Brian Friel : Making History, Dancing at Lughnasa, Philadelphia Here I Come, and Translations

by Nesta Jones and Jim Hunter

• ISBN13: 9780571197798
• ISBN10: 0571197795
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-08-28
• Publisher: Faber & Faber

Summary

Since 1965, whenPhiladelphia, Here I Come!played on Broadway for an extended run, Brian Friel's work has been widely known in the United States as well as in Europe. For the Faber Critical Guide on Brian Friel, Nesta Jones examines bothPhiladelphiaandLughnasa, as well as two other Friel masterworks,Making History and Translations, and seeks not only to elucidate for both students and fans Friel's poetic language of theater but to place his work in the larger context of modern drama. (This title is part of theFaber Critical Guidesseries.)

Author Biography

Nesta Jones, author of Brian Friel, is the former Head of Drama at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She has published on J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, and David Mamet. She is currently project coordinator for Concepts (Consortium for the Co-ordination of European Performance and Theatre Studies), and Artistic Director of NXT.

Jim Hunter, author of Tom Stoppard, is a lecturer at the Open University in England.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface	vii
Note on References	viii
Introduction
Friel the Ulsterman	1	(4)
Ulster and Donegal	5	(2)
Friel the Playwright	7	(5)
Approach to Studying the Texts	12	(3)
Philadelphia, Here I Come!
The Play	15	(1)
Historical Context	16	(2)
The Stage-World	18	(3)
Dramatic Structure	21	(8)
Language	29	(1)
Characters and Relationships	30	(23)
Endnote	53	(1)
Textual Notes	54	(3)
Translations
The Play	57	(2)
Historical Context	59	(5)
The Stage-World	64	(2)
Dramatic Structure	66	(6)
The Stage-Action	72	(39)
Endnote	111	(1)
Textual Notes	112	(5)
Making History
The Play	117	(1)
Historical Context	118	(6)
Dramatic Narrative	124	(2)
The Stage-World	126	(4)
Dramatic Structure	130	(5)
The Characters	135	(15)
Endnote	150	(1)
Textual Notes	151	(3)
Dancing at Lughnasa
The Play	154	(2)
Historical Context	156	(5)
The Stage-World	161	(7)
The Characters	168	(5)
Dramatic Structure	173	(6)
Dancing, Ritual and Ceremony	179	(8)
Endnote	187	(1)
Textual Notes	188	(2)
Chronology	190	(4)
Select Bibliography	194