We came across this play during the European Classroom trip this summer to Ireland. Our guide was an accomplished Irish actor, and he introduced us to the plays of Brian Friel.
Brian Friel’s play Translations is set in County Donegal of Ireland in 1833 during the potato famine and heavy British occupation of the country. It was written in 1980 during the worst period of the “The Troubles” in British-controlled Northern Ireland. The theme of the play really lives in both worlds.
On one level, this play is a political statement about the failures of both the Irish and British to find common ground through centuries of conflict. On another level, the play is about language - how it aids and hinders actual communication between people. On a third level, this play is a love story tangled by language and culture. Frankly, the more time we spend on this little play, the more depths we find in it, which is what people have been saying about Brian Friel’s work ever since he
began writing.
The play will be performed at the Fairfield Community Theater and tickets can be purchased through their box office 867-5348.
The shows are:
October 15 at 7:00 p.m.
October 16 at 7:00 p.m.
October 17 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
