What role did the theatre of the Irish literary revival play in the politics of identity so avidly debated in pre-revolutionary Ireland? Conversely, how far did that debate influence the development of the theatre? Ben Levitas pursues such vexed questions through a panoramic study of Irish drama and the nationalist debate 1890-1916.
He follows the unfolding drama of that relationship and, in giving equal weight to the protagonists inside and outside the theatre movement, aims to provide fresh insight into the dynamics of Irish cultural politics. Extending the range of the drama beyond the canonical works considered by most critics, and beyond Dublin to the influence of Cork and Ulster, The Theatre of Nation tackles many neglected and forgotten texts which through the circumstances of their reception are given new force.
In this way, the lesser lights of the Irish revival illuminate unfamiliar aspects of familiar writers such as W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and J.M. Synge, while discussions and disputes both private and public are engaged to comment upon the implications of the theatre movement for nationalist ambitions.
Review: Ben Levitas makes a significant contribution to the study of both Irish drama and Irish nationalism by introducing a rich set of impressively diverse - and previously neglected - institutions, productions, and historical contexts that helped shape the political and cultural landscape of modern Ireland.
Levitas powerfully enhances our understanding of the diversity and complexity of cultural nationalism in modern Ireland,and does so in lucid and engaging prose. The Committee of the American Conference for Irish Studies Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language or Culture. Carefully researched, densely argued and politically committed ...
The Theatre of Nation is refreshing and original. Nicholas Grene, Irish Studies Review Levitas demonstrates impressive scholarly zeal ... The archival sources informing his argument include a range of material that has often been overlooked. This is what makes his book stand out. Karen Vandevelde, Irish Theatre Magazine This is a worthy study.
Camden New Journal Subtly argued and impressively researched ... a central contribution. Irish Times The contextualization of theatre is a tour de force. Professor Mary King, London University Brilliant. Professor Roy Foster, Oxford University Levitas has a fine sense of political and social context; and he writes like an angel.
Professor Norman Vance, Sussex University
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