Philip McMahon is a playwright and theatre director based in Dublin, Ireland. His plays include Come On Home (Abbey Theatre, nominated by Best New Play in the 2019 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) and Town is Dead (Abbey Theatre, nominated for five Irish Theatre Awards, 2017). He is also Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, UK. Fintan Walsh is Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication.

• ChronologyContexts - cultural context (queer rights and representation; same-sex marriage legislation in Ireland, 2015; decriminalisation of homosexuality, 1993; availability of HIV treatment and prevention mediation; history of oppression; migration; AIDs epidemic)Theatrical context (Irish theatre's long history of dramatic realism; contemporary queer performance and aesthetics)PlotThemes (sexuality; emigration; time; relationships)Dramatic devices (setting and time; genre and form; characterisation; language)Production history (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2021) Critical reception (academic debate) Interview with Philip McMahon ONCE BEFORE I GONotes

Once Before I Go is a play that implores us to join the dance, to live fully, to live without judgment, to live well.

Philip McMahon is a playwright and theatre director based in Dublin, Ireland. His plays include Come On Home (Abbey Theatre, nominated by Best New Play in the 2019 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) and Town is Dead (Abbey Theatre, nominated for five Irish Theatre Awards, 2017). He is also Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, UK. Fintan Walsh is Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication.

• ChronologyContexts - cultural context (queer rights and representation; same-sex marriage legislation in Ireland, 2015; decriminalisation of homosexuality, 1993; availability of HIV treatment and prevention mediation; history of oppression; migration; AIDs epidemic)Theatrical context (Irish theatre's long history of dramatic realism; contemporary queer performance and aesthetics)PlotThemes (sexuality; emigration; time; relationships)Dramatic devices (setting and time; genre and form; characterisation; language)Production history (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2021) Critical reception (academic debate) Interview with Philip McMahon ONCE BEFORE I GONotes

Once Before I Go is a play that implores us to join the dance, to live fully, to live without judgment, to live well.

Philip McMahon is a playwright and theatre director based in Dublin, Ireland. His plays include Come On Home (Abbey Theatre, nominated by Best New Play in the 2019 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards) and Town is Dead (Abbey Theatre, nominated for five Irish Theatre Awards, 2017). He is also Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, UK. Fintan Walsh is Professor of Performing Arts and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, where he is Head of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication.

• ChronologyContexts - cultural context (queer rights and representation; same-sex marriage legislation in Ireland, 2015; decriminalisation of homosexuality, 1993; availability of HIV treatment and prevention mediation; history of oppression; migration; AIDs epidemic)Theatrical context (Irish theatre's long history of dramatic realism; contemporary queer performance and aesthetics)PlotThemes (sexuality; emigration; time; relationships)Dramatic devices (setting and time; genre and form; characterisation; language)Production history (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2021) Critical reception (academic debate) Interview with Philip McMahon ONCE BEFORE I GONotes

Once Before I Go is a play that implores us to join the dance, to live fully, to live without judgment, to live well.