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Faith Healer

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 2m

In this haunting play, which The Guardian called “Brian Friel's masterpiece,” a healer named Frank Hardy offers the promise of redemption to the sick and the suffering in the forgotten corners of the British Isles. But his is an unreliable gift, a dangerous calling which brings him into conflict with his wife Grace and his manager Teddy.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 2m

Details

Summary

“The writing is beautiful, supple, rhythmical, charged with the slow, sure throb of despair and enchantment... Brian Friel is the most profound and poetic of contemporary Irish dramatists.” – The Observer

Throughout the remote and forgotten corners of the British Isles, Frank Hardy offers the promise of redemption to the sick and the suffering. But his is an unreliable gift, a dangerous calling which brings him into conflict with his wife Grace and his manager Teddy. Their competing accounts of past events reveal the fragility of memory and the necessity of stories as a means of survival. Brian Friel's Faith Healer was first produced at the Longacre Theatre, New York, in April 1979 and was revived at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in June 2016.

“The night of Faith Healer is one that still blazes in recollection for me, as religious experiences of art do. And it became a sort of touchstone for me in understanding not only Mr. Friel's work with a depth I hadn't appreciated before but also for defining the elusiveness of great art and the pain of the artist who creates it.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times

History
Faith Healer premiered on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on 5 April 1979. Directed by José Quintero, the production starred James Mason as Frank. In 2006, the play returned to Broadway with Ralph Fiennes in the title role. In June 2016, Faith Healer was revived at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in a production directed by Lyndsey Turner, starring Stephen Dillane as Frank.
FRANK
GRACE
TEDDY
  • Setting Simple settings on a bare stage
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

“A powerful piece of writing.” – The New York Times

“Rich in language and imagery.” – New York Daily News

“One of those rare works of art audiences are destined to recall as a deeply personal experience. A powerful piece of writing.” – The New York Times

“Mr. Friel writes with a certain Irish lyricism and raises important questions.” – Wall Street Journal

“Brian Friel's masterpiece of stage mystery.” – The Guardian

“Extraordinary.” – The Irish Times

“Brian Friel’s Faith Healer kicked off a golden era for Irish theatre and reminds us of the power of great playwriting.” – Independent.ie

“A masterclass of make-believe.” – The Times

“It's the unreliability of all memory – and conversely, the way that each story told has its own truth – that makes Faith Healer such a towering play.” – WhatsOnStage

Licensing & Materials

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Authors

Brian Friel

Brian Friel (1929-2015), largely considered modern Ireland’s leading playwright, was born to a schoolmaster and a postmistress. After working as a teacher in Derry for ten years, he married Anne Morrison and moved to Donegal to begin writing in earnest. His first significant ...

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