Americans were well prepared for the first US tour of the Abbey Players in 1911 by those intrepid advance men, William Butler Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory. In August, before the departure of the Players for their 16 October opening in Boston, both of the theatre's directors were giving publicity interviews to American reporters, which were carefully couched to address anticipated objections to two of the plays in the repertory, G. B. Shaw's The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet and J. M. Synge's The Playboy of the Western World. In an interview for a South Carolina newspaper, Yeats told the story of the 1907 Playboy riots. Expressing outrage that 'violence' had been used against the 'chief work of the chief dramatist of Ireland', Yeats explained that although some 'dislike' had been expected for 'a fantasy so strange and full of mischief', violence that was 'intended to prevent others from hearing and judging for themselves' could only have been dealt with by calling in the police. Yeats exulted that the Abbey Players had won their fight before the week was out, and not only did the curtain fall to 'thunders of applause' at Dublin performances, but The Playboy continued to be presented in Dublin to 'enthusiastic and crowded audiences - some of the rioters sitting there and applauding', and in England and on the continent, 'the play had won not only for Synge but for the Ireland that produced him, admiration and respect'.