Renovating the kitchen: Irishness, nationalism, and form in the theatre of John B. Keane, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard, Brian Friel, and Thomas Kilroy

This study examines Irish drama of the period 1959-1993 in light of the radical transformations which took place in Irish culture and society during this time. Taking as its starting point the new policy initiatives undertaken by the Lemass government in the late 1950s, which had the effect of opening Ireland's previously insular economy and culture to foreign influences, it explores how the resulting changes were registered in, and acted as an influence on, the works of playwrights John B. Keane, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard, Brian Friel, and Thomas Kilroy. In doing so, it examines how these dramatists have reappraised the concepts of Irishness and nationalism and reinterpreted them, within the context of dramatic form, for the stage.;As background for the discussions which follow, the first chapter of the dissertation surveys the state of Irish culture and society, and of Irish theatre, in the decades leading up to the social and economic revolution of the sixties and seventies. It then considers the impact of the changes as felt not only in economic terms, but also in Irish intellectual, cultural, and artistic life. This introduction is followed by individual chapters devoted to each of the five playwrights. In discussing a selection of representative texts from each dramatist's oeuvre, the dissertation examines the interrelated questions of how each playwright's theatre represents, and is representative of, an Ireland in transition, and how each writer's work conforms to, challenges, or modifies what can be seen as an inherited Irish dramatic tradition. As these chapters suggest, theatre history and social/cultural history are intertwined in the drama of these five playwrights. Each has confronted the dilemma of how to negotiate between past and present in a rapidly changing society. While their responses have been distinct and unique, the dissertation's conclusion suggests that their works are linked by a number of culturally- and socially-influenced connections and commonalities. As a final gesture, the conclusion also briefly considers the works of other contemporary Irish dramatists, particularly younger playwrights who have emerged since 1980, within the context of the achievements of Keane, Murphy, Leonard, Friel, and Kilroy.