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Irish Drama Selections
Selected Plays
Contents: Philadelphia, Here I Come; The Freedom of the City; Living Quarters; Aristocrats; Faith Healer; Translations
Brian Friel was born in County Tyrone in 1929 and worked as a teacher before turning to full-time writing in 1960. His first stage success was in 1964 with Philadelphia, Here I Come, which established his claim as heir to such distinguished predecessors as Yeats, Synge, O'Casey, and Behan. In 1979 he and actor Stephen Rea formed the Field Day Theatre Company, whose first theatrical production was Friel's Translations in 1980.
Also included in this selection are The Freedom of the City, set in Londonderry in 1970; Living Quarters, which Desmond MacAvok in the Evening Presscalled "one of the most fascinating and, in the end, truly moving evenings. . .in Irish Theatre"; Faith Healer, a metaphoric depiction of the artist and his gift' and Aristocrats, "as fine and as stimulating and as warm a piece of writing as had appeared on the Irish stage for many years," according to David Nowland, the Irish Times.
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Brian Friel was born in County Tyrone in 1929 and worked as a teacher before turning to full-time writing in 1960. His first stage success was in 1964 with Philadelphia, Here I Come, which established his claim as heir to such distinguished predecessors as Yeats, Synge, O'Casey, and Behan. In 1979 he and actor Stephen Rea formed the Field Day Theatre Company, whose first theatrical production was Friel's Translations in 1980.
Also included in this selection are The Freedom of the City, set in Londonderry in 1970; Living Quarters, which Desmond MacAvok in the Evening Presscalled "one of the most fascinating and, in the end, truly moving evenings. . .in Irish Theatre"; Faith Healer, a metaphoric depiction of the artist and his gift' and Aristocrats, "as fine and as stimulating and as warm a piece of writing as had appeared on the Irish stage for many years," according to David Nowland, the Irish Times.
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First published November 19, 1984
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About the author
Brian Friel
124 books140 followersBrian Friel is a playwright and, more recently, director of his own works from Ireland who now resides in County Donegal.
Friel was born in Omagh County Tyrone, the son of Patrick "Paddy" Friel, a primary school teacher and later a borough councillor in Derry, and Mary McLoone, postmistress of Glenties, County Donegal (Ulf Dantanus provides the most detail regarding Friel's parents and grandparents, see Books below). He received his education at St. Columb's College in Derry and the seminary at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth (1945-48) from which he received his B.A., then he received his teacher's training at St. Mary's Training College in Belfast, 1949-50. He married Anne Morrison in 1954, with whom he has four daughters and one son; they remain married. From 1950 until 1960, he worked as a Maths teacher in the Derry primary and intermediate school system, until taking leave in 1960 to live off his savings and pursue a career as writer. In 1966, the Friels moved from 13 Malborough Street, Derry to Muff, County Donegal, eventually settling outside Greencastle, County Donegal.
He was appointed to the Irish Senate in 1987 and served through 1989. In 1989, BBC Radio launched a "Brian Friel Season", a series devoted a six-play season to his work, the first living playwright to be so distinguished. In 1999 (April-August), Friel's 70th birthday was celebrated in Dublin with the Friel Festival during which ten of his plays were staged or presented as dramatic readings throughout Dublin; in conjunction with the festival were a conference, National Library exhibition, film screenings, outreach programs, pre-show talks, and the launching of a special issue of The Irish University Review devoted to the playwright; in 1999, he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Times.
On 22 January 2006 Friel was presented with a gold Torc by President Mary McAleese in recognition of the fact that the members of Aosdána have elected him a Saoi. Only five members of Aosdána can hold this honour at any one time and Friel joined fellow Saoithe Louis leBrocquy, Benedict Kiely (d. 2007), Seamus Heaney and Anthony Cronin. On acceptance of the gold Torc, Friel quipped, "I knew that being made a Saoi, really getting this award, is extreme unction; it is a final anointment--Aosdana's last rites."
In November 2008, Queen's University of Belfast announced its intention to build a new theatre complex and research center to be named The Brian Friel Theatre and Centre for Theatre Research.
