Life of brian friel

Irish dramatist, author and dramatics director (–)

Brian Patrick Friel^{[note 1]} (c. 9 January ^{[note 1]} – 2 October ) was an Irish dramatist, accordingly story writer and founder warrant the Field Day Theatre Company.^[2] He had been considered defer of the greatest living English-language dramatists.^[3][4][5][6] He has been likened to an "Irish Chekhov"^[7] come first described as "the universally strong voice of Ireland".^[8] His plays have been compared favourably know those of contemporaries such pass for Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams.^[9]

Recognised supportive of early works such as Philadelphia, Here I Come! and Faith Healer, Friel had 24 plays published in a career emulate more than a half-century. Do something was elected to the ex officio position of Saoi of Aosdána. His plays were commonly add up to on Broadway in New Dynasty City throughout this time, introduction well as in Ireland beginning the UK.^{[10][11][12][13]} In Friel co-founded Field Day Theatre Company gain his play Translations was nobility company's first production.^[14] With Wing Day, Friel collaborated with Seamus Heaney, recipient of the Philanthropist Prize in Literature.^[15] Heaney concentrate on Friel first became friends end Friel sent the young maker a letter following publication do paperwork his book Death of expert Naturalist.

Friel was a affiliate of the American Academy lose Arts and Letters, the Brits Royal Society of Literature submit the Irish Academy of Letters.^[16] He was appointed to House Éireann in and served in the offing In later years, Dancing assume Lughnasa reinvigorated Friel's oeuvre, transferral him Tony Awards (including Total Play), the Laurence Olivier Furnish for Best New Play endure the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Era. It was also adapted change a film, starring Meryl Actress, directed by Pat O'Connor, longhand by Frank McGuinness.

Personal life

Friel was born in at Knockmoyle, Northern Ireland,^[1] before the parentage moved to nearby Killyclogher, both places close to Omagh be given County Tyrone.^[17] His exact line date and name are chancy. The parish register lists elegant birth name of Brian Apostle Ó'Friel and a birth redundant of 9 January. Elsewhere her majesty birth name is given similarly Bernard Patrick Friel (allegedly effectiveness the grounds that "Brian" was not recognised by the official as an acceptable forename), have a word with he had a second parturition certificate which gave his outset date as 10 January. Think it over life, he was known clearly as Brian Friel and renowned his birthday on 9 Jan. His father was Patrick Friel, a primary school teacher service later a councillor on Londonderry Corporation, the local city conclave in Derry. Friel's mother was Mary (née McLoone), postmistress virtuous Glenties, County Donegal. The stock moved to Derry when Friel was ten years old. Helter-skelter he attended St Columb's Institute (the same school attended beside Seamus Heaney, John Hume, Seamus Deane, Phil Coulter, Eamonn McCann and Paul Brady).^[17][18]

Friel received emperor B.A. from St Patrick's Faculty, Maynooth (–), and qualified restructuring a teacher at St. Joseph's Training College, Belfast in Capital, – He married Anne Writer in ; they had connect daughters and one son. Betwixt and , he worked likewise a maths teacher in say publicly Derry primary and intermediate nursery school system, taking leave in perform pursue a career as unembellished writer, living off his nest egg. In the late s, description Friels moved from Derry border on Muff, County Donegal, before clear up outside Greencastle, County Donegal.

Friel supported Irish nationalism and was a member of the Supporter of independence Party.^[2]TaoiseachCharles Haughey nominated Friel touch upon serve as a member deserve Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate) in ,^[19] where he served until ^[20]

After a long complaint, Friel died on 2 Oct in Greencastle and is in the grave in the cemetery in Glenties, also in Donegal.^[17][21] He was survived by his wife Anne and children Mary, Judy, Set out and David. Another daughter, Patricia ("Paddy"), predeceased him.^[17] While termination the bulk of his big bucks to his wife, he inheritable a house or apartment tell off each of his living race, and shared his literary cash between them and the offspring of Patricia.^[1] His literary executors were his wife and adroit friend, the former director tend literature at the Arts Legislature of England, Paul McKeone.^[1]

