Eamonn Jordan – författare

This book on modern and contemporary Irish theatre traces how social, cultural and economic capital are circulated in order to demonstrate complex and often contradictory outlooks on equality/inequality. Individual chapters analyse property ownership and inheritance; wealth acquisition; employment conditions; educational access; intercultural encounters; sexual intimacy and violation; and acts of resistance, protest and solidarity. This book addresses complex intergenerational, intercultural, racial, sectarian, ethnic, gender and inter- and intraclass dynamics from the perspective of ranked, objectifying, exploitative and coercive relationships but also in terms of commonalities, complicities, reciprocations and retaliations. Notable are the significances of wealth precarity and shaming; the consequences of anti-materialistic dramaturgical leanings; the pathologising of success; the fraught nature of solidarity; and the problematics of merit, divisive partitioning and muddled mésalliances. Ultimately the book wonders about how Irish theatre distinguishes between tolerable and intolerable inequalities that are culturally and socially but principally economically derived.

This book on modern and contemporary Irish theatre traces how social, cultural and economic capital are circulated in order to demonstrate complex and often contradictory outlooks on equality/inequality. Individual chapters analyse property ownership and inheritance; wealth acquisition; employment conditions; educational access; intercultural encounters; sexual intimacy and violation; and acts of resistance, protest and solidarity. This book addresses complex intergenerational, intercultural, racial, sectarian, ethnic, gender and inter- and intraclass dynamics from the perspective of ranked, objectifying, exploitative and coercive relationships but also in terms of commonalities, complicities, reciprocations and retaliations. Notable are the significances of wealth precarity and shaming; the consequences of anti-materialistic dramaturgical leanings; the pathologising of success; the fraught nature of solidarity; and the problematics of merit, divisive partitioning and muddled mésalliances. Ultimately the book wonders about how Irish theatre distinguishes between tolerable and intolerable inequalities that are culturally and socially but principally economically derived.

This Handbook offers a multiform sweep of theoretical, historical, practical and personal glimpses into a landscape roughly characterised as contemporary Irish theatre and performance.

The spellbinding premiere of The Weir at the Royal Court in 1997 wasthe first of many works to bring Conor McPherson to the attention ofthe theatre-going public. Acclaimed plays followed, including Shining City,The Seafarer, The Night Alive and Girl from the North Country, garneringinternational acclaim and being regularly produced around the globe.McPherson has also had significant successes as a theatre director, filmdirector and screenwriter, most notably, with his award-winning screenplayfor I Went Down.This companion offers a detailed and engaging critical analysis of theplays and films of Conor McPherson. It considers issues of gender and classdisparity, violence and wealth in the cultural and political contexts in whichthe work is written and performed, as well as the inclusion of song, sound,the supernatural, religious and pagan festive sensibilities through whichinitial genre perceptions are nudged elsewhere, towards the unconscious andineffable. Supplemented by a number of contributed critical and performanceperspectives, including an interview with Conor McPherson, this is a bookto be read by theatre audiences, performance-makers and students who wishto explore, contextualize and situate McPherson’s provocative, exquisite andgeneration-defining writings and performances.

The spellbinding premiere of The Weir at the Royal Court in 1997 was the first of many works to bring Conor McPherson to the attention of the theatre-going public. Acclaimed plays followed, including Shining City, The Seafarer, The Night Alive and Girl from the North Country, garnering international acclaim and being regularly produced around the globe. McPherson has also had significant successes as a theatre director, film director and screenwriter, most notably, with his award-winning screenplay for I Went Down.This companion offers a detailed and engaging critical analysis of the plays and films of Conor McPherson. It considers issues of gender and class disparity, violence and wealth in the cultural and political contexts in whichthe work is written and performed, as well as the inclusion of song, sound, the supernatural, religious and pagan festive sensibilities through which initial genre perceptions are nudged elsewhere, towards the unconscious andineffable. Supplemented by a number of contributed critical and performance perspectives, including an interview with Conor McPherson, this is a book to be read by theatre audiences, performance-makers and students who wish to explore, contextualize and situate McPherson’s provocative, exquisite and generation-defining writings and performances.

Multiple productions and the international successes of plays like The Weir have led to Conor McPherson being regarded by many as one of the finest writers of his generation. McPherson has also been hugely prolific as a theatre director, as a screenwriter and film director, garnering many awards in these different roles.In this collection of essays, commentators from around the world address the substantial range of McPherson’s output to date in theatre and film, a body of work written primarily during and in the aftermath of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger period. These critics approach the work in challenging and dynamic ways, considering the crucial issues of morality, the rupturing of the real, storytelling, and the significance of space, violence and gender. Explicit considerations are given to comedy and humour, and to theatrical form, especially that of the monologue and to the ways that the otherworldly, the unconscious and the supernatural are accommodated dramaturgically, with frequent emphasis placed on the specific aspects of performance in both theatre and film.

With such plays as The Beauty Queen (1996), The cripple of Irishman (1997), The Lonesome West (1997), A skull in Connemara (1997), The Lieutenant of Irishmore (2001), and The Pillowman (2003) Martin McDonagh has made a huge reputation for himself internationally, winning multiple awards for his work and enjoying universal critical acclaim. Most recently, he won an Oscar for his short film, Six Shooter (2006).This Collection of essays is a vital and significant response to the many challenges set by McDonagh for those involved in the production and reception of his work.The volume brings together critics and commentators from around the world, who assess the work from a diverse range of often provocative approaches. What is not surprising is the focus and commitment of the engagement, given this controversial and stimulating nature of the work.Whether for or against, this is an essential read for all who wish to enter the complex debate about Theatre of Martin McDonagh.

Irish theatre has never been so successful, yet at the same time never more in need of rigorous evaluation. Many of the plays by Brian Friel, Thomas Murphy, Thomas Kilroy, Frank McGuinness, Anne Devlin, Sebastian Barry, Conor McPherson, Martin McDonagh (LondonIrish), Marina Carr, Billy Roche and Marie Jones have been critically acclaimed and won substantial awards. In addition, Irish directors, designers, actors and administrators have worked at some of the best theatres in the world and with some of the most talented professionals available. In this comprehensive collection of essays, playwrights, directors, journalists, theatre practitioners, critics and academics, from many different countries and backgrounds, give their perceptive points of view. Each contributor takes an approach which is passionate, idiosyncratic, astute, provocative and refreshing. All of the writing, in one way or another, hints at the demands, magic, urgency and ephemeral qualities of good theatre. This extremely valuable collection of accessible essays will promote discussion and is a timely and welcome addition to the critical debate on Irish drama.