The Field Day Theatre Company and the New Irish Drama

Abstract

In the previous article, the author exempted one company's work from her strictures on the present state of Ulster playwriting. That company was Field Day, based in the town whose very choice of name distinguishes Catholic from Protestant, Derry or Londonderry. Here, Michael Etherton outlines the aims of the company, which extend far beyond the theatrical, and also describes and assesses three plays which, although not all originating from Field Day, seem to him to reflect the distinctive ‘poetic and political view’ which he believes the company has nurtured. Most notable, be believes, is its attempt to reveal and replace the arid rhetoric to which beliefs and argument on both ‘sides’ have been reduced. Michael Etherton, presently teaching at King Alfred's College, Winchester, has previously published widely in the field of African theatre, on which he wrote in TQ10 of our original series, and he is preparing a volume on contemporary Irish drama for the Macmillan Modern Dramatists series.