunsany, s satirical hope for the future of humanity.. King Argimenes ~. the Unknown 'Warrior (1911) also illustrates his aristo. cratic detachment.. It WaS astor,y of eastern glamOur and cruelty, a play- never to attain popularity in Ireland, even with exceptionally fine casting" Edward Martyn, influenced by Ibsen, used symbolism in both --.....The Heather.. Field. and Maeve,.... both published inl899. ~ Heather Eield was .e,. psychological analysis of T,vrrell, 1"< .. " .... Irish landowner, who dreams (i)f recov,eringa field of bog and heather from· the ocean" Maeve was also a psychological drtm1a,/~hestory of an Irish .girl betrothed to an Englishman, WAo e,s(}apes the material necessity of her bridegroom through Q;ueenMa19ve of the fairies and death.. Yeats called Maeve the symbolqf Irelandi.' 13 e~c.aPE9 from English materialism. Kathleen ni Houlihan is an pexample of Yeats' drama,tic use of filymbo1ismtf' In the. last pe:riod of his writing he depended heavily upOnsym"b()1ism,:to,the dEjgree. of his plays becoming c ()m:plet~1Yabs tra(Jt :J?olitA(}al!.:pro1>?-ga1'1da,pJ.~sw;eremuchinvogue" Norrws i.,~., .~:- play. Qont!-e11,really.Conal,\, ::.J, ·,i,i.:.·:.'.;'.·.;,·:,'.. : .. ··,.:_.>. ,,:,: ".-, , <::. ',':,","'..',,':"" ",' .O':Rio;r:'dan-.., '-:-" ..: :,,,,;'.<,.,', •• , .., .•. , ..• '•....,'wro'" .":.__ .',,.. te., theone-ac, t ,.The Piper (1908)., a contrast between :Bmglishand Irish characters 61 du.ring the Irish War. Thomas MacDonagh, executed during th.e Easter Week Rebellion of 1916, wrote ~ ~ ~ is ~ (1908hie. fanciful picture of futurepolitical liberty. Maurice Dalton wrote -----Sable and Gold (1918) , a play dealing with ,the events of 1916. D.orothy Macardle's Ato.nment (1918) is fine dramatic presentation of a political theme. Terence JVfacSwineyt s ~ Revolutionis1 was not staged until 1921, after his death, a.sLord Mayor of Cork, in his record hunger strike in Brixton Prison. The play is not remarkable, but the heroic drama of the pla,ywrightts personal death is to be remembered. Another group of dramatists have tried to present social problems indram.atic form. R•.T.Ray's best play, ~ Casting £!:!! ·.efMartin ·Whelan (1910) was a picture of a depraved community,and is too melodramatic to be either psychologi cally or sociologically sound. Walter Riddall died before TheJ?rodigal(19l4) was staged. It was a good play, a psychologi9al study of how disastrous a pRssion for "goodness" in a faIlliJ:y may be. James Larkin and the strike in Dublin in 1913 furnished material fOr several plays. A.J2.Wilson' s ~ SlouSh (1914),., Da,11iel,Corkery's 'ar,e all1?a,s,~d upon the labor strike theme I> Dlspiteof the unfortunate limitations plaQep. upon d.rama.tic gtatJ.1Util15y.t:t:le goverriment :tiileniodernipl~a,have .beenv.rritteniin the pa.st ten years I> 62 Where hav.e been. many dramas writtenaound the lives of fam.qua peo1':1. e,. Christine L0r:tP;ford' IS S~ Chans;e (1940) was the life ?-nd tr?-gedy of Shelley.. Her~, Edward and ~. lnyincible.s, hilSt~ripal plays" arem,erely documentary, and not well dram.atised.. Lord Longford's Yahoo was an historical study of Dean Swift. Denis JOhnston's The DreamiE,S J2ust (1940) was a version of the Swift... StellEl"'Vanessa story., Eduoation is reprelSented by Paul Vincent Carrol's §hadow ~ SUbstance (1940), :the story of a conflict between autocratic clerical school mane"g!=lJ:'s and independent, impetuous schoolmasters.. SooiolQgy was the theme of George,Shiel' sTenants...,!j...Will, the story of the· Irish famine of a century past, and Gerald Healy's The Blaokstranse;: (1946) • Social problems ,are also expressed- in Walter Machen's Muneio'.~M~sion, a poignant account of tenement life in Galway City.. Dr. Robert Collis' Ma:rrow... ~., •.