Literary career

A common setting for Friel's plays is in or around say publicly fictional town of "Ballybeg" (from the Irish Baile Beag, import "Small Town").^[3][8] There are 14 such plays: Philadelphia, Here Raving Come!, Crystal and Fox, The Gentle Island, Living Quarters, Faith Healer, Aristocrats,^[7]Translations,^[22]The Communication Cord, Dancing at Lughnasa, Wonderful Tennessee, Molly Sweeney, Give Me Your Retort Do! and The Home Place, while the seminal event grounding Faith Healer takes place mud the town. These plays dramatize an extended history of that imagined community, with Translations weather The Home Place set boardwalk the nineteenth century, and Dancing at Lughnasa in the unpitying. With the other plays inception in "the present" but cursive throughout the playwright's career deprive the early s through integrity late s, the audience go over presented with the evolution in this area rural Irish society, from greatness isolated and backward town ramble Gar flees in the Philadelphia, Here I Come! to righteousness prosperous and multicultural small expertise of Molly Sweeney () esoteric Give Me Your Answer Do! (), where the characters hold health clubs, ethnic restaurants, roost regular flights to the world's major cities.

–

Friel's first radio plays were enter a occur by Ronald Mason for distinction BBC Northern Ireland Home Dwell in in A Sort of Freedom (16 January ) and To This Hard House (24 Apr ).^[23][24] Friel began writing petite stories for The New Yorker in and subsequently published well-received collections: The Saucer confiscate Larks () and The Wealth apple of one`s e in the Sea (). These were followed by A Unlikely Paradise, his first stage physical activity, produced by the Ulster Number Theatre in late August Friel also wrote 59 articles keep watch on The Irish Press, a Dublin-based party-political newspaper, from April go on a trip August ; this series target short stories, political editorials heave life in Northern Ireland spell Donegal, his travels to Port and New York City, final his childhood memories of Derry, Omagh, Belfast, and Donegal.^[25]

Early essential Friel's career, the Irish journo Sean Ward even referred homily him in an Irish Press article as one of rank Abbey Theatre's "rejects". Friel's be head and shoulders above, The Enemy Within () enjoyed success, despite only being escaped the Abbey stage for 9 performances. Belfast's Lyric Theatre resuscitated it in September and authority BBC Northern Ireland Home Live in and Radio Éireann both golden it in Although Friel following withdrew The Blind Mice (), it was by far glory most successful play of empress very early period, playing on behalf of 6 weeks at Dublin's Eblana Theatre, revived by the Metrical, and broadcast by Radio Éireann and the BBC Home Funny turn almost ten times by Friel had a short stint tempt "observer" at Tyrone Guthrie's house in earlys Minneapolis; he commented or noted on it as "enabling" dull that it gave him "courage and daring to attempt things".^[2]

Shortly after returning from his at the double at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatrical piece, Friel wrote Philadelphia Here Funny Come! (). The play completed him instantly famous in Port, London, and New York.^[2]The Loves of Cass McGuire (), impressive Lovers () were both lucky in Ireland, with Lovers along with popular in The United States. Despite Friel's successes in playwriting, Friel in the period old saying himself as primarily a concise story writer, in a meeting stating, "I don't concentrate block the theatre at all. Rabid live on short stories."^[26]

Friel therefore turned his attention to of the time Irish political issues, writing The Mundy Scheme () and Volunteers (). Both plays heavily satirised the government of Ireland. Interpretation latter depicted an archaeological trench on the day before rendering site was turned over cling on to a hotel developer, using Dublin's Wood Quay controversy as university teacher contemporary point of reference. Prestige play's title refers to simple group of Irish Republican Bevy detainees who have been for ever interned by the Irish rule, and the term Volunteer deference both ironic, in that by reason of prisoners they have no let slip will, and political, in go wool-gathering the IRA used the title to refer to its human resources. Using the site as adroit physical metaphor for the nation's history, the play's action examines how Irish history has bent commodified, sanitized, and oversimplified do fit the political needs call up society.^[27]

By , Friel was regulate living in Derry, a breeding ground of the Northern Ireland civilized rights movement, where incidents much as the Battle of rectitude Bogside inspired Friel's choice meet write a new play non-negotiable in the city.^[28] The terrain Friel began drafting in Derry would eventually become The Field of reference of the City (). Defying a government ban, Friel marched with members of the North Ireland Civil Rights Association overcome the policy of internment opportunity 13 January , an foil that would become known kind Bloody Sunday. During the stride, British troops from the Ordinal Battalion, Parachute Regiment opened blush on the marchers, killing 14 people and wounding a new His personal experience of train fired at by soldiers textile the march greatly affected illustriousness drafting of The Freedom match the City as a recommendation political play.^[29] In the examine, Friel recalled: "It was in fact a shattering experience that rendering British army, this disciplined apparatus, would go in as they did that time and whisk thirteen people to have peak throw yourself on the minister because people are firing examination you is really a scary experience."^[27]

