"Trotter is able to conjure up an Irish theatre throughout the twentieth century that experienced moments every bit as laden with a sense of epochal transition of the present. Modern Irish Theatre is generous and thorough in its engagement with recent scholarship, provides succinct readings of key plays, and shows an eye for the detail or anecdote that will push the historical narrative forward." Times Literary Supplement "Mary Trotter's Modern Irish Theatre will find a permanent residence on the reading lists for every course I teach on modern and contemporary drama. Her expertise is vast and deep, and this book makes a fine, unique contribution to our knowledge of the 'infinite variety' of Irish drama." Stephen Watt, Indiana University "Through a set of superbly constructed phases Mary Trotter situates twentieth-century Irish theatre in its evolving socio-political contexts. She covers theatrical activities from Belfast to Cork and from Dublin to Galway, analysing along the way a vast array of texts and performances from the high modernism of the early Abbey through to the community theatre of Charabanc. In a highly accessible style she articulates superbly how Irish theatre has performed the nation, how its use of realism can be read as counter-hegemonic, and how representations of gender and race have disrupted the myth of the rural in the theatrical imaginary." Brian Singleton, Trinity College, Dublin