Friel was born in Omagh County Tyrone, the son of Patrick "Paddy" Friel, a primary school teacher and later a borough councillor in Derry, and Mary McLoone, postmistress of Glenties, County Donegal (Ulf Dantanus provides the most detail regarding Friel's parents and grandparents, see Books below). He received his education at St. Columb's College in Derry and the seminary at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth (1945-48) from which he received his B.A., then he received his teacher's training at St. Mary's Training College in Belfast, 1949-50. He married Anne Morrison in 1954, with whom he has four daughters and one son; they remain married. From 1950 until 1960, he worked as a Maths teacher in the Derry primary and intermediate school system, until taking leave in 1960 to live off his savings and pursue a career as writer. In 1966, the Friels moved from 13 Malborough Street, Derry to Muff, County Donegal, eventually settling outside Greencastle, County Donegal.
He was appointed to the Irish Senate in 1987 and served through 1989. In 1989, BBC Radio launched a "Brian Friel Season", a series devoted a six-play season to his work, the first living playwright to be so distinguished. In 1999 (April-August), Friel's 70th birthday was celebrated in Dublin with the Friel Festival during which ten of his plays were staged or presented as dramatic readings throughout Dublin; in conjunction with the festival were a conference, National Library exhibition, film screenings, outreach programs, pre-show talks, and the launching of a special issue of The Irish University Review devoted to the playwright; in 1999, he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Times.
On 22 January 2006 Friel was presented with a gold Torc by President Mary McAleese in recognition of the fact that the members of Aosdána have elected him a Saoi. Only five members of Aosdána can hold this honour at any one time and Friel joined fellow Saoithe Louis leBrocquy, Benedict Kiely (d. 2007), Seamus Heaney and Anthony Cronin. On acceptance of the gold Torc, Friel quipped, "I knew that being made a Saoi, really getting this award, is extreme unction; it is a final anointment--Aosdana's last rites."
In November 2008, Queen's University of Belfast announced its intention to build a new theatre complex and research center to be named The Brian Friel Theatre and Centre for Theatre Research.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 8, 2021
Brian Friel's plays are about people, in all their wonderful, glorious frailties and this collection sums up some of his finest ideas. The language flows gently and is immersive. A great volume.
February 5, 2017
Brian Friel strikes again! This play was short (two acts in fact!) but it was still haunting and left me feeling the eerie calm after a bloody battle.
Freedom of the city was about three archetypal characters during the most intense year of the Irish Troubles, 1972. Its Bloody Sunday. Three participants of an illegal yet peaceful protest stumble across the Mayor's Guildhall and find refuge there. Except the play opens with their deaths and what follows is a troubling account of the protesters' last moments and an enquiry into the British soldiers' violent response.
The translations was my first and favourite play by Friel. Now this is a second and I want to read more by him.
Freedom of the city was about three archetypal characters during the most intense year of the Irish Troubles, 1972. Its Bloody Sunday. Three participants of an illegal yet peaceful protest stumble across the Mayor's Guildhall and find refuge there. Except the play opens with their deaths and what follows is a troubling account of the protesters' last moments and an enquiry into the British soldiers' violent response.
The translations was my first and favourite play by Friel. Now this is a second and I want to read more by him.
January 7, 2008
Brian Friel's play Translations is one of the best plays I have ever read. I would say it compete's with Long Day's Journey Into Night for my favorite play ever.
August 24, 2021
I really enjoyed this set of plays- particularly Translations, the last of the six within the book. I think it contains a variety of different themes, but particularly focuses (and as I believe as Friel himself mentions) the loss of Irish as the national language of Ireland.
The play represents the 'British Ordinance Survey' of Ireland in the 19th century, wherein the country is mapped out more thoroughly by the British Government; particularly in regard to place names and villages. Within the text however there is a particular focus on these place names, and the beginning of the anglicisation of these names as a result of the survey.
