The Playboy of the Western World

A masterpiece by J.M. Synge, The Playboy of The Western World is set up in an Irish background during the late nineteenth century and led to riots after it was first staged in Dublin. Christy Mahon, a young man claims to kill his father. The villagers are upset at his arrival but nevertheless they enjoy his story about how he drove a loy through his father’s head. Mahon emerges into a heroic figure and the barmaid Pegeen falls in love with him, to the dismay of her betrothed, Shawn. The controversial tragicomic play has received a large critical appreciation and still sustains its influential hold over the Irish theatre, even after a century of its first premier.