Connolly, R (2024) 'Ulster Kitchen Comedy: ‘a faithful if unpleasant picture of the national fragments’.' In: Hindson, C, Cochrane, C, Reid, T and Goddard, L, eds. The Routledge companion to twentieth century British theatre. Routledge, Abingdon. (Forthcoming)
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the genre of Kitchen Comedy in early-twentieth-century Ulster, and how this genre provided at once a source of popular entertainment and a forum for dramatising social anxieties and tensions. It first considers the origin of Kitchen Comedy in the activities of the Irish Literary Theatre and its importance to Irish theatre tradition before moving on to examine the development of the form by the most well-known and successful of the early-twentieth-century Ulster playwrights George Shiels and Joseph Tomelty. The plays of these writers defied the expectations of both the Irish and the British theatrical establishments, but they were nevertheless popular throughout Ireland and repeatedly produced on the major stages of both Belfast and Dublin. The chapter seeks to restore these writers to the historical record. It argues that Ulster Kitchen Comedy provides a striking example of the potential of popular stage performance to interact with social mores, challenge orthodoxies and re-frame established cultural narratives.
| Item Type: | Book Chapter or Section |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Bath School of Music and Performing Arts |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Dec 2023 17:53 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2024 12:08 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/15873 |
 |
Request a change to this item or report an issue |
 |
Update item (repository staff only) |
Tools
Tools
