The Playboy of the Western World by JM Synge

The Playboy of the Western World

Livin’ Dred bring a riotous new staging of JM Synge’s masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World that crackles with wit, heroism, humour, and a touch of the absurd. The award-winning Aaron Monaghan directs a stunning cast of some of Ireland’s best-loved actors in a wild, insightful new production, teeming with Synge’s rich lyrical language, biting satire and sensational characters.

When the poetic and shy Christy Mahon stumbles into a rural tavern claiming to have killed his father, he sets off a frenzy of fascination that turns the countryside upside down – transforming him into an unlikely hero – and capturing the affections of the feisty and beguiling Pegeen Mike. But the emergence of a mysterious figure casts Christy’s bold and ever-growing story in wicked doubt…

A comic tour-de-force and a tragic love story, Playboy remains as outrageous, beloved and shocking today as it was when it first ignited riots over a century ago.

Image © Estate of Jack B. Yeats, DACS London / IVARO Dublin, 2024