The Playboy of the Western World

by John M Synge

Overview

John Millington Synge's classic work set in Mayo. A mysterious traveller, Christy Mahon, arrives in the village believing he has killed his father. He is looked upon as a hero by the locals and falls in love with one of them, Pegeen Mike, who agrees to marry him. But when Christy's 'murdered' father appears on the scene, Christy's fortune takes a downturn with comic and tragic result. The Playboy of the Western World is, undoubtedly, Synge's masterpiece. It was produced at the Abbey Theatre in 1907 and provoked an immediate riot and continuing controversy. This edition of the play is introduced by renowned Kerry actor Éamonn Keane whose interpretation of the role of Christy Mahon ranks him with the greatest actors to have played this part.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781175910
Publisher:	Mercier Press, Limited, The
Publication date:	01/01/1986
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	318 KB

About the Author

John Millington Synge was born in 1871 in Rathfarnham, County Dublin. His father was a barrister and his mother the daughter of a County Cork rector. He studied languages and music at Trinity College, Dublin and decided to become a professional musician on graduation. In Germany he continued his studies, but began to have doubts about his choice of career. He moved to Paris where in 1896 he met W. B. Yeats, who advised him to give up Paris and return to Ireland. He even suggested where Synge might find the inspiration to write – the Aran Islands. In 1898 Synge visited the Aran Islands for the first time. Here he listened and noted the speech of the islanders. It was, in translation, to be the pattern for the dialogue of his plays. In 1902 he wrote two plays, In the Shadow of the Glen and Riders on the Sea. Three years later The Well of the Saints was produced. He was now established as a playwright. His fourth play, The Playboy of the Western World was produced at the Abbey Theatre in 1907 and provoked an immediate riot and continuing controversy. He was at this time a sick man, but lived to write two more plays, The Tinker's Wedding and Deirdre of the Sorrows. He died in March 1909.

Read an Excerpt

John Millington Synge's classic work set in Mayo. A mysterious traveller, Christy Mahon, arrives in the village believing he has killed his father. He is looked upon as a hero by the locals and falls in love with one of them, Pegeen Mike, who agrees to marry him. But when Christy's 'murdered' father appears on the scene, Christy's fortune takes a downturn with comic and tragic result.

The Playboy of the Western World is, undoubtedly, Synge’s masterpiece. It was produced at the Abbey Theatre in 1907 and provoked an immediate riot and continuing controversy. This edition of the play is introduced by renowned Kerry actor Éamonn Keane whose interpretation of the role of Christy Mahon ranks him with the greatest actors to have played this part.

Editorial Reviews

This award-winning audio producer's latest effort reprises the critically acclaimed Pacific Resident Theatre's full-cast production of Synge's Irish comedic classic, starring Orson Bean, Alexander Enberg, and Jacqueline Heinze. The author's 1907 wickedly satiric masterpiece is a trenchant attack on the acceptance of appearances in a small Irish village. Christy Mahon turns up at the home of Michael Flaherty and his daughter, Peegen Mike, and is accepted by the town as a hero following his boastful story of murdering his tyrannical father. The town, especially the women, is seduced by Christy but ultimately turns savagely against him when his "slain" father appears looking for his son. The language is beautifully poetic and lush while being firmly grounded in the colloquial idioms and dialect of rural Ireland. The cast is, without exception, outstanding, and Bean is a delight. The technical quality is consistent with L.A. Theatre Works' high standards of professional excellence. A real gem.--Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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