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The history of Irish theatre begins in the Middle Ages and was for a long time confined to the courts of the Gaelic and "Old English" – descendants of 12th-century Norman invaders – inhabitants of Ireland.[1] The first theatre building in Ireland was the Werburgh Street Theatre, founded in 1637, followed by the Smock Alley Theatre in 1662.
From the 17th century, theatrical productions in Ireland tended to serve the political purposes of the English colonial administration, but as more theatres opened and the popular audience grew, a more diverse range of entertainments were staged. Many Dublin-based theatres developed links with their London equivalents and performers and productions from the British capital frequently found their way to the Irish stage. However, almost all Irish playwrights from William Congreve to George Bernard Shaw found it necessary to leave their native island to establish themselves.
At the beginning of the 20th century, theatres and theatre companies dedicated to the staging of Irish plays and the development of indigenous writers, directors and performers began to emerge. This allowed many of the most significant Irish dramatists to learn their trade and establish their reputations in Ireland rather than in Great Britain or the United States.
- ^ Alan J. Fletcher: Drama, Performance, and Polity in Pre-Cromwellian Ireland (Toronto: Toronto University Press & Cork: Cork University Press, 2000); A. J. Fletcher: Drama and the Performing Arts in Pre-Cromwellian Ireland. Sources and Documents from the Earliest Times Until c.1642 (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2001).