Augusta Gregory, Spreading the News

George Cusack (University of Oklahoma)
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Lady Augusta Gregory's play

Spreading the News

premiered on December 27, 1904 as part of a quadruple bill to celebrate the opening of the Abbey Theatre, the new and permanent home of the Irish National Theatre Company. Although the illustriousness of this occasion speaks highly of Gregory's status within the National Theatre, which she had helped to found five years earlier, critics who attended that evening's productions paid relatively little attention to Gregory's play. Representative reviewers include the

Freeman's Journal

, who noted that the play served its purpose by “[relieving] the atmosphere of tragedy” created by the heavier plays on the bill, and

The United Irishman

, which dismissed the play as “a highly amusing but wholly improbable farce.” Yet despite this seemingly…

1198 words

Citation: Cusack, George. "Spreading the News". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16618, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16618 Spreading the News 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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