~. (1942) is a tenement play also, written more in the spirit of reform than inspiration. :I'here are two trends in modern plays which recall the a~s of Yeats in ,the Irish theatre. Some dramatists are strongly emphasizing poetic f,or.rn and interpretation. A few outstanding poetic plays are Denis J:chnston' s ~ andthL Yel10V{,.E1vez: (1931), MacL1ammoir's :QancingShado'\l{ which blends romance a,nd Gaelic poetry with keen modern t.;it, and Austin Clarke's Sister Eucharia (1940) fa verse play-and a beautiful . , legend expressed in the nun's visions. 65 The second important trend in modern Irish drama is the use' of legend as a base for modern ideas.. Shiel&e The E:~lgged ~ and its sequel, ~ Summ~t,prod'Uced in 1940 and 1941, are good p1~s technically, and almost like folk.1ore in theme.. The two plays are the domination of an Irish mountain village by the bUllying Do1is family... They are full of deep Irish prejudice against "informel's". Michael MacLiammoir has written many of his plays from a legend base. Wher~ Stars )valle (1940) and ill Met.S!. ]foonli~t (1946) are both shells . , of modern Dublin drawing room over cores of misty Irish legend. His A Bride for the Unicorn (1942) is of ordinary men and - ...... -- ",.,,". women who live and hope in a fitful light of 'Irish fantasy .. In such dramatists as Shiel19, Johnston, Clarke, ,and Mac Liammoir lies the greatest hope for the future of Irish drama and the Irish national theatre. If the,y are able to blend the best of modern thought with ancient legend and express their ideas in poetic beauty, Ire.land will continue to be an important contributor to the dramatic movement of the world. BIJ3J:,IOGBAPHY 65 A. BOOKS Boyd. -.:ID.A., The ContemporaucDrama .2! Ireland. Boston: Little, Brown, &00., 191'7. 225 Pp. Fay, W.o. .. and C.Qa;tswe1l, The I&S of the Abbel Theatre .. London: Rich & Cowan,-m3·.. 3~ pp. Freedley, George, Ensland and; Ireland. Be..rrett H.Clark and George ]'reed1ey; .. editors, A Histo;rz of MOdern Drama. New York: D•.A.pp1eton-Century Co .. , 1947: 832 pp:- Gregory, Lady tugusta.,. !rish ;v.olk-Histol,Z Plgys, Eirst .§eri~II' !h!Traged~es. NewYor:k: G.P.Putnamts Sons, 1912. .207pp. ____=-_.11 T4E! •• Ima~ and Other, PJ.&s. New Ylilrk: G.. P.Putn,am's pons, 1922,,: 25 pp.. ~__=-_' Irish FOlk-Histlilry P1cw;s, Seoond Series, The Tragic-Clilmediae:- N~ York: G.P.Ptitnani',s Sons, "i9i:2 .. 198 p1'. -_~~, Our ~rish Theatr~. London: G.. P.Putnam's Sons, 1913. 319 1'p. Gwynn,ptephen, Irish Literature and Drama... London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1936. m pp. Hackett, Francis, Horizons.. New York: B ..W"Ruesch, 1918 .. 368 pp,. Hone,J'oseph, '\if .B..Yeats 1865-1939.. New York: The Macmillan . Co., 1943. 535pp.. ----..- ..'--.. Howe, P.P., J.M.Synge' - !Critical Study. LOl1don: Martin Seeker, 1912. 216 pp. JonnstoJ}"Denis;a,nd,H£ltonEdwards, The Gate Theatre -Dub1in. Btl1lIn~r Hobs911' editor. Dublin: llex Thom &; Co ,.. Ltd., . 1934. 140 <1>P .. Ma10ne, <'AndrewE.. ,The Irish 'Dram.~. New York: Charles Scribnert s Sons" 1929 • 351pp. ,,' ~, ...... ]10ntagderC.E. ,Dramati.c Values. New YorIo TheMacmillan 00 •• , 1911. 276,pp. l!fC?~l'e,geol'gt;, ;a:a.il;and ,Farewe~l, .!i: tt'rilogy:. New York: ~ , D,ioAppleton & Co .. , 19~2 ... 1143 pp. - O'Casey, Sean,I:K'nockAt the Door. New York: Macmillan Co., 1939<" ~269 PP.- -- , D,rums UndertheWindo'Ws" New York: The Macmillan -~C!"""o-.. , 1946. .' 431"PP:- , Inishfallen Fare Thee Well. New York: The Macmillan -~Cr-.o-.. , 1949. 396 p~ -.-...... - Parker, .TOM, compiler and editor, Who~§l. Who i!!.~he Theatre. New York: Pitman,J?ub. Corp., 1930. 19.31 PP,. ' . , Who's. Who in the Theatre. New York: Pitman Pub. -~c:-o-!,-p.,ig ~l(.\./ 20'14 1'p .. Robinson, Lennox, editor, ~ Gregou' s .T?urna.l~o New YOrk: The Macmillan Co .. , 1947. 342 Pp. . ,TheIrish Theatr.e,. London: The Macmil1an. Co., --·-:1:-::9:-=3~9.. -zJ9-l'];l. .. " Synge, . John M. ,TheComJ21etevrorks .2! lOM ~•.§.lnge. New York: Random Rouse, 1935. 625 PI'. Tynan (Hinkson), Katherine, ~ty-fi,ve Years: Reminiscence•• London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1§13. 355 :PI'. _ Weygandt, Oornelius, Irish p&s.andPlaV!!:i@ts. Boston: ROUghton 1I1ifflin Co., 1 13. 