WELCOME TO THE 2008 SYNGE SUMMER SCHOOL

29 JUNE - 5 JULY 2008

LATEST NEWS, 3 June 2008

The programme for the 2008 Synge Summer School Launched

Application Forms for the 2008 School Available Now

Seminar Schedule and Reading List Announced

Recommended Reading

We have recently added images to the Gallery

DruidSynge DVD now onsale

Old Synge Summer School website now online in our ARCHIVE

2008 Highlights
Highlights from this year’s programme include:

• Lectures from leading international theatre experts, on a variety of Irish dramatists: Brian Friel, Stewart Parker, Marina Carr, Conor McPherson – and, of course, JM Synge;

• A reading by award-winning writer Sebastian Barry, author of The Steward of Christendom, The Pride of Parnell Street and A Long Long Way;

• A talk by Bisi Adigun, who will discuss the updated version of The Playboy of the Western World which he and Roddy Doyle wrote for the production at the Abbey Theatre in 2007.; and

• A lively social programme, including a visit to the Abbey Theatre and a tour of Synge Country in County Wicklow.

The theme of the 2008 School is “Irish Theatre and the World Stage”

The writings of JM Synge have been hugely important during the last hundred years – not just in Ireland, but throughout the world. Many of the great international dramatists were influenced by Synge, and his successes abroad have strongly influenced how contemporary Irish writers are seen on the world stage.

Furthermore, as Ireland becomes more internationalised, theatre companies are turning back to Synge in order to understand where we are now: since 2006, we’ve seen two new versions of The Playboy of the Western World that set out to answer urgent questions about Ireland today.

This year’s Synge Summer School draws these strands together, considering the relationship between Irish theatre and the world stage. The plays of Synge are at the heart of the week’s events, but we’ll discuss modern Irish writers too – Brian Friel, Marina Carr, Conor McPherson, Samuel Beckett, and many others.

We’ll also be hearing from leading Irish writers during the week. Sebastian Barry will be reading from his latest work; and Bisi Adigun will discuss his recent version of The Playboy (co-authored with Roddy Doyle), which was such a success at the Abbey Theatre in 2007.

As always, the week’s events feature a stimulating series of talks and seminars, and there will be an optional drama workshop too. There will also be a lively social programme, which includes a visit to the Abbey Theatre, and a tour of Wicklow’s Synge Country – one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland.

We look forward to welcoming you to Rathdrum for what promises to be a memorable week.

Patrick Lonergan, Director