Early 20th-century Irish classic Playboy of the Western World in the nexy play at the Lace Market Theatre. Director BEX MASON explains

What is the play about?

Playboy of the Western World is set in Ireland and centres on Christy Mahon, a farmer who wanders into Flaherty's "tavern" and claims he is on the run because he killed his father with a loy (an early Irish spade). Rather than being spurned by the locals, he is instantly praised for his boldness and hired by the publican, Michael Flaherty, to work in the tavern. He has an even more dramatic effect on the village women who voe for his attention, particulatly Pegeen Flaherty, Michael's  daughter, and the Widow Quin, both of whom set out to wed him although for very different reasons.

Christy's hero status is threatened when his father, who was only wounded, tracks him down to the tavern, losing him the respect from the townspeople and Pegeen's love.Desperate to reinstate himself in Pegeen's eyes, he attacks his father again; however, the townsfolk turn on him and led by Pegeen try to hang him to avoid being implicated in his crime. Christy's unlikely saviour comes in the form of his father, who, having survived yet another attack ny his son, returns to the bar and frees him. Finally, the two of them set off to roam the world together leaving Pegeen heartbroken at having lost "the only playboy of the western world".

The play was very controversial in its time. Why was that?

When it was first performed at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin on January 26, 1907, it caused major riots. This was in part due to resentment from Nationalists, who objected to an English language play being put on at Ireland's National Theatre, and also a result of the writer John Millington Synge, creating such extravagant characters, which theatregoers thought to be attempting to reflect social realism and were therefore mocking Irish society.

How does the play suit a modern audience?

Without the historical context the play is funny, farcical and almost a pantomime. The characters are well-defined; both tragic and comedic in equal measures. The story contains romance, slapstick humour and violence - there is something for everyone!

Have the actors found anything about the play challenging?

Mastering the accent and the syntax of the language has been a huge challenge for the actors: as one of them pointed out; "It's harder than Shakespeare; at least we were exposed to the language of Shakespeare when we were at school, this is unlike anything I've ever heard!" During the rehearsal period I have encouraged everyone involved to talk as often as possible in an Irish accent and have even joined in myself!

We know we're not going to fool anyone into thinking we're Irish, but we do hope to keep our accents from wandering too far afield.

Has it been a rewarding experience to direct?

As a director, the reward is always the finished product. There comes a point in the rehearsal process, where the play takes on a life of its own. That's not to say that the actors just decide to do what they want, it's more that the action, the words and the interactions start to flow seamlessly and that's when you truly see what has been created.