At the Sydney Festival it offers a peerless tribute to the work of Brian Friel’ The Age

 

In celebration of Brian Friel’s 80^th year and to mark his forty-five year relationship with the Gate Theatre, the Gate will present GATE | FRIEL in Dublin from 9 – 19 September. The festival, which has recently toured to the Sydney Festival 09 ahead of its forthcoming residency at the Edinburgh International Festival next week, includes three of his masterworks: Faith Healer, Afterplay, and The Yalta Game.

 

In Faith Healer, Owen Roe plays the role of Frank Hardy, who has spent his life touring the decayed villages of Scotland and Wales with his manager Teddy, played by Kim Durham, and his wife/mistress played by Ingrid Craigie. Their stories are told in separate, often contradictory, narratives, forming a mosaic that is both seductive and terrifying. Direction by Robin Lefèvre.

 

Afterplay, which premiered at the Gate in 2002, features two of Chekhov’s lost souls: Sonya, uncle Vanya’s devoted niece, played by stage and screen star Frances Barber, and Andrey, the three sister’s hen-pecked brother, played by Niall Buggy. Friel brings together these two refugees from an earlier time under the glass gazebo of a Moscow café. The two gradually reveal what has happened to their families – and to their own quiet hopes. Direction by Garry Hynes.    

 

The Yalta Game, which premiered at the Gate in 2001, is based on a theme in one of Chekhov’s greatest stories, The Lady with the Lapdog. The play tells the story of an accountant, played by Risteárd Cooper, who holidays alone leaving his family behind in Moscow. While away, he plays a game of amorous dalliance and happens on a beautiful young wife, played by Rebecca O’Mara. Direction by Patrick Mason.

 

•           FAITH HEALER  Sept 9/10/12/13/16/17/18/19 at 8.30pm              

            Director:           Robin Lefèvre           

            Cast:                 Ingrid Craigie • Kim Durham • Owen Roe

            All seats:           €30

 

•           AFTERPLAY Sept 12 at 4pm  • 13/15/18/19 at 6.30pm  •  11 at 8.30pm  

            Director:           Garry Hynes             

            Cast:                 Frances Barber • Niall Buggy

            All seats:           €25

 

•           The Yalta Game Sept 13/19 at 4pm  • 10/12/17 at 6.30pm  • 15 at 8.30pm  

            Director:           Patrick Mason          

            Cast:                 Risteárd Cooper • Rebecca O’Mara

            All seats:           €25