The gate theatre on the road: O’casey, Pinter and Friel

Abstract

This chapter discusses the richly developing tradition of touring performances by Irish theatres from the early twentieth century onwards. As prominent examples of these continuing theatrical projects, the main part of the chapter addresses several of the international tours of the Dublin Gate Theatre productions during the directorship of Michael Colgan, since the mid-1980s into the first decade of the new millennium. Juno and the Paycock is discussed first, the play was revived by the Gate in 1986 and then toured to Jerusalem, Edinburgh, New York and London. Next the focus is on the touring of productions of Pinter’s works to London and New York, originating from the Gate’s Pinter Festivals, the Pinter 75-A Celebration (2005) as well as the re-staging of No Man’s Land, which commemorated the playwright’s death in 2008. Finally, the chapter considers the international journeys of the Gate productions of Friel’s plays-among them Faith Healer, with Ralph Fiennes in the title role-to London, New York and Sydney; and the touring of Molly Sweeney in the 1990s and 2009, the year when Friel’s eightieth birthday was celebrated by many theatrical events. The staging of all of Beckett plays in 1991 and the Beckett Festivals by the Gate, as well as their tours of a good number of productions are only briefly mentioned because several scholars have already elaborated on their merits in substantial detail elsewhere.On the whole, the chapter investigates the ways in which the selected Gate productions were received in non-Irish theatres and evaluates the Gate’s contribution to revitalizing the reception of the playwrights in general and enhancing links with the theatre cultures of the host countries in particular. The chapter relies on relevant books of reference, theatre reviews and archived materials.