The Plays of J.M. Synge

Summary

The Complete Works of J.M. Synge.

Riders to the Sea: A mother and her daughters are dealing with a familial curse that seems to cause all of the men in the family to die. Anxieties come to a peak when the last, remaining son is getting ready to ride out to sea in order to try and provide for his family.

Shadow of the Glen: A contemplative Drama in One Act about how a women's integrity can be unjustly scrutinized through hearsay and speculation, and how forcing those opinions out into the open can have disastrous consequences for everyone involved.

The Tinker's Wedding: A story of two young tinkers trying to con a travelling holy man into marrying them, all while their mother is constantly trying to satiate her indomitable thirst for drink, thereby inadvertently causing more problems than the drink is worth. Blaming, miscommunication, and utter tomfoolery ensues, leading to the final culmination of each party getting ready to pounce on each other's necks and outrageously strangle each other Saturday-morning-cartoon style.

The Well of the Saints: A blind couple regains their sight only to realize they hate the look of one another. Hilarity and pigheadedness ensues.

Deirdre, a woman of immeasurable beauty, is betrothed/condemned to the King of Ulster, Conchubar. But in true mythological fashion, there is a prophecy which prevents this--. Loyalty, familial ties, and unadulterated love will be strained and broken, with only one question remaining: Who will be left to admire the beauty and sorrow of life?

Playboy of the Western World: A young traveler has come from out of town boasting that he's committed patricide, which, rather than ostracizing him, causes many women of the town to become morbidly curious about this young man, including the prettiest girl in town and the quite newly vivacious widow. But what happens when the supposedly dead father shows up in town to whoop his son into submission?