on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
By Brian Friel
Directed by Doug Hughes
Starring Raffi Barsoumian, Owen Campbell, Rufus Collins, John Keating, Owen Laheen, Seán McGinley, Seth Numrich, Oona Roche, Erin Wilhelmi and Mary Wiseman
WINNER of Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival
CRITIC’S PICK! A modest yet exquisite revival directed by Doug Hughes, it makes a rigorous case not only for Brian Friel’s pre-eminence as an interpreter of Irish national identity, but for the vitality of art in deciphering life. – The New York Times
Doug Hughes directs an exquisite production. Charlie Corcoran’s set… shimmers like nacre; Michael Gottlieb’s lighting… reminiscent of Caravaggio – The New Yorker
exquisitely moving… The play’s tragedy strikes as deep as it does because it makes room, within and intertwined with the act of violence to which it is bearing witness, for so much beauty. – Vulture
★★★★ Words fail everywhere in Brian Friel’s exquisite Translations, and never is this failure more beautiful than in the moonlit courtship scene that opens the play’s second half. When they find themselves in the woods after a dance one night, their stumbling cross-talk has an eloquence beyond expression – Time Out
A TERRIFIC CAST, chock-full of humor and human interest. Raffi Barsoumian and Mary Wiseman crush the scene with their exquisite chemistry and capture the confusion and passion of the two lovers with puzzled stares and smiles that delight us even while jabbing us in the heart. – Theatermania
A GRACEFUL, SINEWY REVIVAL…Broadway veteran, Seth Numrich, lends vigor and charisma to the role of Owen…John Keating’s droll, lamentable Jimmy Jack is a standout as is Erin Wilhelmi’s delicate but fervid Sarah and beautifully understated melancholy by the venerable Seán McGinley – New York Sun
Irish Repertory Theatre will produce its debut production of Brian Friel’s Translations as the first installment of The Friel Project. In 1833 Baile Beag, County Donegal, a hedge schoolmaster gives his Irish-speaking students a classical education, versing them in Ancient Greek and Latin—but not in English. Meanwhile, the British Army arrives to create a new map of Ireland that will “standardize” the Irish place-names to English. When the schoolmaster’s son returns home from Dublin to serve as the Army’s translator, the fate of the Irish locals and their native tongue is cast into uncertainty. The play is a captivating exploration of the power of language to kindle romance, ignite tensions, and inflame the human heart’s yearning to understand.
Translations was first presented by Field Day Theatre Company at the Guildhall in Derry, 1980.
Read the performance program here!
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
Translations is supremely atmospheric with bracing arguments over language, history, and cultural assimilation, or lack thereof. Doug Hughes‘ sensitive direction, which never allows the action to flag, but lets us savor Friel’s lush vernacular. – Talkin’ Broadway
A Subtle, lovely, and recommended revival – The Daily Beast
