The Playboy of the Western World--A New Version: A Critical Edition

By Bisi Adigun

Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyle's centenary adaption of J. M. Synge's classic The Playboy of the Western World had a sold-out run when it was produced at Dublin's Abbey Theatre in 2007 and was brought back by popular demand in 2008. The new version is set in a contemporary Dublin pub and features the character of a Nigerian asylum-seeker in the lead role. Under the coauthorship of Bisi Adigun, artistic director of Arambe Productions--Ireland's first African theater company--and best-selling, Booker Prize-winning novelist Roddy Doyle, the play engages with issues of race and immigration in modern Ireland and, when first released, aimed to be a model for intercultural collaboration.

This critical edition features the full text of the play, published for the first time, along with a collection of essays exploring the play's themes, cultural significance, critical reception, and the legal case that cut short its successful production run. Though the play was first produced over a decade ago, the topic of migration has only increased in its global importance over that time, and this adaptation of Playboy remains a popular touchstone among scholars of Irish theater and immigration.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815638345
• ISBN13: 9780815638346
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"