IamExpat is offering two pairs of free tickets to The Playgirl of the Western World, which is being performed between September 24 and October 3 at the Badhuistheater in Amsterdam. 

To participate, fill in the form below and tell us why you think you should be there!

It could be you!

• Where: Het Badhuistheater, Boerhaaveplein 28, 1091 AT, Amsterdam
• When: September 24 and October 3
• How many pairs of tickets: two
• Find out more about the play

After sold-out performances of classic plays in English, Badhuistheater International, Amsterdam, returns with the stage version of The Playgirl of the Western World. Experience an iconic 20th-century Irish drama, reimagined by an acclaimed English-language theatre company in the intimate Badhuistheater in Amsterdam.

About The Playgirl of the Western World

The Playgirl of the Western World is a new interpretation of John Millington Synge's 1907 play entitled The Playboy of the Western World, which takes place in a pub on the west coast of Ireland. The premise is that an outsider, Christy Mahon, has arrived in town, boasting about having killed his father. Pegeen Mike, the pub owner's daughter, becomes infatuated with him.

In the original version, the play's title refers to Christy Mahon, but since Pegeen is such an important character, this version, produced by Mike's Badhuistheater, sees Pegeen as the protagonist, giving the play a more female gaze, hence the altered title! The Irish playwright, JM Synge, wrote it in Hiberno-English, a dialect of English that is marked by inflexions and syntax derived from the Irish language (AKA Gaelic), the first playwright to do so.

The play was provocative in its day, to the extent that it led to riots and scathing reviews which raised questions about public morals. Its premieres in Dublin and New York were met with disturbances and "boos" from audiences, but it quickly came to be acknowledged as one of the most important works of Irish literature in the early 20th century. It has since been adapted for film, television and opera.

Times and dates

The times and dates of the performance are as follows:

• September 24 at 8.15pm
• September 25 at 8.15pm
• September 26 at 3pm
• October 1 at 8.15pm
• October 2 at 8.15pm
• October 3 at 3pm

About the Badhuistheater

Badhuistheater International is a very dynamic English-language theatre company made up of mostly expats who have given multiple sold-out performances, led by British actor, writer and theatre director Mike Manicardi.

The theatre is housed in a former bathhouse on the east side of Amsterdam, which has been listed as a Dutch national monument, built in the distinctive Amsterdamse school style of architecture.