Dion Boucicault's Irish melodramas : national identity, politics and the Press

Abstract

This thesis undertakes a detailed study of the reception of Dion Boucicault’s Irish plays in the New York-London-Dublin theatre triangle which the playwright inhabited. The plays are The Colleen Bawn (1860); Arrah-na-Pogue (1864); The Rapparee (1870); Daddy O’Dowd(1873); The Shanghraun (1874); The O’Dowd (1880); and Robert Emmet (1884). Detailed archival investigation is the main method of research undertaken, and an in-depth analysis of the history of all of the plays’ production is carried out in order to build up as complete a picture as possible of the subtleties of contemporary reception. According to the principles of modern theatre history, the full range of theatrical elements is treated, including theatre buildings, social composition of audience, censorship, and theatre critics. Material consulted includes theatrical reviews, public record archives, and extensive newspaper commentary. Periodicals examined includes the leading daily newspapers, regional newspapers, ethnic weekly newspapers, satirical publications, and trade journals. The study of newspapers is not restricted to theatre reviews only but encompasses issues ranging from the social to the political. A study of Boucicault’s correspondence with the press and other private individuals, promotional and other material written about his own work, and his use of advertising is undertaken. Overall, the thesis argues for a shift in focus from the politics of the plays, and their author, to the politics of the auditorium and the press, or what can be described as the politics of reception. It is within that complex and shifting field of stage, theatre, and public media, that Boucicault’s performance as playwright, actor, and publicist is interpreted.