3£4 pp. __,="",=",,=,,!!!!,,TheTime Of Yeats. New York.: D.Appleton-Century, 1937.' 460-PP; _. . Wilson, Edmund, :Axel's.Castle. NeVI York: Charles Scribner's. Sons, 1939. 319 pp. Yeats,WilliamButler,.-J)ramatis Personnae. New York: The Macmillan Co .. , 1936.. 200 pp" , , The Land of Heart' $ J).esire. Portland, Mai.:rie: ThomasJ3:MosherTl§!2•... 33 1'1' II _ ...... ~._..... ?'WhereTb;ere.J!. Nothing,Vol. I ofPlw;s, For !!!·!rish Theatre. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1903.212 PP. ___~-'.TheRour-glasEland Othe:r,P1a;zs,'Vol.2 of P1~s !£r §!.!! IrJ.shTheatre.Ne\l' York: The Macmillan Co .. , 1904. 113 pp•. ' 6'7 , TJ?!ColleotedPlgf;s._ New York: The Macmillan CO q ---,--1-9~35. 617 pp. __:-'",=io-,,,,,,!!!,i,[.ett,~;c§.on.J?oetI'J! tq DorotnyWellesley. London: OXford Ul'l;:;r;vers:ttyPreas ,1940...' 2l5pp. __...... -' Auto'biographies:J.ieveries OVer Childhood aJld Youth. 'The Tremblini ••.2t@~ 'Veil.. New 'York: TheMacmillan co.,3927• 47'1 P:P .. __...."...._, P:J.81s andCont:r:-oversies.. New York: The Macmillan co., 19,24. 474 pp .. __-=-_, Wheels and Bu.tterflies \II NewYor.k: The Macmill.an Co., 1935. '163 Plh . __~."...,and Lady Grego];'y" The Unicorn From the stars and Other Plays. New York:The }laom111an cO:-; 1§08. 2IoPp. 68 Bo 1?ERIODIC,ALARTICLES -Biss.ing,Toska., 11 Dublip. Gate l'heatre Productions, II Theatre Ar.ts,25: 49-p2, January, 1941" J31ackmur, R.l?11 r. .. O.:Ki1igh.ts, T.~.E1iot, and others, "William Butler Yeats, Memorial> Issue, II J •.E"l'almer, editor. The Southern Review, '7, no .3: 40'7-653 11 Winter, 1941• . Bregy, Kath.erine,nYeate Revisited.," Catholic \>{or1d, 151: 67'7-686 II September, 1940. C01um, Mary Jlf., "11emories, of Y·eats,." Saturday Revi!'! .2f Literature, 19: 1, Feb. 25,1939 • ." Colum., Padrai.c, "Pa¢l..r,aic Co1um, on Yea.ts, " Theatre ,Arts, 23: . 290,.,April, 1939.. " - --'::-:::'''=', "Yeats an(i..the,Abbey T4eatre," Theatre ~11 23: 160-1, Mar., 1939. ' __~-.-' l11?oetteJ?rogress~ W.::S.Yeats in the ,Theatre," Theatr,! Arts, 19: 936-43, December, 1935. ,.,•..-"p DUkes, Ashley, "The Irish Se ene, "Theatr,!., Arts 2 14: 378... 85, :M:ay,1930. Dunc~,E.M." ltThe\;Jritings of :Mr.W.,B.Yeats," ~.FortnightJt Review, 91:.253-70, Feb., 1909. . Fox,~,:M..j,}'Review of Green Banners," ~eatre~, 23: 611, Oct", 1939. _ ___--::-~, tl:Modern Irish Drama., " Theatre Arts, 24: 22-5, Jan. 1940. _. , __~~.. , "The Theatre Goes On' in Ireland, tI Theatre Arts, 24,: 782-86, November, 1940" '.- , "Ups and Do'WIls. in the Irish Theatre," Theatre Arts, --~2'='5-: 353-58, I>1ay,1941. . ------, "Irish Theatre," Theatre Arts, 29: 286-92, :May-II 1945. ,"Irish Drama in War and1?eace," Theatre Arts, 30: ----'='2"=3"="1-35, April, 1946. - , "Twilight Over Irish Dr.ama,n Theatre~, 30; 706 ----"::7":'0'='8-, ])e.cember, 1946 ~ 69 Gregory, Horace, "Yeats: Last Spokesman," ~ Republic, 84: 164-65, September 18, 1935. Gwynn, Stephen, "The Irish Literary The~tre and its Affinities," Fortnightly Review, 76: 1050-62, December, 1901. , I1An uncommercial Theatre, n Eortnight1Y Review, 78: --""'1"l:"0-l"4-l"4-54, Deoember, 1902 .. Hayes, J.J'.. , "Between Curtains," Theatre Arts, 15: 78-80, . .January, 1931. - Malone,Andrew E. , "The Decline of the Irish· Drama, II Nineteenth Centuxz Review, 97: 578-88,Apri1, "1925 .. Montgomery, E.L., "Some Writers of the Celtic Renaissance," Fortnight6l ReView, 96: 544-56, September 9, 1911. Moore, George, "A :Preface to 'The Bending of the Bough' ," Fortnightl~ ReView, 73: 317-24, February, 1900. Sampson, Martin V., "The Irish Literary Theatre," Nation, 73: 395-96, October 31, 1901. Strong, L.A.G., "W.B.Yeats, Ireland's Grand Old Man," The Spectator, published in ~ ~!!i Age, 355: 438-40,- January, 1939 .. Tucker, Wm.J., "The Celt in Contemporary Literature," ~ Gatho1icWorld, 146: 650-57, March 3, 1938. 71 APPENDIX A. PLAYS PRODUC$D.BY- fJ.'HE.A:B.BEY 1'BEATRE COMP.ANY AND ITS PREDECESSORS. 