The Spaces of Irish Drama Stage and Place in Contemporary Plays

by Lojek, Helen Heusner Heusner

• ISBN13: 9780230115231
• ISBN10: 0230115233
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Contemporary Irish drama communicates not only through words but also through the non-verbal use of space both the geographical places in which plays are set and the ways stage space is used. The work of cultural and physical geographers, brought to bear on plays by Friel, McPherson, Carr, and McGuinness, illuminates the extent to which perceptions of themes and characters are determined by the plays' uses of space. The plays shape reactions to issues of belonging and not belonging, home and homeland, by locating characters in specific places and by establishing stage spaces that inform perceptions of both Irish characters and Irish locales.

Author Biography

Helen Heusner Lojek is an emeritus professor of English at Boise State University. She is the author of Contexts for Frank McGuinness's Drama (2004) and the editor of The Theatre of Frank McGuinness: Stages of Mutability (2002).

Table of Contents

Mapping the Territory: Brian Friel’s Translations (1980) * Picturing a Changing Landscape: Conor McPherson’s The Weir (1997) * Travelling in Place: Marina Carr’s By the Bog of Cats… (1998) * Exploring Interiors: Frank McGuinness’s Gates of Gold (2002)