The Plough and the Stars at the Abbey Theatre

What to Expect

One hundred years after Sean O’Casey first wrote it, The Plough and the Stars remains the most honest, complicated and affecting piece of theatre written about the Easter Rising and its human cost. O’Casey set it not in the General Post Office but in the tenements of Dublin, among ordinary people caught up in events they only partly understand, watching their neighbours march off to something that will destroy everything they know.

The Abbey’s centenary production, directed by Tom Creed, takes O’Casey’s text seriously without making it feel like a museum piece. The comedy is played as comedy, the tragedy as tragedy, and the political ambiguity is left intact. This is a production that trusts the audience to sit with the discomfort the play was always meant to create.

It caused riots when it first opened here in 1926. The fact that it still provokes argument and genuine emotion, a century on, is the measure of how good it is. Running through to the end of April, this is absolutely the production to see before it closes.

Good to Know

• Running through to April 30, 2026
• Multiple weekly performances including matinees
• Booking in advance strongly recommended, this has been selling well
• Post-show talks on selected dates, check the Abbey website
• Student and concession tickets available

Getting There

The Abbey Theatre is on Lower Abbey Street, a few minutes walk from O’Connell Street. The Luas Red Line stops at Jervis, about 5 minutes on foot. Dublin Bus routes 1, 7, 7A, 11 and many others stop on O’Connell Street. Connolly Station is a 10-minute walk for DART and rail services.