The Production History and Reception of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa in Irish and Czech contexts

Thesis Abstract The aim of this thesis is to compare the production history and reception of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, arguably one of his most famous and successful plays, in Irish and Czech contexts. Following its triumphant premiere at the Abbey Theatre in 1990 directed by Patrick Mason, the production transferred to London and Broadway, where it garnered further critical acclaim and several prestigious awards. The first Czech production, directed by Jan Burian, opened at Divadlo na Vinohradech in Prague in 1993, and over the course of the next twenty years it was staged another eight times on Czech professional - mostly regional stages. The opening chapter of the thesis focuses on the analysis of Dancing at Lughnasa using the method of close reading, as well as consulting secondary literature. The following chapter is divided into two parts, the first of them attempting to outline the background of the play by focusing on the events of the 1930s in Ireland. The second part is concerned with the context of writing Dancing at Lughnasa. Chapters four and five comprise the main body of the thesis and deal with the description of the five most significant productions in Ireland and the Czech Republic. These chapters focus on the context, the directors' concept, the acting and the critical acclaim...