Robinson, Lennox

▪ Irish playwright

born Oct. 4, 1886, Douglas, County Cork, Ire.

died Oct. 14, 1958, Dublin

      Irish playwright and theatrical producer associated with the Abbey Theatre; (Abbey Theatre) a leading figure in the later stages of the Irish literary renaissance.

      When still young Robinson became devoted to the cause of Irish nationalism through seeing performances of the Abbey Theatre Company in Cork, and his country's troubles were to be a frequent theme of his plays. His first work, The Clancy Name, was performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1908. He went on to write numerous plays, remarkable for their stagecraft and lively dialogue, among the most notable being Patriots (first performed 1912), The Whiteheaded Boy (1916), and The Lost Leader (1918). During 1910–14 Robinson was manager of the Abbey Theatre and again from 1919 to 1923, in which year he became a director. Among his later plays were Drama at Inish (1933), Church Street (1934), and Killycreggs in Twilight (1937). Although not in the first rank of Irish playwrights, Robinson nevertheless made an invaluable contribution to the Irish theatre. He was the author of several books, edited an anthology, The Golden Treasury of Irish Verse (1925), and wrote an autobiography, Curtain Up (1942).

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