Voted as one of the best plays of all time by the Independent (2019), London Classic Theatre present Brian Friel’s Faith Healer. Using four enthralling monologues to interweave the stories of three intriguing characters, Friel takes us on an extraordinary journey of shifting perspectives and uncertain memories – perfect for Halloween.
Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre, Michael Cabot said: “I’ve wanted to direct Faith Healer for many years. It’s such a wonderful, complex piece of writing, with beautifully realised characters and Brian Friel’s remarkable use of language. It draws you in, surprises, intrigues and, ultimately, takes your breath away… Faith Healer is one of the great plays of the twentieth century, arguably Friel’s masterpiece and I can’t wait for us to bring it to life in 2023.”
Frank Hardy has a gift. A gift of healing. A frayed banner hangs outside a desolate village hall. The sick, the suffering and the desperate arrive from out of the wind and the rain. They come in search of restoration, a cure. They are promised ‘a performance’, an opportunity to spend an intimate moment with a mercurial showman, who offers hope and salvation to the afflicted.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Hardy and his wife, Grace, travel to remote corners of Scotland and Wales, before eventually returning to Frank’s native Ireland. Accompanied by his manager Teddy, they move from village to village, bringing with them an unpredictable mix of theatricality and the spiritual.
Brian Friel (1929 – 2015) was an award-winning Irish playwright and author. He is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest dramatists, having written over thirty plays across six decades. His major works include Translations, Dancing at Lughnasa, Molly Sweeney and Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Paul Carroll plays Frank. His theatre credits include Strike! (Southwark Playhouse), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Rapture Theatre, Traverse Theatre, tour) and Twelfth Night (East London Shakespeare Festival). Gina Costigan plays Grace. Her theatre credits include On McQuillan’s Hill (Finborough Theatre), The Valley of the Squinting Windows (Mullingar Arts Centre), An Triail le Mairéad Ní Ghráda (Irish tour) and The Risen People (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin). Jonathan Ashley plays Teddy. His previous credits with London Classic Theatre include The Birthday Party and Waiting for Godot. Other theatre credits include The Tempest (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds) and Mansfield Park (Redgrave Theatre).
London Classic Theatre’s recent productions include Abigail’s Party, Boeing Boeing and Absurd Person Singular.
You might also like
Fastlove
Fastlove