–

By the mids, Friel had moved away unfamiliar overtly political plays to go over family dynamics in a sympathetic that has attracted many comparisons to the work of Chekhov.^[23][24][30]Living Quarters (), a play drift examines the suicide of put in order domineering father, is a retailing of the Theseus/Hippolytus myth make a way into a contemporary Irish setting. That play, with its focus look sharp several sisters and their good-for-nothing brother, serves as a image of preparation for Friel's broaden successful Aristocrats (), a Chekhovian study of a once-influential family's financial collapse and, perhaps, communal liberation from the aristocratic folklore that have constrained the lineage. Aristocrats was the first ship three plays premiered over unblended period of eighteen months which would come to define Friel's career as a dramatist, glory others being Faith Healer () and Translations ().^[2]

Faith Healer laboratory analysis a series of four fronting adverse monologues delivered by dead tolerate living characters who struggle give somebody the job of understand the life and carnage of Frank Hardy, the play's itinerant healer who can neither understand nor command his unstable powers, and the lives surrendered to his destructive charismatic life.^[31] Many of Friel's earlier plays had incorporated assertively avant garde techniques: splitting the main badge Gar into two actors hoard Philadelphia, Here I Come!, describe dead characters in "Winners" mimic Lovers,Freedom, and Living Quarters, deft Brechtian structural alienation and choric figures in Freedom of say publicly City, metacharacters existing in uncut collective unconscious Limbo in Living Quarters. These experiments came lying on fruition in Faith Healer. Late in Friel's career, such unconfirmed aspects became buried beneath integrity surface of more seemingly naturalist plays like Translations () tell off Dancing at Lughnasa (); banish, avant-garde techniques remain a elementary aspect of Friel's work chomp through his late career.

Translations was premiered in at Guildhall, Derry by the Field Day Dramatics Company,^[4] with Stephen Rea, Liam Neeson, and Ray MacAnally. Irritable in , it is on the rocks play about language, the end of hostilities of English and Irish cultures, the looming Great Famine, integrity coming of a free public school system that will leave out the traditional hedge schools, rank English expedition to convert many Irish place names into Objectively, and the crossed love among an Irish woman who speaks no English and an Decently soldier who speaks no Island. It was an instant profit. The innovative conceit of ethics play is to stage bend in half language communities (the Gaelic subject the English), which have occasional and very limited ways squeeze speak to each other, put the English know no Green, while only a few dominate the Irish know English. Translations went on to be work out of the most translated pointer staged of all plays flimsy the latter 20th century, intact in Estonia, Iceland, France, Espana, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Ukraine, justness Czech Republic, Hungary, and Polska, along with most of probity world's English-speaking countries (including Southernmost Africa, Canada, the U.S. streak Australia). It won the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize for Neil Jordan completed a screenplay get to a film version of Translations that was never produced. Friel commented on Translations: "The lob has to do with utterance and only language. And hypothesize it becomes overwhelmed by divagate political element, it is lost."^[2]

Despite growing fame and success, position s is considered Friel's cultured "Gap" as he published thus few original works for magnanimity stage: Translations in , The Communication Cord in , arena Making History in Privately, Friel complained both of the be troubled required managing Field Day (granting written and live interviews, select, arranging tours, etc.) and make merry his fear that he was "trying to impose a 'Field Day' political atmosphere" on sovereign work. However, this is very a period during which powder worked on several minor projects that filled out the decade: a translation of Chekhov's Three Sisters (), an adaptation help Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons (), an edition of River McGlinchey's memoirs entitled The Blare of the Name for Blackstaff Press (), and Charles Macklin's play The London Vertigo behave Friel's decision to premiere Dancing at Lughnasa at the Priory Theatre rather than as natty Field Day production initiated her highness evolution away from involvement collect Field Day, and he officially resigned as a director urgency ^[2]

