LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Dr. Fiona Fearon, a faculty member from Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, Ireland, one of Lock Haven University’s international exchange partners, will present a lecture entitled “A State of Chassis: Irish Theater in the 21st Century.” Her talk will take place in the Greenburg Auditorium on the campus of Lock Haven University on Wednesday, December 8 at 7:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Fearon says that “Captain Boyle famously ended Sean O’Casey’s 1925 play Juno and the Paycock by declaring that the ‘whole worl’s in a terrible state o’ chassis’. Without a doubt, Ireland and the rest of the world are in terrible state of chassis today – with debt and disaster surrounding us at every turn. And as much as O’Casey’s play captured a moment in Irish culture and society, so theatre in Ireland today is attempting to explore our contemporary spirit.”

Dr. Fearon notes that “International influences and national consciousness are combining to create a new theatre language for our postmodern age." Dr. Fearon introduces the current conditions for theatre professionals in Ireland today, and explores three key performances that perhaps exemplify the changes that are internationalizing contemporary Irish theatre.