'WITltLDAWES OF FIRST PERFORMANCES , IRISH LITERARY THEATRE'AT ANTIENT CONCERT ROOMS May 8 tn, 1899. The Countess Ca.thleen W.B.Yeats tl 9th, ft The Hea.ther Field Edward Martyn Feb.1.9 th_ 1900 • The ~el1dins!!. the Bouglt George .14oore' " 19th" ,. TheLast,Feas.to:f' the Fla.nna. Alice Milligan II 20th, tI Eev-e- '. .• -- - Edward. J:1artyn Oct.21st, 1901. Diarmuid .and Grania W.B.Yeats and ~ George.Moore. II 21st, " !Ae'1Wistbli .2!•• the !lope Douglas Hyde (The first G:aelio;pl,~ :p~od'Ucedin ~ theatre.) MR. W.G.FAY' S IRISH NATIONAL DRAMATIC COl\!JPAm' AT ST. TERESA'S HALL,'CLABEND0J[ STREE.T • .Apr.~nd, 1902. Deil:\dre A.E. •• . 2nd, It Kathleen .Ii! ¥ot11ihan 'W.B.Yeats IRISH NATI0J[ALDR.AE.ATIC CCJ.MJ?.AEY .ATANTIENTCONCERT ROOMS' Oct.29th, 1902. !h!.Sieei!0ftheKihll. . Setunas O' Cuisin "29th, " ~e:Layin:g of the Foundations Fred1\Yan tI 50th, 1I A Pot .of. :Broth W.B;.Yeats 1. 3:J.st, tJ :The ~aCIn~LU.g Semnas -O'Cuisin IRiSH) N1I.TIONU ~TRBT,soo:t:mTY,> MOLESWORTH HALL ;:.,'.;. ..~ c· ,:.,-,', .", : ',: ,.. ,.. "','.. ': i', -',_ :, ...',', .• _,:_. ,. "', (r.rhe'{i~st proepeot~s6:f.ihd.~:tSo~ie~y,dated]([arCh,lQ03, and signed by:mr_Rr~dBYanbeganasfo11ows: It The Irish N~tional Theatre SooitStywas formed to .continue on a more :permanent 'basie:the work of the IrisJihLiterary Theatre.~) . i:· ",- . ",'" '_"._ , , :Mar.14th, 1903•. The H6ti.r/:Gitiss .•.... W.B~Yea~s. It It 1llth, ~nti=Five Lady {~reg()ry OCt~:8th, It The' KillE!>s •• ··•.·ThreshoId W.:B~"y:eats II It 8th, Inthe Shadow of the Glen J.~:;'Synge Dec. 3rd, '.1 Bi=oken Soil ...... -- l?adraic Coltml Jan.14th, 1904" The· .Sha;~Wate:t:s W.B.Ye~.ts " 14th, .. The Townland of ·Tamn§l Seumae McManus Feb.26th, , 11 RIders .to theSea J.M.• Synge -- --.....-- '7,2 IRISH lIJATIONAL THEATRE .SOCIET14T THE ABB]OC THEATRE. Dec.27th, 1904. On Bai.l.e's .Strand W.B.Yeats " 27th, " 'SPreadinetlie News Lady Gregor.Y' ]'eb~ . 4th, 1905 .. The Well of the Saints J .M.Synge ~I'.25th, Tn'e •. BUIIdIrig Furtd William Boyle II " ;1· .J::25th, " Ki'iic'O"ra, . - Lady Gregory .June 9th, " --The Land Pao.raic Colum NATIONAL THEATRE SQOIETY, LTD .. (ABB~ COMPANY) Dec:. 9th, 1905. The White Cockade . Lady Gregory Jan. 20th, 1906. ~'Elo9ue!rlDemps ex William Boyle Feb.19th, " ~abinth Halve,r La<:lyGregory Oct.20th, It i'he Gaol Gate ' Lady Gregory "20th, " 'Tne.·lEi'eraTWorker13 William Boyle Nov. 24th, " Deirdre W.B.Yeats Dec. 8th, II, TheCanavan13 Lady Gregory II ath, n New·Vers·ion oiThe 8hao.o& . Waters. '. . W.B.Yeats Jan.26th, 190'7. gy ,.. I',," The1?l bo.t .!f the Western WOrldJ•. M.Synge Feb.23ro., .~. Y .'T!ii.j"aCltdaw .••• '. . Lady Gregory Mar. 9th, .tl The ,RIsIng of m~OOl1 . Lady Gregory Apr. 1st, " The ...~ £! ~ B1J.nd Miss W.M.Lette n 3rd, " The.Poorhouse Douglas HYde and - Lady Gregory " 27th, " Fano.Blunt _. Oct. 3rd, .. .Thecounttt..:bressmaker George Fitzmaurice .' ·31st, Dervorgilla .• Lady Gregory Nov.21st, " The Unciorn From the stars W.B.Yeats and " _. -- ...... - Lady Gregory Feb.I·3th, 1908. . The:Mara iWhoMissed' the Train W.F.Casey " 1-3th, " The.j?ij?e~.. - Norreys Connell Mar.10th, " ThePiedish George Fitzmaurice " 19th, ,. "TiieGolden Helmet W.B.Yeats Apr.20th, " The Workhouse Ward Lady Gregory Oct.lst, " ; 'The.Suburban Grovew..Jj1eCasey· . II' . 8th, " ,,·.TheQ1ancy.Name .Lennox .Robinson ," 15th, " Whenthe.Dawn is Come , Thomas MacDonogh " 21st, New.. V' ersi.on,Ti1"eMan Who Mi s s eEl . " . The Tide' -- -, W.]1.Caeey Feb.l1th, 1909. EevIsed Version of Kincora Lady Gregory' .Mar.l1th, fl' Stephen ~~ D.L.Kelleher .Apr. 1st, " The Cross Roads Lennox Robinson "1st, '.J! Time ..... Norreys Connell II 29th, fl ~ Glittering ~ Lord Dunsany 73 May27th, 1909 .An Imagina~Gonversation Norreys Go~nell Aug.25th, fl The Shewing-UE £f Blanco Posnet Bernard Shaw sept.16th, II The White Feather R.J'•Ray Oct.14th, " TheCiialIenge Miss W.M.Letts Nov.llth, " ~ Ima~e La~ GregorY Jan.. 13th,1910 Deir~e of the Sorrows ~,M.. Synge Feb.10th, " The Green-Helmet' W.E.Yeats Mar. 2nd, tI The TravelIng ~ Lady Gregory MB3' 12th, " Thomas Musker;r Padraic Colum " 26th, " Harvest Lennox Robinson Sept.. 28th, " 1!!! Casting-out .9.! 