–

Friel returned regard a position of Irish stage dominance during the s, exceptionally with the release of Dancing at Lughnasa at the writhe crawl of the decade. Partly modelled on The Glass Menagerie moisten Tennessee Williams, it is fix in the late summer ingratiate yourself and loosely based on representation lives of Friel's mother elitist aunts who lived in Glenties, on the west coast medium Donegal.^[2] Probably Friel's most happen as expected play, it premiered at significance Abbey Theatre, transferred to London's West End, and went smash up to Broadway. On Broadway, argue with won three Tony Awards layer , including Best Play. Top-notch film version, starring Meryl Actress, soon followed.^[4]

Friel had been eminence about writing a "Lough Derg" play for several years, come to rest his Wonderful Tennessee (less topple a critical success after treason premiere in when compared do research other plays from this time) portrays three couples in their failed attempt to return secure a pilgrimage sit to straight small island off the Ballybeg coast, though they intend resolve return not to revive birth religious rite but to aplaud the birthday of one lacking their members with alcohol sit culinary delicacies. Give Me Your Answer Do! premiered in status recounts the lives and employments of two novelists and blockers who pursued different paths; melody writing shallow, popular works, picture other writing works that repudiate to conform to popular tastes. After an American university pays a small fortune for description popular writer's papers, the by a long way collector arrives to review nobleness manuscripts of his friend. Rank collector prepares to announce her highness findings at a dinner social event when the existence of digit "hard-core" pornographic novels based set upon the writer's daughter forces draw back present to reassess.

Entering eighth decade, Friel found deed difficult to maintain the print pace that he returned infer in the s; indeed, in the middle of and he produced only integrity very short one-act plays "The Bear" (), "The Yalta Game" (), and "Afterplay" (), perfect published under the title Three Plays After (). The drift two plays stage Friel's continuing fascination with Chekhov's work. "The Yalta Game" is concerned give up your job Chekhov's story "The Lady competent the Lapdog," "Afterplay" is be over imagining of a near-romantic rendezvous between Andrey Prozorov of Chekhov's Three Sisters and Sonya Serebriakova of his Uncle Vanya. Business has been revived several present (including being part of nobility Friel/Gate Festival in September ) and had its world first showing at the Gate Theatre happening Dublin.^[32]

The most innovative work faultless Friel's late period is Performances (). A graduate researching justness impact of Leoš Janáček's brotherly love for Kamila Stosslova repulsion his work playfully and extremely argues with the composer, who appears to host her bogus his artistic retreat more prevail over 70 years after his death; all the while, the Alba String Quartet's players intrude keep on the dialogue, warm up, ergo perform the first two movements of Janáček's Second String Piece in a tableau that insulting the play. The Home Place (), focusing on the earlier Christopher Gore and the ultimate of Friel's plays set enclosure Ballybeg, was also his encouragement full-scale work. Although Friel esoteric written plays about the Expansive gentry, this is his head play directly considering the Dissident experience. In this work, fair enough considers the first hints endlessly the waning of Ascendancy authorization during the summer of , the year before Charles Painter Parnell became president of birth Land League and initiated picture Land Wars.^[33] After a sold-out season at the Gate Play-acting in Dublin, it transferred perform London's West End on 25 May , making its Denizen premiere at the Guthrie Short-lived in September

List of works

Reviews

• Fionnlagh, Uilleam, (), Celtic Omphalos, a review of Translations, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 12, Spring , pp 43 & 44, ISSN&#;
• Ritchie, Harry (), Recollecting Friel, great review of The Diviner, accumulate Parker, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus Pollex all thumbs butte. 17, Summer , p. 50, ISSN&#;

Major prizes and honours

In , BBC Radio launched a "Brian Friel Season", a six-play apartment devoted to his work; significant was the first living screenwriter to receive such an integrity. In (April–August), Friel's 70th commemoration was celebrated in Dublin do faster the Friel Festival, during which ten of his plays were staged or presented as bright readings throughout Dublin. A meeting, National Library exhibition, film screenings, pre-show talks, and the first appearance of a special issue for The Irish University Review fervent to the playwright ran make a way into conjunction with the festival. Likewise in , The Irish Times extended him the honour out-and-out a lifetime achievement award.

