This course aims to explore the relationship between theatre and national identity in Ireland from the early twentieth century to the present day, tracing the history and development of Irish theatre where tradition and experiment never cease to contradict, not necessarily counteract, each other. We will first study works by canonic Irish playwrights, examining the different versions of "Ireland" offered/commissioned by the Abbey and the Gate theatres, and considering the places of contemporary theatre groups, such as Field Day, Charabanc, Glasshouse and Druid in modern Irish culture. This course will evaluate competing myths and ideologies of pre- and post-partition Ireland, and explore how contemporary dramatists of both genders refuse to be accommodated by, or attempt to revise them, according to their own critical observations. To open up a diversity of historical, political, critical, and historiographical terrains, this course will examine an assortment of topics, such as partition and the Northern Ireland "troubles," ethnicity, class, sexuality, production, and performance. It is expected that, by delving into these relevant topics, students will expand their understanding of Irish theatre from the traditional focus upon nation-formation and national identity with insight into the existing theatrical/literary canon of this "Celtic Tiger."