| A play by J. M. Synge performed on the
3rd, 4th and 5th April 1963 by the Staff Dramatic
Society. It was produced by Mr. C. P. Blackburn whose
programme notes are reproduced below: "Playboy of the Western World" was
first performed in 1907 at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. The
early audiences protested violently and there were angry
and even riotous scenes. The Irish were upset at what
they supposed was Synge's condemnation of them for having
their values mixed. The play went on, however, as any
beautifully constructed play which is full of fine poetry
always will. Now that the protests have all died away,
today's audiences are able to rejoice in its language and
its humour; and they can see that its characters do have
a purity of feeling which is refreshing, springing from
their hearts and not from mere convention. We trust that
your reaction will be that of the latter audiences rather
than that of the early ones.
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