Brian Friel
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Brian Friel (born January 9, 1929), a catholic teacher's son, 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.
Known today for his extraordinary achievements as playwright and director, Friel began writing short stories for The New Yorker in 1959 and subsequently published two collections: The Saucer of Larks and The Gold in the Sea. His first radio plays were produced by the BBC, Belfast, in 1958; his first play - This Doubtful Paradise - premiered in 1959, The Enemy Within (1962) gained him recognition in Ireland. Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), The Loves of Cass McGuire (1966), and Lovers (1967) were highly successful in Ireland as well as overseas. Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), probably his most successful play so far, premiered at the Abbey Theatre, transferred to London's West End and went on to Broadway, where it won three Tony Awards in 1992, including Best Play.
Friel's most recent work is Homeplace (2004), which after a sold-out season at the Gate Theater in Dublin, transferred to London's West End on May 25th 2005.
Most of Friel's plays have been performed extensively in Dublin at the Abbey, Gate and Olympia theatres, in many West End theatres in London and on Broadway, while always addressing specifically Irish Republican themes. Dancing at Lughnasa was made into a motion-picture (starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O'Connor, script by Donegal playwright Frank McGuiness) in 1998.
Brian Friel was awarded an honorary doctorate by [Rosary College (http://www.rosary.edu/)], Chicago, Illinois in 1974; in 1989, BBC Radio devoted a six-play season to his work, the first living playwright to be so distinguished. Mr. Friel received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Times in 1999. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the (British) [Royal Society of Literature (http://www.rslit.org)] and the Irish Academy of Letters.
Friel co-founded (together with Stephen Rea, Tom Paulin, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane) the Field Day Theatre Company, where many of his pieces, including Translations (1980), The Communication Cord (1982) and Making History (1988) premiered.
Mr. Friel lives in County Donegal which he moved to from Derry, Northern Ireland in 1967.
Plays
- This Doubtful Paradise (1958)
- The Enemy Within (1962)
- Philadelphia Here I Come! (1964)
- Lovers (1967)
- Crystal and Fox (1968)
- The Freedom of the City (1973)
- Volunteers (1975)
- Living Quarters (1977)
- Aristocrats (1979)
- Faith Healer (1979)
- Wonderful Tennessee (1993)
- Molly Sweeney (1995)
- Give Me Your Answer, Do! (1997)
- Translations (1980)
- Three Sisters (Chekov adaptation, 1981)
- The Communication Cord (1982)
- Making History (1988)
- Dancing at Lughnasa (1990)
- Uncle Vanya (Chekov adaptation, 1998)
- The Yalta Game (Chekov adaptation, 2001)
- The Bear (Chekov adaptation, 2002)
- Homeplace (Chekov adaptation, 2004)
External link
Aosdána biographical note (http://www.artscouncil.ie/aosdana/biogs/literature/brianfriel.html)de:Brian Friel nl:Brian Friel