1I1artin vlhelart R.J.RB3' Oct.27th, 1I Birthright T.O .:Murray Nov .. lOth, .. The Full. Moon Lady Gregory 'I 24th, " The ShiiI1erts Child Seumas O'Kelly ;Dec .. 1st, " coats- Lady Gregory Jan.12th,1911 '1.'he Del,iverer Lady Gregory ~Il 26th, " King Argimenes and ~he Unknown \'larrior. . Lord Duns'any Fep.16th, 1I The Land of Heart's Desire 'Vl.B.Yeats . Jlfur.30th, " Mi'ieEMarrIage St.John G.Ervine Nov.23rd, " The Interlude of Youth Anon~, circa 1400 }I 2.3rd, II The Second ShePherds' Plax .Anon., c irea 1400 II 3p.th, " ~ Marriage Douglas Hyde Dec '7th, II Red Turf Rutherford Mayne II 14th, " ReVivalof The Countess Kathleen W.B.Yeats Jan. 4th,1912 The AnnuiiCiillon circa 1400 . II 4th, II ~Flight ~OEgy;pt circa 1400 " 11th, II MacDarragh's Wife Lady Gregory Feb. 1st, II Revival Of The-ITOunt$Y Dress- maker - George Fitzmaurice II 15.th, il The Tinker and the FairY (Played . in Gaelic) -- Douglas Hyde 11. 29th The Wor1de and ~~ 9-~lde 15th centu~ ~far.28th, Family Fail!ni William Boyle Apr"llth, Fatriots Lennox Robinson "15th, Judgment Joseph Campbell Jurie20th,'. }/lauri.ce :Harte, T.O .Murray July. 4th, The Bogie .~- Lady' Gregory Oct.j17th, .~Magnanimous Loverst"JohnG. Er'\Tine Nov.2lst, Damer's :Q219; Lady Gregory .AJ?)PENDIX B. LIST OF FIRaT PRODUCTIONS, WIm CASTS On 2nd. 3rd, and 4th April, 1902. "Deir-dre,1I a. Play in three acts, by "A.E." Produced by W.G.F~'s Irish Nat~onal Dramatic Company at the ,Hall of St. Theresa's, Clarendon st., Dublin. Deirdre • • .. .. • • Maire T.Quinn. Lavarcum " • .. • • Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh. FergUs • • • • • • P.3.Kelly. Buinne • • • ...... " P.Colum. Illaun • • • • • C.Ca.ulfield. Arden .' " • " " " • F.Ryan. Ainle • • .. • • • H.SPl."oule. Naisi • • • • • .. 3.Dudley Digges. Messenger • • • • • • Brian Callender. Conaobar • • • • • • F.J.Fay. and IIKathleen Hi HOUlihan," by W.B.Yea.ts, a Play in one act. Kathleen.Ni Hou.lihan .. Maud Gomne. DeliaCahel • • • " • • Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh~ Bridget·Gillan .. • • • • M. T.Quinn" Patrick Gillan • .. • .. • C.Caulfield. Mi.chaeIGillan, • .. co ~et.e:t'Gillan • • 3.Dudley Digges. • .. • .. • 'W.G.Fay • December, 4th, 5th, and 6th, 1902, at 34 Lowe:rCaxnden street, the Irish National Theatre Society produced "The Laying of' the Foundations," a Pl~intwo' acts by Fred RYan <> Mr.>QfLoskin,T.C. F 3.Fay. Michael·,'.. • • • • • • .. • • J? •J .~elly. Alderman Farrely '.• ,. • J•D dley, Digges~ p·~ • l1 FIr. r4aCFadden,,',T .. io A Beggarman • • ...... • W.G.Fay .. - Sibby • • • •• .. • • Jl1aire T. Quinn. John • • • •• • • • P.J.Kelly.. "Eilis Agus .An Bean Deirce," a Play in one act by P.. T.Mc Ginley .. Eilis • .. .. • • •• • Maire T. Q,uinn. Concubar • • • • • • •• P.Mac Shiubhlaigh. J.1eadda • • ...... • .. Maire ni Perols. and "The Racing Lug," a One-Act Play of Real Life in two scenes by Seamus O.Cuisin. Johnny • •• .. .. • .. .. F.J.Fay. Nancy • " .. • ...... • Maire T.Q.uinn. Bell • • .. • • ...... Maire lific Shiughlaigh. Rob •• .. • .. • • • J.E.Sheridan. Rev ... Mr. McMeekin • • • • .. P.J.Kelly. and his One-Act Play, "The Sleep of the King," was produced later that year .. ,The Irish National Theatre Society produced on Saturday, 14th March, 1903, at the Molesworth Hall, DUblin, 1:,,:,,1 . liThe Hour-Glass," a Morality Play- in one act by,\v.J3.Yeats. J.Dudley Digges. The Vliseman • ...... " Brigit •• Michael Ford • • ...... W.G.Fay. Kate Ford • • • • • .. :M~1reNic Shiubhla1gh. Christie Henderson • Dan Burke • • • .. • • • G.Roberts. liforaBurke. • • • • • • • Maire NicShiubhlaigh.. Michael'])ara • • • • • • • .. P .. J.Kelly. !ATr~p • • • • • • • '. W.G.Fey. 'The ,Irish National Theatre So¢iety, at the Molesworth Hall, ;DUblin, produced on December 3rd, 4th and 5th, 1903. ":Broken Soil,"a Pls\y in three acts by Padraic *a9Cor.me.c Colum. Con Hourict:l.ll • • • • • • • F.J.Fa:y. Brian MacOonnell. .'