“We've All To Grow Old”: Representations of Agingas Reflections of Cultural Change on the Celtic Tiger Irish Stage

This dissertation discusses the work of four Irish playwrights: Sebastian Barry, Marina Carr, Conor McPherson, and Elaine Murphy. Specifically, it investigates the inclusion, by these playwrights, of “elderly” characters in their plays written between 1995 and 2010—a period of economic and cultural change known as the “Celtic Tiger.” This study argues that the way that aging and senescence—defined jointly as the process of aging and as the state of being “aged”—are represented on stage reveals a broader cultural negotiation of “new” and “old” Ireland. Into their representations of “old” characters, the playwrights discussed here have embedded a reflection of destabilized cultural narratives, which resulted from intense societal change in Ireland.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Hill, Christopher Austin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Reilly, Joy

• Theater
• Theater History
• Theater Studies
• Performing Arts
• Folklore
• European History
• British and Irish Literature
• History
• Literature
• Theatre
• Irish Theatre
• Irish Studies
• Celtic Studies
• Cultural Studies
• Sebastian Barry
• Marina Carr
• Conor McPherson
• and Elaine Murphy
• Celtic Tiger

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1365780726

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1365780726