Like all great plays The Playboy Of The Western World is about any number of things, and open to a number of interpretations. Obviously it is a great comedy - and that shouldn't be lost.
In this production we are exploring what holds the community together. It is a system of barter, corruption, favouritism and ultimately survival. When Christy Mahon (Patrick O'Kane, below with Crotty) enters the play he turns that order around and has to pay the consequences.
Another bang up to the moment theme is about the vicissitudes of celebrity - the need for society to create a hero, or maybe even a messianic or king-like figure. But then when things go wrong, the king is often sacrificed.
This production is anti-bucolic - we don't get any sense of what it would have been like in County Mayo in the early 20th century. We're presenting the play warts and all.
I play Pegeen Mike, which is a brilliant part. What I love about The Playboy Of The Western World is that none of the characters are simply set dressing. Every character has a very strong motivation for survival - for example the Widow Quinn (played by Sorcha Cusack) who strikes the same bargain with two different men, to completely different ends!
Of course when The Playboy Of The Western World first opened in 1907 it caused riots in Dublin. If only theatre still had that power to stir. I'm sure the National would welcome it!
