New York State Writers Institute - Classic Film Series

PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD MARCH 14, 2003 (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue (Free and Open to the Public) (Irish, 1985, 140 minutes, color, video) Directed by Garry Hynes Starring Maeliosa Strafford, Mick Lally, Paddy Dooney, Brid Brennan

This theatrical production of Galway's Druid Theatre Company was named the 'definitive Playboy' by the Irish Times. The Playboy of the Western World is John Millington Synge's bitterly humorous 1907 satire of the lives of Irish country folk. At its Dublin premiere, the play so offended Irish nationalists that riots broke out in the theatre. It has since come to be regarded as a poetic masterpiece. Under the artistic direction of founder Garry Hynes for most of the last 25 years, the Druid Theatre Company is hailed as one of the foremost companies specializing in the classic Irish repertoire. In 1998, Ms. Hynes became the first woman to receive a Tony Award for Best Director (for The Beauty Queen of Leenane).