. ". • • .. .. P .. J.Kelly. :Brigit MacOonnell • • • .. .. • Sara Allgood.. .A:ime Kilbride • • • • .. .. • Honor Lavelle,. Marie Rour:ic.an • .. • • • • • Ma:ire N:ic Shiubhlaigh. 77 On Tuesday, December 27th, 1904, first production by the Irish National Theatre Societ,y at the Abbe.y Theatre, Dublin, opening performance, tIOnB~ile's Strand," a Flew in one act by WoB.Yeats. Q-g.1=!hulJtain 0 • • • • • • • F.J".Fay. Concobar 0 •• • • • George Roberts. Daire • • • .. • • • 0 Arthur Sinclair. Fintain • • •• • • •· • • Seumas O'Sullivan. Barach' • • • • • • • .. W.G.Fay. A Young Man • • • .. • • ..'. F.Mac Shiubhlaigh.. '. aire Ni aharbhaigh. a Vernon.' ara Allgood. Young Kings 'and O~8- Kings oreen'Gunning. • • • • .Nash• •Fower U.Wright~ .....!Keegan. Costumes designed by MissA.E.F.Horniman. "Spreading the News, tI a Comedy in one a.ct by Lady Gregoxy. :Sartley Fallon Mrs. ' • • • • • • • w. G.Fay. Fallon • • • • • • • Sara Allgood. l'Irs.'" Tully • • • • .. • .. Emma Vernon. MI's.Tarpe.y • • • .. • • • Maire Ni Gharbhaigh. Sha\lrnEarly .. • • • • .. J" .R.Dunne• Tim Qasey • • • • • • • • • George Roberts .. J"ames Ryan • • • Arthur Sinc,lair. J",ack Smith • • • • • • • • '.• • • F .. Mac Shiubhlaigh Policeman .. • • • .. .. R.S.Nash. A 'Removable .' • Magistra.te I·. • • • • F.J".Fay • Also revivals of "Kathleen Ni Houlihan" and "In the Shadow of the Glen .. " 'is On Friday, 9th June, 1905, at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin; n The ,Land, "a Play in thr.ee acts by Padraic Colum. Murtagh Cosgar • " • " • • VJ .G.Fay .. Matt • • • .. Sally " • • P.MacShiubhlaigh. " " " • • • .. Sara Allgood. Martin DoUrse • • • • • • F.J'.Fay .. Cornelius • • • Ellen • • • • Arthur Sinclair.. • • • .. • .. • Maire Ni Gharbhaigh. This .was the last play produced by the Irish National Theatre Societ,y at 'the Abbe,y Theatre, Dublin; the Society was dis banded amd the work taken over by the National Theatre Society, Ltd. On Saturday, 9th December, 1905, the National Theatre Society, Ltd.., produced at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. IITheWhite Cockade, n a Comedy in three acts by Lady Gregory. Patrick Sarsfield • .. .. • • .. F.J.. Fay• King James II • • .. Carter • " • Arthur SinClair. • " .. • • • .. .. J.H.Dunn. A Poor Lady • • .. Matt Kelleher • " • " Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh. Mary Kelleher " " " " • " .. Vr. G.Fay. • • .. .. ' Owen Kelleher • .. . Sara Allgood. " .. • " • .. • P.Mac Shiubhlaigh. French Sailors • .. • .. Walter S. Magee. • • Edward Keegan. First Williamite • • • • • .. A.1?ower. Second Williamite • • U.Wright. Williamite Captain • • • • • • .. • . • .. M.Butler. ,On Saturday, 20th OctOber, 1906, at the Abbey Theatre, 'Dublin, the National The£1,tre Society produced ";The Mineral Workers, II a Play in three acts by William Boyle. Sir Thomas Musgrove . Mrs. Walton • • • .. Arthur Sinclair. • .. • " Sara Allgood. Stephen•.r. 0'Rei11$ .. .. F.,.T.Fay~ Dari-Fogarty .• " G.FaY~ Ned MUlroy • • •• .. iW .. "• • .. A.Power• Mary •• • • • • .. _~ice O'Sullivan. Patrick • " ., " KittY·· •• " • • • U.Wright. .. • • .. Maire O'Neill. UncIeBartIe " JA O'Rourke' .. ' ~·>C1;1e.fP"7 "':'.'_'."_ 0,:>:,:-". '.,':.:'" '. "•..,. MrDick' ...... •/i{.J2.,L •.G. ·H.Youhg~ . .. ., • • • " Shaun Barlow ,'79 and ll "The Gaol Gate , a Tragedy in one act by Lady Gregory. Mary Oashel • • • • • • • Sara Allgood. Mary Cushin, • • .. • • .. .. Maire Of Neill. The Gate-Keeper • • • • • • ;!f.J.FEW. On Saturd~, 26th January, 1907, "The Playboy of the 'vestern 1ilorld, II a Comedy in three acts by J.M.Synge. Christopher Mahon • • • • • W.G.Fay. Old ]lahon •• • .. • • • A.Power. Michael James Flagerty • • • • Arthur Sinclair. 1YIargaret Flaherty • •• • • Maire O'Neill. Shawn Keogh • • • • • • • F.J•Fay • Philly O'Cullen • • • .. • • J.A.O'Rourke. Jimmy Farrell • • • . • • • • J.M.Kerrigan. Widow Q,uinn • • .. • • • • Sara Allgood. Sara Tansey • • • • • Brigit O'Dempsey. Susan Brady • • • • • • Alice O'Sullivan. Honor Blake • • • • • '.