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Faith Healer (Belvoir St Theatre) ★★★1/2

by
ABR Arts 28 October 2016

Faith Healer (Belvoir St Theatre) ★★★1/2

by
ABR Arts 28 October 2016

Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer is now considered to be, if not his masterpiece Translations (1980) probably takes that distinction at least one of his most successful works, but it took a while before its sneakily subverted approach to truth and illusion was appreciated. Its 1979 Broadway première, directed by José Quintero and starring James Mason no less, lasted a mere twenty performances. The fact that it is structured as four monologues probably did not appeal to a Broadway audience accustomed to colour and movement. Its many subsequent productions, including a magnificent one from the Abbey Theatre in the early 1990s starring Donal McCann, Judy Geeson, and Ron Cook have proved its worth although there are still recalcitrant critics like the Spectator’s Lloyd Evans whose supercilious review of a recent production sees it as patronising blarney and calls it ‘a miserable snapshot of Ireland’.

From the New Issue

Comment (1)

  • By the time I saw this production, on 2 November, Colin Friels's performance was riveting: multi-layered, complex, mesmerising - and in perfect balance with those of Whyte and Miller. Another hit for Belvoir to follow the very different but equally brilliant The Drover's Wife. One hopes that both these productions may have another life for the sake of those who failed to get a seat this time around. Is this the long awaited Belvoir renaissance?
    Posted by Gil Appleton
    03 November 2016

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