Mixed Marriage (play)
Mixed Marriage by St John Greer Ervine was written for the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, where it premiered in 1911.
Synopsis
Set in Belfast, the play follows the Rainey family. As the city's factories come out on strike, John Rainey, the respected head of a Protestant family, acts to calm the sectarian tension being stirred up by politicians for their own ends. He succeeds in uniting his fellow working men against the factory owners. His son Hugh Rainey announces that his wishes to marry the beautiful Nora Murray, a Catholic. John Rainey's beliefs are challenged. He retracts his support from the strike and as a result the rioting intensifies. In the final act of the play, the Raineys are trapped in their house as the riot rages outside. Nora Murray, riddled with guilt, runs out into the street and is shot dead.
Production History
Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1911
The original production opened on Sunday 16 April 1911 at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, directed by Lennox Robinson. It was subsequently revived at the Abbey in 1920 and 1922.