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The Playboy of the Western World: a new adaptation

Inis Nua Theatre Company
Garrick Vaughan and Dwayne Alistair Thomas in Hymn, 2023, Inis Nua Theatre Company. Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios. 
Garrick Vaughan and Dwayne Alistair Thomas in Hymn, 2023, Inis Nua Theatre Company. Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios. 
A photo of playwright Bisi Adigun wearing informal, traditional Nigerian garb.
Playwright Bisi Adigun. Photo by Shina Peters. 
Headshot of director Kathryn MacMillan in front of a richly colored mural.
Director Kathryn MacMillan. Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios.

A modern adaptation reframes John Millington Synge’s famous 1907 play to confront contemporary issues such as immigration, cultural assimilation, and celebrity worship. Written by Nigerian Irish playwright Bisi Adigun and Irish writer Roddy Doyle and directed by Kathryn MacMillan, the production maintains Synge’s satire on Irish identity and patriarchy while it centers on a Nigerian asylum seeker in present-day Dublin. The new adaptation explores a changing, multicultural Ireland to reflect similar challenges facing communities in Philadelphia, including economic inequality, criminal justice inequity, and migration.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient
Inis Nua Theatre Company

Inis Nua Theatre Company

Inis Nua produces provocative contemporary plays from Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, reflecting those cultures’ identities in today’s world. The voices of the playwrights featured are often raw, humorous, or poetic. Inis Nua has been producing plays for over 15 years, including 17 American premieres, 13 Philadelphia premieres, and one world premiere.

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