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Why I like Mike

Niall O'Dowd: The New York City mayor’s race is down to its last week, and Michael Bloomberg looks like a certainty to win it. However, nothing can be taken for granted. This is a real “Throw the bums out” year, and any Democrat running in New York starts with an automatic 40 percent of the vote. So, Comptroller Bill Thompson is not without hopes of a major upset. Me? I think we should be glad to have him here in New York. FULL STORY >

New York Times hails Irish Rep show 'The Emperor Jones'

Hailed by The New York Times as the show that burns brighter than any other this theater season, the Irish Repertory Theatre’s new production of The Emperor Jones is the talk of the town this week. FULL STORY >

'Billy Elliot' leads 2009 Tony nominations

Irish dancers, Samuel Beckett and an Irish-American ogre represent the Irish theater contingent in this year’s Tony Award nominations. “Billy Elliot, the Musical” leads the entire pack of nominees with 15 nominations, including Best Musical and a Best Leading Actor in a Musical nod to the “Billys." FULL STORY >

A New York tribute to Brian Friel

Mark your calendars, tomorrow and Saturday Manhattan’s Irish Arts Center and Glucksman Ireland House at NYU will host a remarkable two day tribute to Brian Friel, the undisputed master of Irish drama, in honor of his 80th birthday. FULL STORY >

All 26 Yeats plays come to life on NY stage

The Irish Repertory Theatre has the stamina and artistic daring to bring us the "Yeats Project," a month-long festival of all 26 rarely performed plays written by Ireland’s greatest poet, William Butler Yeats. FULL STORY >

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A sea change in the history of the Irish theatre came with the establishment in Dublin in 1899 of the Irish Literary Theatre, later to become the Abbey Theatre. The history of this theatre is well documented, and its importance can be seen from the list of writers whose plays were first performed here in the early days of the 20th century. These included W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, John Millington Synge, George Moore, and Sean O'Casey. The Abbey was to create a style that held a strong fascination for future dramatists of Irish plays. Indeed, it could almost be said that the Abbey created the basic elements of a national style for Irish plays. This period also saw a rise in the writing of plays in Irish, especially after the formation, in 1928, of An Taidhbhearc, a theatre dedicated to the Irish language. The Gate Theatre, also founded in 1928, introduced Irish theatre audiences to many of the classics of the European stage. The twentieth century saw a number of Irish playwrights come to prominence. Samuel Beckett is probably the most significant of these. Beckett had a long career as a novelist and poet before his first play, Waiting for Godot (1953) made him famous. This play, along with his second, Endgame, is one of the great works of absurdist theatre. Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1969. The Lyric Theatre, founded in 1944 by Austin Clarke was based in the Abbey until 1951 and produced many of Clarke's own verse plays. From the mid 1950s, the Unitarian Church at St Stephen's Green, Dublin was home to Amharclann an Damer/The Damer Theatre. The Damer produced both professional and amateur Irish plays. The world premier of Brendan Behan's An Giall (The Hostage) took place here in 1958. Behan went on to be an extremely popular dramatist, particularly through his work with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal in Stratford, East London. But in general, the Abbey was the dominant influence in Irish theatre across the 20th century. Beckett's example has been almost entirely ignored in Irish theatre, although his plays are regularly performed on the Irish stage. Behan, in his use of song and direct address to the audience, was influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Denis Johnston, and used modernist techniques including found texts and collage, but their works had little impact on later Irish plays. In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of Irish theatre companies emerged to challenge the Abbey's dominance and introduce different styles and approaches with regard to Irish plays. These included Focus Theatre, The Children's T Company, the Project Theatre Company, Red Kettle, Druid Theatre, TEAM and Field Day. These companies nurtured a number of writers, actors, and directors who went on to be successful in London, Broadway and Hollywood or in other literary fields. These include Joe O Byrne, Peter Sheridan, Brian Friel, Stephen Rea, Garry Hynes, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson, Marina Carr, Jimmy Murphy, Billy Roche and Gabriel Byrne. In the 1990s and 2000s a new wave of Irish theatre companies arrived. These include: Bedrock, Blue Raincoat, B*spoke, The Corn Exchange, Corcadorca, Fishamble, Pan Pan, Playgroup, Raw, Rough Magic, and Tardy Lasso.

Why I like Mike

New York Times hails Irish Rep show 'The Emperor Jones'

'Billy Elliot' leads 2009 Tony nominations

A New York tribute to Brian Friel

All 26 Yeats plays come to life on NY stage

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