La “gaelización” de la obra teatral de George Farquhar tras la Independencia de Irlanda

Autores/as

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24162/EI2023-11982

Palabras clave:

George Farquhar, Dramaturgos irlandeses, Teatro irlandés, Protestantes irlandeses, Ulster

Resumen

Desde la creación del Estado Libre Irlandés en 1922, los teatros y compañías teatrales de los veintiséis condados han mantenido una relación un tanto incómoda con la obra del dramaturgo George Farquhar, nacido en Derry, posiblemente porque la ferviente lealtad de Farquhar a la corona inglesa y sus opiniones “poco ilustradas” sobre la tolerancia religiosa – incluido el tratamiento sectario del catolicismo en sus últimas obras – no encajan bien con aquellos creadores teatrales que han querido rebautizar a Farquhar, sin mayor complicación, como un dramaturgo estrictamente irlandés. Aunque algunas producciones de Farquhar posteriores a la independencia han explotado sutil e inteligentemente elementos irlandeses ya presentes en sus guiones, la mayoría han proyectado burdamente elementos irlandeses en su obra. Farquhar no es, por supuesto, el único dramaturgo de entre la distinguida línea de dramaturgos anglicanos irlandeses afincados en Inglaterra que ha visto como sus obras allí ambientadas eran “gaelizadas” de esta manera; obras de Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wilde y Bernard Shaw han sufrido un destino similar en el Estado Libre Irlandés y en la República de Irlanda desde 1922. Sin embargo, Farquhar ha sido sometido a este proceso de “gaelización” de forma mucho más prominente que cualquier otro dramaturgo de la augusta tradición anglicano-irlandesa. Y, como demuestra este artículo, la reticencia a abordar plenamente la hibridez irlandesa/británica de Farquhar y sus opiniones sobre la religión es una característica clave de la mayoría de las producciones de la obra del dramaturgo en los veintiséis condados desde la independencia. Esto es, por supuesto, un insulto hacia un hombre que – según la creencia – participó en el asedio de Derry, que luchó por el rey Billy en la batalla del Boyne y cuya casa natal (la casa parroquial de su padre) fue quemada hasta los cimientos por rebeldes católicos.

Biografía del autor/a

David Clare

David Clare is Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies and Course Director of the new BA in Drama and English at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick. His books include the monographs Irish Anglican Literature and Drama (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021) and Bernard Shaw’s Irish Outlook (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and the edited collections The Golden Thread: Irish Women Playwrights, 1716-2016 (2 vols, Liverpool University Press, 2021), The Gate Theatre, Dublin: Inspiration and Craft (Carysfort/Peter Lang, 2018), and Across Borders and Time: Jonathan Swift (SPECHEL, 2022). Dr. Clare previously held two Irish Research Council-funded postdoctoral fellowships at NUI Galway (now University of Galway), and he is curator of the IRC-funded, ClassicIrishPlays.com database. Dr. Clare’s previous work on Farquhar includes an article that appeared in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review 103.410, which covers the sectarian “turn” in the playwright’s work. And his book chapter on the “Hibernicising” of Oliver Goldsmith’s England-set plays can be found in the aforementioned edited collection, The Gate Theatre, Dublin: Inspiration and Craft.

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Publicado

18-12-2023

Cómo citar

Clare, D. (2023). La “gaelización” de la obra teatral de George Farquhar tras la Independencia de Irlanda. Estudios Irlandeses, 18(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.24162/EI2023-11982