The Theatre of Frank McGuinness: Stages of Mutability. Edited by Helen Lojek. Dublin: Carysfort Press and Chester Springs, PA: Dufour Editions, 2003; pp. 208. $20.95 paper.; The Theatre of Marina Carr: “Before Rules Was Made.” Edited by Cathy Leeney and A

Frank McGuinness and Marina Carr are two of Ireland's leading contemporary playwrights, and these books are the first full-length edited collections to be dedicated exclusively to their work. While both have been the subject of numerous journal articles and book chapters, and two monographs have previously been published on McGuinness, the volume edited by Cathy Leeney and Anna McMullan marks the first full-length book on Carr. Each book offers new essays as well as those previously published elsewhere. While both volumes treat a wide variety of the playwrights' oeuvres, and both approach the material from several theoretical perspectives, the book on Carr is more accurately named in that it focuses on theatrical productions and reception of Carr's work alongside analyses of her dramatic texts.