The Playboy of the Western World

When The Playboy of the Western World first premiered at the Abbey Theatre on January 26, 1907, the play caused an outburst of riots from audience members. The Irish patrons felt that the play was an insult to public morals and the people of Ireland. The play’s comedic portrayal of patricide shocked audiences of the time, and just as scandalous was the mention of women in their “shifts” (underwear). The line is delivered by Christy as he declares his love for Pegeen: “It’s Pegeen I’m seeking only, and what’d I care if you brought me a drift of chosen females, standing in their shifts itself, maybe, from this place to the Eastern World?” (75). Audiences found the depiction of women in their underwear—as well as of women fawning over a murderer—as slanderous against Irish women. The riots lasted a week in Dublin, prompting Synge’s contemporary, W.B. Yeats, to tell audiences: “You have disgraced yourselves again. Is this to be an ever-recurring celebration of the arrival of Irish genius?” (“History: A Brief Timeline.” Abbey Theatre). Audiences did not heed Yeats’s warning. Four years later, riots occurred at the American premiere of the play in New York City.

Synge again had trouble with audiences before the release of his 1907 play. The Shadow of the Glen, which premiered at the Abbey in 1905, was about an unfaithful wife. Audiences similarly criticized Synge’s portrayal of Irish women. Likewise, Irish Nationalists felt that Synge did a disservice to his people by not idealizing them enough. Later, critics claimed the opposite and maintained there was too much idealization of the Irish people.

The root of the conflict between Synge and his audiences lay in Synge’s opposition to foreign influences on Irish culture. He felt that the traditional Irish roots were being erased and used his art to preserve them. This is why he so often wrote in Hiberno-English, and why he interspersed references to Ireland’s pagan roots throughout the plays. Although he never lived to see his plays become classics in the Irish theatrical canon, his contributions to Irish literature are imperative to the history, culture, and modern playwrights of Ireland.