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1940s, Blythe’s Abbey precluded nonrealistic plays as tainted by an alien avant-garde dramaturgy as well as works that cast too cold an eye on contemporary Irish life. Two distinct attitudes toward censorship are in evidence by the end of the 1950s, both of which apply to theatrical performances as well as publications. The first judged that provoking the forces of conservatism and censorship was the duty if not the inevitable consequence of the creative artist’s work. John Ryan recalls “that in time it became a badge of artistic distinction and intellectual courage to have had at least one book banned.”1 Similarly, Benedict Kiely remarked “by the time I got around to the distinction, you’d be damned nearly ashamed if you weren’t banned. You were annoyed in one way, but you also felt you had joined the elect.”2 When asked his personal reaction to the banning of The Dark, John McGahern replied : “I didn’t really care for myself because it was something of the time. If you were a writer, you half expected it; there actually would be no shock or surprise.”3 A much bleaker reality prevailed in the expressions of the demoralization, harassment, and misery created by a repressive and, in the case of theatre, capricious censorship. That atmosphere contributed to Alan Simpson’s decision to leave Ireland in the 1960s, a decision that hastened the demise of the Pike. The Globe, as Christopher Murray points out, endured fatal losses first from the withdrawal of The Ginger Man and then the cancellation of The Drums of Father Ned.4 At the end of the 1950s, the sluggish condition of Dublin’s stages occasioned articles by Thomas Kilroy and Gabriel Fallon in Studies; both, however, suggested the potential for another renaissance in Irish theatre. By decade’s end, despite, or perhaps because of, the conservative policies at the Abbey, at least four theatre companies, with a number of even smaller groups following in their wake, brought new Irish as well as international dramatists to Dublin. In the early 1960s, while the Abbey languished in its selfinduced torpor, rejecting the works that found international acclaim , one by one these companies dropped from sight as their personnel pursued distinguished careers in London, Hollywood, and New York. As for earlier generations, emigration and exile continued to exact a heavy toll. 178 Riot and Great Anger 179 New Theatrical Economies By 1960 the standards of the Censorship Board had become more liberal, in part because of Peter Connolly’s commentaries on the negative effects of an overzealous censorship. Delicate questions of the stage presentation of homosexuality, nudity, violence, and coarse language were all successfully, although not painlessly, negotiated, both in the Republic and Northern Ireland. The introduction of homosexual characters on stage (Walk on the Water, The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche [1968]), a greater sexual candor, and the dramatizations of Irish history (Murphy’s Famine [1968]) characterize Irish theatre in the 1960s. In 1968, after 231 years, Britain eliminated the licensing of plays by the Lord Chamberlain. In the parliamentary hearings on stage censorship, John Osborne was specifically asked about the production of his plays, including Look Back in Anger (1956), in Ireland and said that there had been no problem.5 Although the abolition of the Lord Chamberlain’s licensing had no direct impact on the Irish stage, it produced a greater openness on the British stage that did influence Irish theatre. The development of Irish television service, the increasing accessibility of British television broadcasts, and fundamental changes in the film industry all expanded the entertainment opportunities and exposure to previously taboo subjects. Since the 1960s, Irish theatre reflects a receptivity to controversial material and nonrealistic dramaturgies as new theatrical economies emerged. Evincing a latter day “boom of the ban,” revivals of controversial plays such as Over the Bridge and The Rose Tattoo were among the most popular productions of the 1960s. One of the most celebrated banned books, Eric Cross’s The Tailor and the Ansty, was adapted for the stage and performed at the Peacock on 3 October 1968. Archbishop McQuaid did indeed prevent the Dublin International Theatre Festival from presenting Bloomsday, but dramatic adaptations of Joyce soon flourished. Mary Manning’s The Voices of Shem, an adaptation of Finnegan’s Wake written in 1955, played at the Eblana in October 1961. A year later, Hugh Leonard’s Stephen D appeared at the Gate Theatre. Siobhan McKenna’s...

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