• Mary Craig. U.Wright. Peasants • • • .. • • • Harry Young. On Thursday, November 21st, 1907, "The Unicorn From the Stars,1I a Plew in three acts by Lady Gregory andW.B.Yeats. Father John • • • Ernest Vaughan.' Thomas • • • • Hearne • • • • • • • Arthur Sinclair. .Andrew Hearne • • • J.A.O'Rourke. Martin, • • Hearne .. • • • • F.J.Fay. Johnny Ba,cach • • • .. .. • '0 W.G.Fay. Paudeen .. .. • • .. .. .1 .J:.a:.Kerrigan 0 :Biddy Lally • • • I> '0 J:.1aire O'llreill. lljahny .. , • • • • • '...... Brigit O'Dem13seyo This was the la'5t play I produced fortneNational Theatre Society at the Abbey Theatre,Dublin, being the " . "twenty...':third, ,15 \if:'B~Fa:,y:land'Oather±:heOarswel1,Th,eFgysof the'" /l-bb ey; Theatre.. (London: Rich & Cowa.l1, Ltd., 1935), 13 .298. 80 Al?PElilDIX C. ABBEY THEATRE FESTIVAL 6th to 20th August 1~38 PROGRAi'liliJE . SATtJ.RDAY,6th August. -Reoeptionat the Dublin municipal Gallery of l\.1odern Art, by kind permission of the Cvrpuration of Dublin, at 8.0 P.M. SUlf.DA:f, 7th AUGUST. - Excursion to Tara and the Boyne Valley. MOl\lDAY, 8th AUGUST. - Lecture: IntrOductory address on the early history of the Theatre, by A.E.Malone. Plays: IIKathleen ni Houlihan,,:!1 by W.B.YEATS, and IITh~ Play1;>oy of the Western World," by J .M.Synge. TUESDAY, 9th AUGUST. - Lecture: J.M.SYNGE, by FRAEK O'CO:NNOR. Plays: "Riders to the Sea, II by J .M.SYNGE, and JlThe Well of the Saints,1I byJ.M.SYNGE. WEDNESDAY, 10th AU:GUST.-, Lecture: LADY GREGORY, by LEImOXROBINSON. Plays: First Production of JlPurgatory, \I by W.B.YEATS, and "Damer's Gold," byLADY GREGORY. THURSDAY, 11th AUGUST. - Lecture: W.B.YEATS, by F.R.HIGGINS. Pl.ays: JlOn Baile's Strand,JI by W.B.YEATS, and "The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet," by G.B. SHAW. FRIDAY, 12th AUGUST. - Lecture: The Rise of the Realistic Movem.ent, by A.E.MALONE. Plays: "Maurice Harte,"by T.C.MURRAY, and "Church Street, fl by LEIilNOX ROBINSON. SATURDAY,13th AUGUST. - Excursion at 11:30 A.M. to Glendalough. Plays: "Kathleen ni HOUlihan, II byW.B.YEATS, .AJ.iID "The Playboy of the Western World, II by J.M.SYNGE. MONDAY, 15th AUGUST.- Lecture: George Shiels, Brinsley MacNamara, e.te., by T.C .1f.LtlRliAY. TUESDAY., 16th AUGUST. - Lecture: Sean O'Casey, by WALTER ST.A.RKIE. Play: uThePlough and the Stars," bySE,AN O'CASEY.· \lJEDNESDAY, 17th AUGUST .. '\" Lecture: Modern Tendencies. by .t DENIS JOH:NSTOlif". , :Play:ttThe Moon in the Yellow :River,," by DENIS JOHNSTON .. THURSDAY, 18th AUGUS~.... Play: fI The Plough and the Stars, It by SEAN 0 t CASEY' .. FRIDAY, l~th AUGUST ..... Lecture: Gaelic Drqma, by ERJ:ilEST BLY'mE.. ' Plays: IlCasa-db an tSugain,J' by DOUGLAS HYDE, and "Katie Roche, tI by TERESA DEEVY" S~TORDAY, 20th AUGUST.- Lecture: Problem Plays, by . MICHAEL MACL:r.A:MMOIR. PltiW: "Shadow and SUbstance," by PAUL V. CARROLL" The lectures will take place at 11:30 A.M. in the Aberdeen Hall, Gresham Hotel. The Plays will be at 8 :15 P .N..in the Abbey Theatre. " \ 16 Lennox Robinson, editor, --_The Irish Theatre..... (London: The Macmillan Co .. II 1939) 1/ ];>.228 .. 8'2 '.A.PJPENDIX D. COPIED LETTEJRS ]'ROM IRISH DRAMATISTS ~th February, 1949. 'Tingrith Station Road, Totnes, Devoll Totnes 2359 l~s Nargaret'O'Flaherty Diehl Dear Mrs. Diehl. I cannot·help you very much - all I would want to s~ would take up too much space and time. It has been set dQ'Wn,in autobiographicalvoltmles,. running into nearly 1500 pages. You should be able to get these from your library. They ,are - I Knock at the Door. Pictures in the Hal1w~. Drums Under thevifbdow. I:nishfaIlen, Rare Thee i~vell. four books in all, the last to be published by The Macmimlsn Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New Yorkeity - on Feb. 28th. Here are a few details. Eorn Dublin, Eire, 1880. Shadow of a Gunman first done, Abbey Theatre. 