The Abbey Theatre / The Irish National Theatre

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

George Cusack (University of Oklahoma)
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Domains

  • Movements, styles and periods (literature)

Dates

  • Date of occurrence 1904

Places

  • Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Location)

For over 100 years, the Irish National Theatre, better known as the Abbey Theatre, has served as one of the premiere literary and cultural institutions of Ireland. It has nurtured the work of some Ireland’s greatest authors, including W. B. Yeats, John Synge, Sean O’Casey, Brendan Behan, Brian Friel and Hugh Leonard. It has also been the catalyst for some of Ireland’s most notorious cultural controversies. Although the Theatre’s relationship to the government in Ireland and its role within Irish society have evolved over its history, it has maintained the same sense of purpose: to maintain and enrich the repertoire of Irish drama and to provide a showcase for the unique cultural and artistic identity of Ireland.

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1772 words

Citation: Cusack, George. "The Abbey Theatre / The Irish National Theatre". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1202, accessed 23 November 2024.]

1202 The Abbey Theatre / The Irish National Theatre 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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