Artist:
Playboy of the Western World
Genre: Theater
Background: It is a dark
winter night in a remote corner of County
Mayo. Local publican Michael James Flaherty,
his daughter, Pegeen Mike, her intended
groom-to-be, Shawn Keogh, and several of
her father’s cronies are greeted by
a nervous young man in ragged clothes shuffling
in seeking warmth and porter. His name is
Christy Mahon and, after some prodding from
the assembly, he reveals that he is on the
run and guilty of a terrible crime - the
murder of his father. Suddenly life in rural
Ireland doesn’t seem so predictable
anymore. The stolid, stifling world seems
full of possibilities. If a son can kill
his father, who knows what might happen?
In 1907 The Playboy of the Western World
sent shock waves through the dramatic world
- pushing the limits of decency and stoking
an already red-hot nationalistic fire -
resulting in the notorious 'Playboy riots'
at its Dublin premiere. Nearly a century
later, Synge's ground- breaking play is
considered a masterpiece of poetic drama.
In a tiny pub in rural Mayo, the peace of
the tightly knit community is blown apart
when a stranger stumbles in. When the locals
draw out Christy Mahon's secret, they react
in unexpected ways. His story has the most
powerful effect on the women of the community,
in particular Pegeen Mike, the landlord's
fiery daughter.
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