The State of Play: Irish Theatre in the 'Nineties

by Eberhard Bort (Editor), Robert F. Garratt (Contributor), Claudia W. Harris (Contributor)

Papers presented at a Conference on Contemporary Irish Drama and Theatre, University of Tübingen, Nov. 23-26, 1995.

Preface : "There's a buzz ..." / Eberhard Bort --
A place called Tübingen / Ivy Bannister --
The state of play : Irish theatre in the 'nineties / Christopher Murray --
National theatre : the state of the Abbey / Karin McCully --
Reclaiming performance : the contemporary Irish independent theatre sector / Anna McMullan --
Deevy's leap : Teresa Deevy re-membered in the 1990s / Cathy Leeney --
Commitment and risk in Anne Devlin's Ourselves alone and After Easter / Brendan MacGurk --
A hard act : Stewart Parker's Pentecost / Gerald Dawe --
Beyond Field day : Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa / Robert F. Garratt --
"Come on you boys in green" : Irish football, Irish theatre, and the 'Irish diaspora' / Eberhard Bort --
Reinventing women : Charabanc Theatre Company / Claudia W. Harris --
Between a Bible and a flute band : community theatre in the Shankill and in Long Kesh / Tom Magill --
The experience of understanding Belfast : the adventure of translating Graham Reid / Beate Richter --
The Northern Irish troubles : a problem of representation / Stuart Marlow --
Beyond the Theatre review : the Arts Council and regional developments in Irish theatre / Mary Cloake --
Local arts centres and Irish theatre / Paul O'Hanrahan.

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Eberhard ‘Paddy’ Bort (1954 - 2017) was Convener and Director of Studies of the Academy of Government’s Parliamentary Internship Programme. His teaching at Edinburgh University included Scottish Society and Culture, Contemporary Irish Politics, The Politics of Borders, and British Studies. He was also Book Reviews Editor of Scottish Affairs. Before coming to Edinburgh in 1995, he worked at Tübingen University in British and Irish Studies with Professor Christopher Harvie and taught in German Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, and at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, USA.

Bort was active in initiatives such as Nordic Horizons and the Scottish Rural Parliament and played an important role in shaping the European social democratic and Nordic models for an independent Scotland.

He was a key figure in the Edinburgh folk scene and ran the Wee Folk Club at The Royal Oak on Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, every Sunday night.