The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version

Jason King is academic coordinator of the Irish Heritage Trust in Dublin. He has coedited several books on Irish culture and history, including Interculturalism and Performance Now: New Directions? and a special issue of Irish Studies Review. Matthew Spangler is professor of performance studies at San Jose State University and writer in residence for the Hinterland Festival of Literature and Arts in Kells, Ireland. He is the author or coauthor of many plays, including The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Albatross, and The Kite Runner, which was recently produced on Broadway. He is also coeditor of the volume Staging Intercultural Ireland: New Plays and Practitioner Perspectives.

Introduction Jason King and Matthew Spangler The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle 1. Identity, Audience, and Power Dynamics in The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version, 2007 Kelly Matthews 2. The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version in Adaptation Practice and Theory Matthew Spangler 3. The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version, the Celtic Tiger, and the Immigrant-as-Sequel Sarah L. Townsend 4. The Intercultural Theater Wars and The Playboy of the Western World-A New Version Emer O'Toole 5. Contemporary Irish Theater, the New Playboy of the Western World Controversy, and the Economic Crisis Jason King 6. A New Playboy of the Western World at the Abbey Theatre A Catalyst for Change or a Change for Catalyst? Bisi Adigun

Spangler, King, and their distinguished contributors, offer a fascinating palimpsest in this volume....The 2007 adaptation of Synge's canonical work is vigorously mined and the ramifications of one of the great missed opportunities of Irish theatre history thoroughly explored. A formidable challenge has been met with elan." - Myles Dungan, host of The History Show, RTE Radio 1 "A timely reminder of the value and complexity of reimagining the Irish Canon and the importance of questioning whose stories we choose to tell and who is chosen to tell them." - Kellie Hughes, Theatre Artist & Artistic Director UCD Ad Astra Academy