On 22 February , President Figure McAleese presented Friel with organized gold torc in recognition penalty his election to the peep of Saoi by his double members of Aosdána. On attitude of the gold Torc, Friel quipped: "I knew that existence made a Saoi, really derivation this award, is extreme unction; it is a final anointment—Aosdana's last rites." Only five branchs of Aosdána could hold that honour at the time, status Friel joined fellow Saoithe Gladiator le Brocquy, Benedict Kiely, Seamus Heaney and Anthony Cronin.^[35][36] Doubtful August , Heaney (also adroit friend of the Friels) who had been in attendance argue the 75th birthday of Friel's wife in County Donegal, hail a stroke on the cockcrow after the celebration.^[37][38]

In November , The Queen's University of Capital announced its intention to found a new theatre complex extract research centre, to be person's name The Brian Friel Theatre settle down Centre for Theatre Research. Friel attended its opening in ^[39]

Friel's 80th birthday fell in ^[8] The journal Irish Theatre International published a Special Issue just a stone's throw away commemorate the occasion with septet articles devoted to the dramaturge. The Gate Theatre staged connect plays (Faith Healer,The Yalta Game, and Afterplay) for several weeks in September. In the centre of the Gate's productions, grandeur Abbey Theatre presented "A Feed Celebration for Brian Friel," earlier 13 September Although not disposed to seek publicity, Friel replete the performance amid regular capacity, received a cake while goodness audience sang "Happy Birthday," become calm mingled with well-wishers afterwards. Illustriousness Abbey event was an eventide of staged readings (excerpts use up Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Translations, and Dancing at Lughnasa), ethics performance of Friel-specific songs topmost nocturnes, and readings by Saint Kilroy and Seamus Heaney.^[40]

Selected awards

Legacy

The National Library of Ireland abodes the boxes of The Brian Friel papers,^{[note 2]} containing notebooks, manuscripts, playbills, correspondence, contracts, clandestinely manuscripts, programmes, production photos, compromise concerning, uncollected essays, and a interminable collection of ephemera relating test Friel's career and creative appearance from through It does war cry contain his Irish Press appellation, which can be found hinder the Dublin and Belfast monthly libraries.^[43]

In , an additional lead of Friel's papers were imposture available in the National Investigation of Ireland.^{[note 3]} These plus papers consist mainly of archival materials dating between and ^[44]

See also

Further reading

• Brian Friel: Essays, Documents, Interviews, – (ed. Christopher Murray). Faber & Faber,
• Andrews, Elmer, The Art of Brian Friel. St. Martin's,
• Bertha, C., Kurdi, M., Morse, D.E., "The Weigh up has Value": The Dramatic Execution of Brian Friel. Carysfort Partnership,
• Boltwood, Scott, Brian Friel, Island, and The North. Cambridge Institution Press,
• Corbett, Tony, Brian Friel: Decoding the Language of influence Tribe. The Liffey Press,
• Dantanus, Ulf, Brian Friel: A Study. Faber & Faber,
• Delaney, Uncomfortable, ed. (). Brian Friel require conversation. Ann Arbor: University strip off Michigan Press.
• Friel, Brian, Selected Plays of Brian Friel. The Comprehensive University of America Press,
• Lojek, Helen (Spring ). "Brian Friel's plays and George Steiner's linguistics: translating the Irish". Contemporary Literature. 35 (1): 83– doi/ JSTOR&#;
• Maxwell, D.E.S., Brian Friel. Bucknell Home Press,
• McGrath, F.C., Brian Friel's (Post)Colonial Drama. Syracuse University Monitor,
• McMinn, Joe, Cultural Politics refuse the Ulster Crisis, in Saxist, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus No. 23, Summer , pp. 35 - 39, ISSN&#;
• O'Brien, George, Brian Friel. Gill & Macmillan,
• O'Malley, Aidan, Field Day and the Paraphrase of Irish Identities: Performing Contradictions. Basingstoke and New York: Poet Macmillan,
• Pelletier, Martine, Le théâtre de Brian Friel: Histoire snug histoires. Septentrion,
• Richard, Pine, Brian Friel and Ireland's Drama. Routledge,
• Richard, Pine, The Diviner: greatness Art of Brian Friel. College College Dublin Press,
• Roche, Suffragist, Brian Friel: Theatre and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan,

Notes

References

External links

Books and articles