1923 Cath1ine Listens In """ Il 1923 Juno & the Pay-cock " If tt '1 1924 Nannie l s Night Out II " II " 1924 Plough & the Stars " " "" 1926 . - Then followed The Silver Tassie, done in London, under C.B.Cockran; done in DUblin by the Abbey seven years after in the midst of a violent controversy from Press and Pulpit•. ~le Abbey has since done no new play of mine. Red Roses For life \ I have received your letter of the 12th Febr~ary. I have so many memories of the Abb~y Theatre that it seems almost impossible to "share" them. with you. If you could get hold of two autobiographical books by me _ II Three Homes" and "Curtain Up" you might find things of interest. Lady Gregory's Jou~nals edited by me and pUblished in the states mi@lt help you; her ~ by me will be out -this year and I am at present writing a history of the Theatre. Yours trulY, Lennox Robinson 322 Fairm.o'unt Rd. Ridgewood, JiT .J. 23rd March '49 Dear Mrs • Diehl Forgive my delay in answering your letter of the 20th January, but as you see it has been following me arountl On..mY'i travels. . Iamafra~dthat Thardly knowhow to reply to your' ltiteresting.req;uesttoi eha-rarDy memorieS of theJ:rish Theatr~.. ,They, spread> over so many· years •I hardly-know how ,to. 'begin. But if YOuca.retopropound aiJy questions of' your Ow Ishall/beglad,to d0llw"best ·to ahswerthem.. Denis Johns ton 8'4 322 Fairmount Road Rd.dgewood,. N.J. 19th. April 1949 Dear }:III's. Diehl, Somewhere in some New York bookshop I sat\/" a copy of "All for Hecnbafl within the past year, but vihere it is I~ve failed to re-discover, having searched .for a long,j:;ime last Christ mas. MY own co.py I sent to Prof. C'anfield of .Amherst in anticipation of getting another :for myself when I go home this summer. So I am afraid that "All fo~ Becuba"is out, unless you order one from London. There was a new"edition i11 the fall, and I am sure that Foyle's Book Shop in Charing Cross Road could supply you with a copy, if you think it is worth all that trouble. As a matter of fact, I doubt if it is, for your purp'oses, because although it makes very entertaining reading, it is not really of e:ny historical value, Michael Macliemmoir uses his pen very well, but liRe all good actors he is an Egomaniac, and the impression' one gets from his book is quit.efalse so far as. the real history of the Gate is concerned,. and the cOUrse of its development into the present two organizations. What· would be of more use to you is the Gate Theatre Book, published in 1934, whIch contains a short history of the Theatre, and a long article by Hilton Edwards on its atms. I shall be glad to lend you.my COpy if you will be good enough to return it before the end of May. l Since the publication of this book, the history of the Theatre becomes a little complicated, but in outline what happened was this: - In 1935, the Company made its first appearance in London ll li at the Westminster Theatre with Longford's "Yahoo , "Hamlet ,. . and' ,lIThe0ld LadY Says .No",.and from this on - until the out break· of the War, i/t·went abroad every year in'the late Spring, either to London, .Egyptor the Balkans. As the Dublin Theatre is largely.mann:ed. by, part-time actors and actress's (even the Abbey Company up to the time of the War had a mi110rity of players who had no other jobs but acting) this set up a . " cei'tain eJIleunt'>often'sion"betw,een the:'rival claims ,of those who',wantedtoi go abroad and those who couldn't,culminating in the sunnner",'sf" 36,'when"Longfordtook ,it Re: 12th May Dear JllJ:rs. D~ ehl, So sorry about the delay in sending you the Gate Theatre Book. I found t~at, ~~ 4~d:alx~~~.. ~e~n lent to some body, and it took some t~$~:·tc;(\~f~t:""iit°"pa¢'k~ :oHowever it is now being dispatched, and .I' nope "that you "can let me have it back by the end of the mOl~tl+;' e:s :JCain g:o:i:ng.: to Europe and my effects will have to be 'p'e;coJieet up~~.- 0.. : Best Regards. Yours'sincerely Denis Johnston