Brian Friel

Brian Friel
Brian Friel by Bobbie Hanvey
BornBrian Patrick Friel
c. 9 January 1929
Knockmoyle, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland[1]
Died2 October 2015(2015-10-02) (aged 86)
Greencastle, County Donegal, Ireland
EducationSt Patrick's College, Maynooth (BA, 1949)
St. Joseph's Training College, Belfast (1950)
Alma materSt Columb's College
Notable worksPhiladelphia, Here I Come! (1964)
Faith Healer (1979)
Translations (1980)
Dancing at Lughnasa (1990)
Notable awards• Tony Award Nominations:
Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1966)
Lovers (1969)
• NY Drama Critics Circle Award (1989)
• Olivier Award (1991)
• Writers' Guild of Britain Award (1991)
• Tony Award for Best Play for
Dancing at Lughnasa (1992)
• Saoi (of Aosdána) (2006)
Senator
In office
23 April 1987 – 1 November 1989
ConstituencyNominated by the Taoiseach
Personal details
Political partyIndependent
Spouse
Anne Morrison
​
(m. 1954)​
Children5

Brian Patrick Friel[note 1] (c. 9 January 1929[note 1] – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company.[2] He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists.[3][4][5][6] He has been likened to an "Irish Chekhov"[7] and described as "the universally accented voice of Ireland".[8] His plays have been compared favourably to those of contemporaries such as Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams.[9]

Recognised for early works such as Philadelphia, Here I Come! and Faith Healer, Friel had 24 plays published in a career of more than a half-century. He was elected to the honorary position of Saoi of Aosdána. His plays were commonly produced on Broadway in New York City throughout this time, as well as in Ireland and the UK.[10][11][12][13] In 1980 Friel co-founded Field Day Theatre Company and his play Translations was the company's first production.[14] With Field Day, Friel collaborated with Seamus Heaney, 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.[15] Heaney and Friel first became friends after Friel sent the young poet a letter following publication of his book Death of a Naturalist.

Friel was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the British Royal Society of Literature and the Irish Academy of Letters.[16] He was appointed to Seanad Éireann in 1987 and served until 1989. In later years, Dancing at Lughnasa reinvigorated Friel's oeuvre, bringing him Tony Awards (including Best Play), the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It was also adapted into a film, starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O'Connor, script by Frank McGuinness.

  1. ^ Collins, Liam (19 September 2016). "£4.29... the value NI literary giant Brian Friel put on own writings, according to will". The Belfast Telegraph.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Brian Friel". The Irish Times. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  3. ^ Nightingale, Benedict (23 February 2009). "Brian Friel's letters from an internal exile". The Times. But if it fuses warmth, humour and melancholy as seamlessly as it should, it will make a worthy birthday gift for Friel, who has just turned 80, and justify his status as one of Ireland's seven Saoi of the Aosdána, meaning that he can wear the Golden Torc round his neck and is now officially what we fans know him to be: a Wise Man of the People of Art and, maybe, the greatest living English-language dramatist. (subscription required).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference londonderry_sentinel_bidding was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Canby, Vincent (8 January 1996). "Seeing, in Brian Friel's Ballybeg". The New York Times. Brian Friel has been recognized as Northern Ireland's greatest living playwright almost since the first production of Philadelphia, Here I Come! in Dublin in 1964. In succeeding years he has dazzled us with plays that speak in a language of unequaled poetic beauty and intensity. Such dramas as "Translations," "Dancing at Lughnasa" and "Wonderful Tennessee," among others, have given him a privileged place in our theater.
  6. ^ Kemp, Conrad (25 June 2010). "In the beginning was the image". Mail & Guardian. Brian Friel, who wrote Translations and Philadelphia ... Here I Come, and who is regarded by many as one of the world's greatest living playwrights, has suggested that there is, in fact, no real need for a director on a production.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference three-flavors-emotion-aristocrats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference friel-furrow-heart was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Pine, Emilie (2 October 2015). "Brian Friel: The equal of Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  10. ^ Lawson, Carol (12 January 1979). "Broadway; Ed Flanders reunited with Jose Quintero for 'Faith Healer.'". The New York Times. ALL the pieces are falling into place for Brian Friel's new play, "Faith Healer," which opens 5 April on Broadway.
  11. ^ McKay, Mary-Jayne (16 March 2010). "Where Literature Is Legend". CBS News. Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa had a long run on Broadway
  12. ^ Osborne, Robert (5 March 2007). "Carroll does cabaret". Reuters/Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2017. Final curtains fall Sunday on three Broadway shows: Brian Friel's Translations at the Biltmore; The Apple Tree, with Kristin Chenoweth, at Studio 54; David Hare's The Vertical Hour, with Julienne Moore and Bill Nighy, at the Music Box, the latter directed by Sam Mendes
  13. ^ Staunton, Denis (10 June 2006). "Three plays carry Irish hopes of Broadway honours". The Irish Times. Three Irish plays will be among the contenders at tomorrow's Tony awards, when Broadway honours productions from the past year. Brian Friel's Faith Healer, Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Conor McPherson's Shining City have a total of 11 nominations in seven categories.
  14. ^ "Field Day Theatre Company". Irish Playography. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  15. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1995". Nobelprize. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  16. ^ "Royal Society of Literature". rslit.org.


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