Born in Ireland in 1934, Thomas Kilroy attended the University College of Dublin, where he received a degree in education that led to a teaching career. With the 1973 success of his novel
The Big Chapel , Kilroy took a break from teaching and devoted time to writing for the stage. Although he returned to the university scene in 1979 with a professorship at the University of Galway, he remained active in the dramatic arts, becoming a member of the Royal Society for Literature and the Irish Academy of Letters. Today, he has a number of plays and adaptations to his credit including
The O'Neill ,
The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche ,
Tea and Sex and Shakespeare
and an adaptation of
Ibsen’s Ghosts . This appraisal of the works of Thomas Kilroy focuses on the common themes and methodology of his plays, including an unusual alliance between serious theatrical complexity and varied but demanding forms of comedy. A separate chapter is devoted to each play with the exception of
The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche
and
The MacAdam Travelling Theatre , whose complementary themes are discussed together. Reflecting on the essence of theatre, Kilroy’s works combine meditations on humanity with references to Irish history, generally using historical reality as a dramatic starting point. Plays discussed include Kilroy originals such as
Talbot’s Box ,
The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde and Blake
as well as adaptations of well-known works such as
The Seagull and Henry . Interviews with stage directors and the playwright himself contribute to this in-depth analysis of Kilroy’s dramatic art. Photographs of staged plays and a list of premieres of Kilroy’s works (plays and adaptations) are also included.