Selected Plays (Irish Drama Selections) - Softcover

Brian Friel; Seamus Deane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813206278 ISBN 13: 9780813206271

Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press, 1986

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Brian Friel was born in Omagh, County Tyrone (Northern Ireland) in 1929. He received his college education in Derry, Maynooth and Belfast and taught at various schools in and around Derry from 1950 to 1960. He is the author of many plays that have taken their place in the canon of Irish Literature, including "Philadelphia, Here I Come!" (1964), "Lovers" (1967), "Translations" (1980), "The Communication Cord "(1982), and "Dancing at Lughnasa" (1990). In 1980 he founded the touring theatre company, Field Day, with Stephen Rea.

Seamus Deane is Keough Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.
Seamus Deane is Keough Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Catholic University of America Press
• Publication date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813206278
• ISBN 13: 9780813206271
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456