Patrick Pearse was a journalist, a pioneering educationalist, an Irish-language activist, a creative writer, a political theorist and one of the driving forces behind what became the Easter Rising of 1916. Like many among the revolutionary generation he was deeply interested in the theater and its possibilities. He wrote and produced eleven plays and pageants that drew widespread attention at the time of their first production and wrote widely on theater, performance and the politics of identity. This is the first collection of scholarly essays to focus on this important aspect of Pearse's life. Encompassing contributions from Irish and international scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines, these exciting new readings offer key insights into Pearse's deep engagement with the performative, and trace the legacy of this engagement within post-1916 Irish culture.