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Introduction: Acting the Man

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Masculinities and Manhood in Contemporary Irish Drama

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Abstract

This introductory chapter unpacks for the reader several key concepts and contexts of critical masculinity studies, all the while linking these concepts with contemporary Irish drama and culture from the early 1960s to the present. Always remaining cognizant of and referring back to the premise that drama is a cultural expression that both comes from and speaks to social movements and concerns, this Introduction further presents a number of important theoretical considerations of masculinity and manhood; such as multiple masculinities, hegemonic masculinity, patriarchy, masculinities and capitalism, and masculinity in theatrical performance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The first official female artistic director of the Abbey was Lelia Doolan, who held the post from January 1972 to December 1973. Furthermore, it should be noted that from 1937 to 1941 the actress and director Ria Mooney held a similar post at the Abbey which was, however, not labelled as ‘Artistic Director’.

  2. 2.

    Scholars such as Claire Colebrook trace masculinity in crisis back as far as the Enlightenment.

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  1. University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Cormac O’Brien

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  1. Cormac O’Brien
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Correspondence to Cormac O’Brien .

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O’Brien, C. (2021). Introduction: Acting the Man. In: Masculinities and Manhood in Contemporary Irish Drama. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84075-4_1

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