How are inequalities divided, discussed, and dramatised throughout Irish theatre? Who or what determines which inequities are theatrically bearable and which are not on the stages of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland? Eamonn Jordan explores these questions in his book Irish Theatre: Interrogating Intersecting Inequalities, published in 2024 as part of Routledge Studies in Irish Literature. In his book, Jordan draws on significant scholarship of past decades as he probes theatre of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries throughout the island, north and south of the divisive border.

After the Acknowledgements section, a comprehensive Introduction outlines the reasoning behind the book itself as well as each of the book’s eight chapters, leading to a conclusion. Chapter One, titled “Methodology: Pivoting Intersections of Gender, Sectarianism, Ethnicity, Race and Class Towards Inequality”, details Jordan’s approach. In Chapter One, Jordon summarises the main ideas circulated throughout each subsequent chapter and notes questions asked of the plays. Jordan is firm that each chapter features plays that might enhance his argument within the chapter rather than listing the plays in a chronological fashion. He acknowledges the scholarship and scholars who preceded him and recognises that he has not read or interrogated every Irish play. He is particular that the book does not discuss or critique performances of the plays mentioned, but, rather, analyses the chosen scripts as pieces of dramatic literature.

Chapters Two through Eight interrogate a wide spectrum of Irish plays from different lenses and through different topics, including landholdings, wealth acquisition, inheritance, employment, education, sexual interactions, solidarities, and protests. The text includes discussions of works by playwrights such as Marina Carr, Teresa Deevy, Anne Devlin, Brian Friel, Conor McPherson, Tom Murphy, Stewart Parker, Lennox Robinson, and John Millington Synge, among many others. Plays examined in the various chapters include, but are not limited to, Carr’s Ariel and By the Bog of Cats, Deevy’s Katie Roche, Devlin’s After Easter, Friel’s Aristocrats and Philadelphia, Here I Come!, McPherson’s The Veil, Murphy’s The Wake, Parker’s Pentecost, Robinson’s The Whiteheaded Boy, and Synge’s Playboy of the Western World.

After Chapter 1, which focuses on methodology, Chapter Two, “Property Matters”, discusses landholdings and associated wealth because “property is always political” (8) in plays. Chapter Three: “Everyday Entrepreneurial Capital”, neither provides an explanation for the economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic nor the histories behind them. Rather, the chapter uses plays, investigating both how Irish playscripts interact with and represent diverse financial situations, and how characters in the scripts, both men and women of differing ages and socioeconomic statuses, intermingle with notions of meritocracy and individuals’ ascension and descension between various socio-economic classes. Overall, the chapter questions why Irish plays often link wealth gains to corruption. Chapter Four: “Embodied Labour” considers diverse personified forms of labour, including paid and unpaid, voluntary and involuntary work, academic, domestic, cultural, and performative work by individuals across the age spectrum within and outside of the home. It highlights efforts that go unrecognised and unvalued, such as that put forth by female characters. Chapter Five: “Knowledge Economy” examines dramatic representations of various educational systems and entities across the island of Ireland and probes matters including hedge schools, school bullying, programmes for former offenders, teacher biases, and situations including “The Troubles” that impact educational quality and attainment. Chapter Six: “Sexual Encounters, Intimacies and Violations” explores topics surrounding consent, abuse, assault, romance, and fetishes related to sexual encounters and notes that social and legal ramifications related to sexual behaviours have changed in the years and decades covered by the chapter. Chapter Seven: “Intersectional/Intercultural Conflicts, Mésalliance and Irreconcilabilities” explores how plays handle conflicts related to class tensions, family concerns, trade unions and associated strikes and ethnic and immigration conflicts. Chapter Eight, titled “The Solidarity Paradox: Inter-Meshing Cultural and Social Capital in Lieu of Economic Capital?” asks how “solidarity is theatricalized” (15). The chapters are followed by a Conclusion and lengthy Works Cited section.

Jordan’s wide use of sources is evident from the start. He cites a multitude of scholarship covering Irish theatre, history, and economy. The book utilises an “all-island approach” (1-2) to provide a broad perspective on the topics discussed in each chapter. It should be noted that there is an error regarding dates on page 5 in the Introduction section. It lists the Government of Ireland Act as originating in 2020 and being enacted in May of 2021. In actuality, the act was introduced and enacted a century earlier, 1920 and May of 2021, respectively. While a simple correction, it is important in the timeline of Ireland’s history and a surprising error in an otherwise thorough tome that would be best consumed by Irish theatre scholars and used in graduate/post-graduate-level coursework related to Irish theatre theories and scholarship.

The book adds to the scholarship surrounding Irish theatre while asking more questions than providing clear-cut answers. While the plays are not sorted chronologically, future work might consider grouping the plays more specifically by time period or topic in order to make additional claims regarding theatrical trends and provide a path for the reader. Jordan notes that he has not seen all Irish plays, thus acknowledging an understandable limit to the work. That said, including plays before the twentieth century, if and as relevant, might provide additional points of discussion for future work in this area. A reader expecting a clear through-line outlining a consistent arc in the plays or concrete link from plays to social events and back again will be disappointed; Jordan is specific about his purpose throughout the book, from introduction to conclusion, questioning how various types of inequalities are seen as acceptable or unacceptable in Irish theatre without necessarily drawing direct links from inequalities evidenced in the plays to the social conditions in which those plays were written and which they represent.

In his conclusion, Jordan provides food for thought, asking if the dramatised ruminations on inequality are simply “preaching to the converted” (234) rather than instigating meaningful change. Perhaps this, an invitation to ask what inequalities have been and remain theatrically tolerable in the drama of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, is the discussion that such drama needs, as dialogue around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remains ongoing worldwide and provokes such strong responses across various sectors, from theatre to academe.