The lame, the ill and the broken-hearted all gather for the Fantastic Francis Hardy: Faith Healer. Travelling with his two companions, Grace and Teddy, Frank roams the small towns of Scotland and Wales healing the sick, trying to find a way home.
These are their stories - haunting, tender, funny and passionate, taking us to the heart of what it means to love and to believe.
One of Ireland's greatest playwrights, Brian Friel is best known for his works Philadelphia Here I Come!, Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa. Faith Healer is Friel’s masterpiece, defining his uniquely poetic and intensely human voice it is a landmark play in the rich landscape of Irish theatre.
It's a delicate treat, but a treat nonetheless.
A rich and gripping production
For anyone who wants thoughtful, poetic drama, this is an intriguing performance.
Verdict: Tight telling of Friel’s monologues blusters well, but doesn’t quite give itself enough space.
The story is both a metaphor for the blind faith of theatre itself and a beguiling meditation on our own quest for spiritual magic. It’s a quest fulfilled in this rewarding production.
As a way to kick-off 2015, Brian Friel‘s Faith Healer is no January blues busting feelgood romp, but this powerful, tautly-written piece, directed here by John Dove, is certainly a bracing way to shake audiences from winter slumbers.
Structured so that the story is at once completely alien yet intriguingly familiar, Friel’s empathetic yet unrelenting exploration of human experience is presented here beautifully.
Faith Healer surely has more to offer with potential for harsher character portraits that really get under the skin of the audience.
Sean O'Callaghan--Faith Healer
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Wednesday January 14, 2015, until Saturday February 7, 2015. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk
RSS feed of Theatre reviews