“You have let the play go to pieces”

Abstract

Geraldine Cummins and Susanne R. Day’s collaboration on Fox and Geese (1917) throws up several critical questions that reflect an equivocal light on the Abbey Theatre’s relationship with women playwrights in its early years. Why did Cummins and Day submit the play under a male pseudonym when the Abbey Theatre had already successfully produced their play, Broken Faith, in 1913? What were the changes they made to its ending at the behest of St. John Ervine acting on behalf of the Abbey Theatre, and how did those changes secure its production? Why would the play become the final collaboration between these committed suffragists and close friends? While firm answers remain elusive, the experiences of Cummins and Day offer perspectives on whether the Abbey Theatre exerted hegemonic forces over women playwrights as early as its second decade of operation.