Bisi Adigun and Roddy Doyles centenary adaption of J. M. Synges classic The Playboy of the Western World had a sold-out run when it was produced at Dublins Abbey Theater in 2007 and was brought back by popular demand in 2009. The new version is set in a contemporary Dublin pub and features the character of a Nigerian asylum-seeker in the lead role. Under the coauthorship of Bisi Adigun, artistic director of Arambe ProductionsIrelands first African theater companyand best-selling, Booker Prizewinning novelist Roddy Doyle, the play engages with issues of race and immigration in modern Ireland and aims to be a model for intercultural collaboration.

This critical edition features the full text of the play, published for the first time, along with a collection of essays exploring the plays themes, cultural significance, critical reception, and the legal case that cut short its successful production run. Though the play was first produced over a decade ago, the topic of migration has only increased in its global importance over that time, and this adaptation of Playboy remains a popular touchstone among scholars of Irish theater and immigration.