Introduction. A 'Stage' of Emancipation

This opening chapter introduces the volume’s attempt to recover emancipatory projects from the Dublin Gate Theatre’s history by contextualising the power dynamics that enforce marginalisation in Irish theatre. In doing so, the introduction acknowledges important achievements of the Gate, in this regard, such as creating a covert safe space for gay and lesbian actors in a country that did not decriminalise homosexuality until 1993, and putting women centre stage both literally and figuratively. At the same time, the editors stress that the title of this volume aims to reflect the precarious nature of change and progress: as the various chapters will illustrate, there have been many different impulses to transform the Gate into a stage of emancipation, but it is no less important to realise that this project is always only at a stage, and that the dangers of regression, complicity, and exclusion are real and tangible