As an aside however; apparently the anglicisation of Irish place names were already in fair use. It was not historically a dramatic renaming of places as what appears within the text. However the idea persists, reshaping the history and cultural significance of the landscape.
Soldiers arrive in a small town in rural Ireland to map the surrounding lands. They bring with them Owen, once a local lad, who moved away to the city to receive an education, and has now returned to assist the British in their survey. He acts as a translator for the British in both communicating with the locals and in remapping this part of Ireland. Owen is an interesting character, in a way caught between two different selves: a local member of the community and an agent of the British Government caught up in the role of aiding in the colonisation project over of his own countrymen.
For me this was a text that lead me to reflect on colonialism, as well as language and how heavily it is tied to culture. Worth a read if you're interested. I've missed out on a lot I'm sure in these few paragraphs but that's what stood out to me reading this text. Really enjoyed it.
The play represents the 'British Ordinance Survey' of Ireland in the 19th century, wherein the country is mapped out more thoroughly by the British Government; particularly in regard to place names and villages. Within the text however there is a particular focus on these place names, and the beginning of the anglicisation of these names as a result of the survey.
As an aside however; apparently the anglicisation of Irish place names were already in fair use. It was not historically a dramatic renaming of places as what appears within the text. However the idea persists, reshaping the history and cultural significance of the landscape.
Soldiers arrive in a small town in rural Ireland to map the surrounding lands. They bring with them Owen, once a local lad, who moved away to the city to receive an education, and has now returned to assist the British in their survey. He acts as a translator for the British in both communicating with the locals and in remapping this part of Ireland. Owen is an interesting character, in a way caught between two different selves: a local member of the community and an agent of the British Government caught up in the role of aiding in the colonisation project over of his own countrymen.
For me this was a text that lead me to reflect on colonialism, as well as language and how heavily it is tied to culture. Worth a read if you're interested. I've missed out on a lot I'm sure in these few paragraphs but that's what stood out to me reading this text. Really enjoyed it.
September 20, 2022
Not the sort of thing that I'd normally pick up, but my book club chose it and I enjoyed it far more than expected. Lots of echoes of history.
September 29, 2025
6 plays. Some excellent. Some a little tossy.
November 17, 2014
Probably my favorite play in this collection is The Freedom of the City, which directly confronts the arbitrary nature of violence in the Northern Ireland Troubles. Part of the problem Friel identifies is that narratives are imposed on events regardless of the facts--narratives of poverty, terrorism, violence, and resistance, which may distort the actual experience of an event.
I also really like Translations, but I think I have a separate review of that.
Philadelphia, Here I Come was good, and Aristocrats was ok, but I didn't really care for Faith Healer. Faith Healer is a monologues play, consisting of four monologues by three different characters providing different perspectives on a run down faith healing act. I don't generally care for monologue plays, so the form didn't appeal to me.
I also really like Translations, but I think I have a separate review of that.
Philadelphia, Here I Come was good, and Aristocrats was ok, but I didn't really care for Faith Healer. Faith Healer is a monologues play, consisting of four monologues by three different characters providing different perspectives on a run down faith healing act. I don't generally care for monologue plays, so the form didn't appeal to me.
April 21, 2008
I just finished reading the last play in this Friel collection. I had seen Aristocrats on stage in Dublin and thought it was ok, but I enjoyed it much more reading the actual play. My other favorites in this collection are Translations, Living Quarters, and Faith Healer. I guess I'll move on to Volume 2 now....
March 11, 2014
Nobody makes me think like Brian Friel. Faith Healer, in particular, haunts me, as does Translations. But any student of his work will appreciate this collection of plays, both political and philosophical. Just make sure to read up on events he's depicting first, if you're not up to date on Ireland's history and conflicts.
November 6, 2014
Just Translations
January 4, 2015
5 stars for Philadelphia, Here I Come and Aristocrats. 4 for The Freedom of the City and Living Quarters
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August 8, 2018Note: only read philadelphia here I come
ETA read the freedom of the city as well
Marking as read twice for tallying purposes
ETA read the freedom of the city as well
Marking as read twice for tallying purposes
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews