Wspólnota granic. Scalanie i dezintegracja we współczesnym dramacie irlandzkim i angielskim

This article examines representations of community – its disintegration and consolidation – in several contemporary Irish and English dramas (Stacey Gregg, David Ireland and Jez Butterworth). The discussed plays show how the personal identity of characters is disintegrating, and the social fabric is being ripped apart as a result of the political and cultural changes of the last quarter century in Northern Ireland. The existence of border, division, and exclusion sets in motion a historically conditioned mechanism of departure from dialogue, leading to the cancellation of the social contract. Dramatic characters are pushed toward conflict and confrontation, and their cooperation and coexistence become almost impossible, as the identity and political disputes of the past resurface in their relationships. It seems that the condition of Irish society as depicted in the works analyzed here may be a picture of many communities currently living in European countries and facing a return to a state of disintegration that is exclusionary and devoid of social solidarity. Keywords: Irish drama, political drama, brexit, Stacey Gregg, David Ireland and Jez Butterworth