For the purposes of this tome, and tome it is, modern Irish theatre started in 1860 with the production of Dion Boucicault’s The Colleen Bawn at the Laura Keene Theatre in New York; thus, the work establishes a good early and international framework for modern Irish theatre which would normally be dated from the time of the 1890s, specifically the founding of The Irish Literary Theatre by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn in 1897.
Both eminent editors are based in Dublin. Nicholas Grene is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Trinity College Dublin and author of other books on Irish drama, the Irish stage and on Yeats. Chris Morash is Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College, Dublin and the author of previous books on Irish drama and theatre. They have gathered together a strong team of 41 noted academic contributors from universities in Ireland, north and south, and England; and from the Anglophone and English-speaking countries of the USA, Canada and Australia. Thinking outside the box and representing a wider European influence on Irish drama, are contributions from Professors at the Centre for Irish Studies, Charles University Prague and from Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest. These throw a light on a generally little-known wider Irish diaspora on the continent of Europe and the interest in Irish drama on the continent. The experience and knowledge of all these contributors cannot be faulted; this is a veritable cornucopia of expertise. The work flows easily from chapter to chapter and whilst there are occasional overlaps of some information it is only to be expected as each chapter can also be read as a “standalone” article. For example, a 1957 Dublin production of Tennessee William’s The Rose Tattoo has a least two mentions for the Church’s attempt to influence the Irish Government to extend the censorship laws to include the theatre.
This is truly a work of mammoth proportions with very little overlooked. The content is good and once engaged in reading a chapter, one wants to read more. Presented in this work are articles on national and regional theatres and little theatre companies and clubs, including those in Ulster, dramatists and playwrights, both male and female, directors, stage design and designers, choreographers, Irish language theatre, actors and acting styles and theatre festivals. The ephemera surrounding the theatre is not forgotten, including model set designs, flyers and posters; the only thing I did not find was a reference to theatre programmes. It was disappointing to find all the 58 illustrations are in black and white; this does spoil the original impact of these materials as some of the posters and flyers would look superb if reproduced in colour; presumably this was a cost cutting exercise.
Otherwise the book is well-presented, pages bright and clean and the typeface easy to read. There is only one exception and that is the five-page Chronology of Modern Irish Theatre at the beginning of the book which is printed on pale grey background frame with very a pale and thin typeface; however, this may have been done for reasons of space rather than presentation. This Chronology, from 1860 to 2014, lists first performances of plays, opening of theatres and various key dates which set the backdrop against which the Irish theatre had to operate, such as the Irish Transport and General Workers Strike of 1911 or the advent of RTE (state television) which began broadcasting in 1961. The book is divided into 12 major parts which are themselves subdivided from between two to seven individual chapters, each tackling a separate facet of Irish theatre. The 12 main parts are: The Nineteenth-Century Legacies; Theatre and Nation; Models and Influences; Revolution and Beyond; Performance 1; Contesting Voices; The New Revival; Diversification; Performance 2; Contemporary Irish Theatre; Ireland and the World; and finally Critical Responses. There is a good 24-page bibliography of printed books. Every chapter has extensive footnotes with references to books, journals, newspapers and online source material. The indexers have done an excellent job with their comprehensive index; there is a helpful note before the index explaining exactly how it works. Everything I crossed checked in the index was there, including references to illustrations. Mention is also made to the opening up of the theatrical archival materials through digitisation, especially the work done in this respect by the James Hardiman Library at the University of Galway.
In all an outstanding work of reference which is not likely to date and although carrying a hefty price-tag, one which deserves to be on the library bookshelf; it will certainly justify its place in years to come. The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre is suitable for the general public with an interest in Irish social history as well as in the theatre and, of course, is an essential work for academics, students and members of the theatrical profession.
