This major new study presents a political and cultural history of some of Ireland's key national theatre projects from the 1890s to the 1990s. Impressively wide-ranging in coverage, Theatre and the State in Twentieth-Century Ireland: Cultivating the People includes discussions on:
*the politics of the Irish literary movement at the Abbey Theatre before and after political independence;
*the role of a state-sponsored theatre for the post-1922 unionist government in Northern Ireland;
*the convulsive effects of the Northern Ireland conflict on Irish theatre.
Lionel Pilkington draws on a combination of archival research and critical readings of individual plays, covering works by J. M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, Lennox Robinson, T. C. Murray, George Shiels, Brian Friel, and Frank McGuinness. In its insistence on the details of history, this is a book important to anyone interested in Irish culture and politics in the twentieth century.

Contents:
Introduction. Chapter 1. Home Rule and the Irish Literary State Chapter 2. J.M. Synge and the Collapse of Constructive Unionism, 1902-09 Chapter 3. NTS Ltd. and the Rise of Sinn F`ein, 1910-22 Chapter 4. Cumann na nGaedheal and the Abbey Theatre, 1922-32 Chapter 5. Fianna Fail and 'the Nation's Prestige', 1932-48 Chapter 6. Irish Theatre and Modernization, 1948-68 Chapter 7. National Theatres in Northern Ireland, 1922-72 Chapter 8. National Theatre and the Political Crisis in Northern Ireland, 1968-92. Bibliography.

What is the significance of theatre and performance within Irish culture and history? How do we understand the impact and political potential of Irish theatre?
This innovative survey of theatre in Ireland covers a range of drama and performance, from the 17th century to the present. Expanding the field of Irish theatre to include mumming, wake games, prison protests and theatre riots, the book argues that Ireland's longstanding association with performance illuminates key aspects of its cultural history and politics. This compact and affordable book provides an innovative introduction to Irish theatre and cultural history.