by Colm Tóibín
First published 2020
Contemporary writers gather to reconsider John Millington Synge, the Irish playwright whose reputation has shifted dramatically. Where critics once dismissed him as old-fashioned and harmfully stage-Irish, today's authors recognize his genius for language that crackles with wit and surprise. Tóibín invited writers to respond to Synge in any form they chose, creating pieces as varied and unpredictable as Synge's own dramatic works. The contributors explore the fascinating contradiction between Synge's quiet, shy personality and the loud, fierce characters he created on stage. They examine how this mild-mannered man showed no deference to social conventions, channeling that defiance into the uncompromising energy of his plays. The collection celebrates both his theatrical works and his careful, observant writing about the Aran Islands. These fresh perspectives emerge alongside the Druid Theatre's groundbreaking season presenting all six of Synge's major plays together for the first time.
Genres: drama, literary-fiction, irish-literature, 20th-century, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, literary-analysis
Setting: Aran Islands, Ireland
Period: Contemporary
178 pages · Kindle Edition · Peter Lang