Scenographic Interactions: 1950s’ Ireland and Dublin’s Pike Theatre

The limits of scenography – like the limits of performance – are being continually expanded so that it is no longer contained within the theatre but can refer to the performative environments beyond. In this context, Ireland of the 1950s can be seen to have undergone significant scenographic changes, in which visual culture was harnessed to improve Ireland’s performance on the international stage. This essay engages both established and emerging definitions of scenography. It explores how the pioneering work of the Pike theatre, Dublin, can be seen to endorse a ‘stage of re-vision’ within Irish theatre of the 1950s. However, I also examine the ways in which the Pike’s scenographic aesthetics interact complexly with the changing scenography of Ireland at large. In doing so, I aim to illuminate the ways in which Ireland’s increasingly image-conscious culture can be seen to impact on the visual and performative character of Irish theatre