Introduction

The introduction of Perspectives on Contemporary Irish Theatre provides insights into the ways in which Irish theatre practitioners and international academics have investigated the evolutions of the Irish stage between the 1990s and 2015. In view of a fast-changing economic landscape, the contributors analyse how Irish playwrights and theatre practitioners, from Brian Friel to #WakingThe Feminists, have ‘populated the stage’, to use Thomas Kilroy’s definition of the creative process. They highlight that some transformations resulted from alternatives to a text-centred tradition, but also led to new expressive modes around emancipated bodies and multidisciplinary experiments. Essays and interviews suggest that globalisation, technological advances, or necessity explain how practices shifted and adapted, and show how contemporary political issues have been staged.