Book Description

This first complete edition of Patrick Pearse's extant plays (in English and Irish) also includes his most significant writings about the nature of the theatre in early 20th-century Ireland. His plays were highlights of the Cultural Revival and drew a who's who of literary and political figures to productions in St. Enda's, the Abbey Theatre, and Jones Road (Croke Park) in the years preceding the 1916 Easter Rising. Each work is annotated and illustrated with contemporary photographs, and each is placed in its historical, social, and political contexts. The book makes Pearse's plays readily available to those wishing to stage productions, and it also provides a complete reference source for those who seek a better understanding one of the iconic figures of the Easter Rising. The annotated plays and commentary provide fascinating insights into the cultural, imaginative, and intellectual life and times of a man who helped shape one of the defining moments in Irish history. Pearse's essays on the subject of the theatre and its role in the cultural work of Irish nationalism are also included. *** "[the book] draws attention to an often neglected aspect of the career of a man whose contemporary significance and subsequent legacy remains disputed almost one hundred years after his death....the editors are to be particularly commended for their bilingual, multidisciplinary approach to Pearse's work as a dramatist....the collection is consequently a major contribution to 'the momentum building towards the centenary year of 2016.' - Irish Literary Supplement, Vol.34, No.1, Fall 2014Ã?Â?Ã?Â?