The Brothers Čapek at the Gate: R.U.R. and The Insect Play
Abstract The chapter examines two important but hitherto largely neglected productions of famous European dramas at Dublin’s Gate Theatre, R.U.R. (1929, revived 1931) and The Insect Play (1943) by the brothers Čapek, which it attempts to reconstruct insofar as the available documentary evidence allows. In the process, it discusses the complicated textual history of the English versions produced by the Gate and compares their staging by Hilton Edwards and Micheál mac Liammóir with the celebrated original productions in Czechoslovakia. Finally, the reception of the respective productions is juxtaposed, with points of convergence being teased out and the differences brought about by the respective theatrical and political contexts being elucidated.