Book highlights Trinity’s theatrical influence
Posted on: 17 October 2016
A comprehensive guide to the Irish theatre landscape, by Trinity academics, has just been launched. The first Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre, co-edited by Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing Chris Morash and Emeritus Professor of English Nicholas Grene, features 41 contributions from specialist scholars in the field of Irish theatre, several of whom are from Trinity.
Following the launch event, which was held in the Abbey Theatre and officiated by Irish Times Literary Editor Fintan O’Toole, both Professor Morash and Professor Grene were invited to present their work to President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin.
In The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre, the editors have provided a comprehensive survey of the full range of topics relating to modern Irish theatre in a single volume. Beginning in the 19th century with the legacy of melodrama and Oscar Wilde, the book charts a path through the Abbey in the early 20th century, revolution and beyond, contemporary theatre as well as Irish theatre in relation to the rest of the world.
The book also features what Professor Grene refers to as the “often neglected women playwrights”. While this issue was highlighted with the recent Waking the Feminists movement, well before that the editors had commissioned chapters on women in Irish theatre from Cathy Leeney of UCD and Assistant Professor of Drama Melissa Sihra, whose edited collection on Women In Irish Drama was published in 2009.
Other Trinity academics involved in the project include Chair of Drama, Film and Music Professor Brian Singleton, Assistant Professor in English Julie Bates and Emeritus Professor Terence Brown.
Speaking about the project Professor Morash commented: “The Oxford Handbook series have a long tradition of providing benchmarks of scholarship in their areas, and The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre follows this tradition. At a time when Irish theatre is in a vibrant, transformative period, it brings together more than 40 of the top scholars from around the world to consider all aspects of theatre – plays, actors, designers, buildings – making it possible to assess within the covers of a single heavily illustrated volume where Irish theatre has been, where it is now, and where it is going. Not only are the two editors of the volume from Trinity – Emeritus Professor Nicholas Grene and myself – so too are many of the key contributors, further underlining Trinity’s key role in Ireland’s theatrical landscape.”
Professor Nicholas Grene added: “I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with Chris Morash and so many other Trinity colleagues on this beautifully produced and illustrated volume which represents the most comprehensive and authoritative work on Irish theatre to date.”
The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre contains lots of original new research, drawing on previously unavailable archives, taking on the most recent developments in Irish theatre and in the study of the subject. In each chapter the author does not simply rehearse accepted wisdom; instead the authors push the boundaries of their respective fields so that each chapter is a significant contribution to scholarship in its own right.
Vice-Provost and Chief Academic Officer Chris Morash has been broadly published on Irish literature and cultural history. His History of Irish Theatre is widely regarded as the standard history in the field.
Professor Nicholas Grene has also published extensively on a range of topics, including Irish theatre, Shakespeare, Yeats and Shaw. He is also a founding director of both the Synge Summer School and the Irish Theatre Diaspora Project.
