The Steward of Christendom

For the first time in over a quarter of a century, Sebastian Barry’s seminal play The Steward of Christendom returns to the Gate stage.

Set in a county home in Baltinglass in 1932, the play centres on Thomas Dunne, played by Owen Roe, reliving moments of his career as a senior officer in the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), including the handover of Dublin Castle to Michael Collins in 1922 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

This profoundly moving play also features reimagined memories of his family: his daughters, Annie, Maud, and Dolly, and his son, Willie, killed in World War I. These reveries are interspersed by interactions between Dunne and Mrs. O’Dea and Smith, two attendants from the home.

This revival coincides with the 100th anniversary of the handover of Dublin Castle to the Provisional Government of Ireland. In September, the Gate will tour its production of The Steward of Christendom to the Everyman, Cork and the Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick.