‘At Me Too Someone is Looking’: Staging Surveillance in Irish Theatre

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter argues that Samuel Beckett’s plays function as a kind of fulcrum in a theatrical history of staging and thematising surveillance, and extends this history from Dion Boucicault and Augusta Gregory to Enda Walsh and David Lloyd. Surveillance agencies rely heavily on technology to gather information, but depend on human beings to store, order, and interpret it. ‘At Me Too Someone is Looking’ demonstrates that dramatic narratives exploit inconsistencies and injustices arising from slippages between data and its application.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTechnology in Irish Literature and Culture
EditorsMargaret Kelleher, James O'Sullivan
Place of PublicationCambridge, UK
PublisherCambridge University Press
Chapter16
Pages267-283
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9781009182874
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Jan 2023

Publication series

NameCambridge Themes in Irish Literature and Culture
PublisherCambridge University Press

Keywords

  • Authoritarianism
  • Samuel Beckett
  • Biohuman
  • Colonialism
  • Colonising Gaze
  • Dion Boucicault
  • Lady Gregory
  • Enda Walsh
  • David Lloyd
  • Surveillance
  • Dystopia

Research Centres

  • International Centre on Racism

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