Sean O’Casey’s Within the Gates (1934): critical misunderstandings of a new form of dramaturgy

The article examines the critical reception to Sean O’Casey’s Within the Gates (1934) on both the London and the American stage, during its first production. The experimental nature of play is considered alongside the lack of understanding of this stylistic experimentation by the British Lord Chamberlain’s Office and the British critics, while considering the more receptive understanding from the theatre critics in New York.