The Lost Tribe in the Mirror: Playwrights of Northern Ireland

"The introductory chapter outlines the scope of the general historical and political background against which these plays were written beginning with the Ulster Literary Theater in 1902. Subsequently, the work of Thompson, Parker, Mitchell and Jones is discussed in chapters 1--5 including a brief discussion of the dramatists' life and work. Chapter 1 focuses on the political and social tragedy in Thompson's first major play for the theater Over The Bridge. Parker's writings on theater are seminal in the dramatic tradition in the north of Ireland, and chapter two explores his concern for a fractured society in which the playwright needed to play an active, guiding role. Chapter three examines the masterworks of a major twentieth-century Irish dramatist---Stewart Parker's Three Plays For Ireland. Chapter four deals with more recent Northern Irish drama and focus on the Protestant community from Gary Mitchell's perspective, revealing its present trend of introspection and shifting circumstances. Marie Jones has been one of several woman playwrights who have been struggling for representation in Irish Theater, and chapter five examines her career as she sought to ""dig-out"" Belfast's lesser known stories."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theater

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Johnston, Philip Thomas Alexander

Contributors dc:contributor

• James Hurt

• Literature, English

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3023086

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86492