BRATTLEBORO — What happens when a young stranger with a secret stumbles into an isolated, small town that feels like the whole world to its inhabitants, and catches the attention of the young barmaid and a gaggle of local girls?
The answer is pure comedy.
In 1907, Irish playwright John Synge shocked Dublin with his wildly funny drama set in rural Ireland. He called it “Playboy of the Western World” back when “playboy” meant a fun, athletic young man and the Western world was a rocky, slimly, populated tidal flat.
This play is the source and inspiration for all the great Irish comedies that have followed it over the past century. New England Youth Theatre is in the midst of a two-week revival of this classic, which finishes Oct. 19.
In 2004, Peter Gould directed this zany, physical production at the old NEYT. This month, Gould and a fine new troupe of young senior actors bring “Playboy of the Western World” to life again on the NEYT stage, with music and dance and a vintage-style box set built by Rick Barron and his tech students.