Call for Contributions: RISE 5.1, Staging Europe at the Gate Theatre

Review of Irish Studies in Europe (RISE) 5.1: Staging Europe at the Gate Theatre

Edited by Siobhán O’Gorman, Elaine Sisson and Ian R. Walsh

From its foundation Dublin’s Gate Theatre has characterised itself as international in its vision bringing the best of world theatre to Ireland and showcasing the best of Irish work to the world. This issue of RISE aims to examine the complex interplay between Irish and European culture at the Gate from its founding in 1928 to the present day. It will explore Irish presentations of European work at the Gate but also show how the Gate’s prioritisation of excellence in acting, directing and design places it in an European tradition that contrasts with the Abbey’s prioritisation of the role of the playwright. We are interested in contributions that variously position the Gate within wider networks of European artistic exchange. Articles might also question how the Gate’s internationalism challenged or reimagined conceptions of Irish nationalism, for example in terms of inclusivity and diversity or elitism and affluence.

This issue of RISE is to be the final outcome of the Gate Theatre Research Network project, funded jointly by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Radboud University Nijmegen, the National University of Ireland, Galway, and Charles University, Prague.

Abstracts of proposed contributions (200-300 words) should be sent to Elaine.Sisson@iadt.ie,  sogorman@lincoln.ac.uk and ian.walsh@nuigalway.ie by 31st July 2020. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by the end of August 2020. Completed articles of 6 000-8,000 words will be due by 31 November 2020.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

  • Adaptations and translation of European work at the Gate by such artists as Isa Hughes, Ria Mooney, Brian Friel, Frank McGuinness, etc.
  • Staging Europe or European subjects
  • European styles of theatre at the Gate e.g. commedia dell’arte, German expressionism and French farce
  • Modern European classics at the Gate
  • The influence of European art and scenography on designers such as Molly MacEwen, Micheál MacLiammóir, Joe Vaněk
  • European acting methods and/or directing styles and/or lighting techniques and/or approaches to music at the Gate
  • The Gate’s European Tours
  • European reception of Gate productions
  • European practitioners working at the Gate e.g. Steven Berkoff
  • Samuel Beckett and European theatre at the Gate
  • The Gate’s relationship with European cultural initiatives and festivals, e.g. those seeking to promote tolerance between cultures following the Second World War e.g The Edinburgh Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival and Project 67 etc.
  • Staging the work of European theatre makers such as Harold Pinter and Bertolt Brecht at the Gate
  • The Gate and contemporary European theatre and performance
  • Nationalism, globalization, interculturalism and the Gate
  • Celebrity at the Gate.