Theatre and Politics in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland

Applied Theatre, Social Change, and Political Advocacy

By (author) Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill

Book cover: Theatre and Politics in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland

Extent: 214 pages

Publisher: University of Exeter Press

Subjects: Music & Performing Arts

Series: Exeter Performance Studies

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(April 2025)

ISBN: 9781804132005

6.084 x 9.126 inches

Price: $45.00

On back order

Hardback (Published)

(April 2025)

ISBN: 9781804131138

6.14 x 9.21 inches

Price: $120.00

In stock

PDF (No longer our product)

(April 2025)

ISBN: 9781804131152

Price: $45.00

This history of recent theatre in northern Ireland examines the major developments in mainstream, applied, and community theatre in relation to the politics of the post-conflict period. From the Good Friday Agreement to the post-Brexit period, it tracks the ways in which theatre has been used to promote political agendas and drive social change.


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Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

Introduction
  Prologue
  Notes on terminologies
  A brief history of northern Irish theatre
  A note on sources

Part I: Post-Conflict Theatre – Winning the Peace
1. A society in sea change
2. Theatre of resistance: nationalist and republican communities
3. A movement for unity: theatre for social change
4. ‘Making our voices heard’: advocacy theatre in the PUL community
5. Mediating the legacy: testimonial theatre and the documentary

Part II: New Communities: New Identities
6. The changing faces of northern Ireland: migration and ethnicity
7. Queering northern Irish theatre: performance and LGBTQ+ rights
8. ‘Actors for any play’: the emergence of Irish language theatre

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

  • By (author) Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill

Mac Cathmhaoill brings a salient overview to the existing scholarship regarding Northern Irish theatre that will certainly serve as a touchstone for current and future discourse on the topic.

— Laura Rodríguez-Davis