Storyline:
In an Irish-speaking town in the north of Ireland in 1833, a unit of
English military arrives on a mission to map all of Ireland, and, in the
process, anglicize the Irish place names as part of the overall
effort of the English government to force assimilation on the part of the
Irish. Serving as a hired civilian translator is the son
of the
teacher in the local school where the locals gather to
learn the three R's in their native language. The conflict of cultures is
compounded by the attraction between a young lieutenant who speaks no Irish
and a local young woman who speaks no English.
The play is a mature work by Friel, who
first came to prominence with Philadelphia Here I Come in 1964, and turned
out drama after drama of the Irish experience through the 1990s with such
well known works as Molly Sweeney and Dancing at Lughnasa. In his portraits
of Irish people he creates characters that are fleshed out, imperfect but
understandable human beings who share a common cultural heritage and traits.
In Translations, Friel pulls off the intriguing accomplishment of
writing dialogue for both the English speakers and the Irish speakers in the
English that the audience understands, and yet giving each character a
distinct voice and making it clear to the audience which language is being
used in any given speech, sentence or exclamation. The dialogue between
Peter Finnegan as the young Lieutenant and Susan Marie Rhea as the girl who
is so attracted to him is an affecting piece of writing as they try to
communicate with each other in a halting, frustrated and even exasperated
exchange which, nonetheless, manages to communicate their deepening
attraction each to the other.
Friel gives each of the cast of ten
characters distinct and interesting personalities, and Keegan's cast takes
full advantage of the idiosyncrasies without overemphasizing them. Stan
Shulman, as the local who may not know English but can quote the classics in
the original Greek or Latin with ease, Kevin Adams, as the heavy drinking
headmaster, and Colin Smith, as the young teacher who can't quite connect
with the student he loves until it is too late create distinct and
distinctive believable individuals. Jon Townson, as the headmaster's son who
has returned from years on his own in Doublin, carries himself with the
assurance that broadening experience would have given him. Finnegan's
Lieutenant is notable for youthful idealism and romanticism while Susan
Marie Rhea matches his romanticism but leavens the idealism with the
accumulated effects of rural isolation and poverty. Director Mark A. Rhea
blends the cast into an ensemble which feels very much like a community.
A note on an
event at the performance reviewed: The Church Street Theatre can be an
interesting place to be in a rainstorm. With its tin roof, the sound of a
downpour reverberates through the space. Add thunder claps, and it can be
difficult for an audience to hear what is said on stage ... that
is, unless the cast adjusts their own volume and their enunciation to
compensate. About half way through the first act of the Sunday, April 20
matinee, the heavens opened and the roar was impressive. What was more
impressive was the reaction of Kevin Adams who happened to be making a
speech at the time. He raised his volume without changing his dramatic
demeanor. The rest of the cast followed his lead and, suddenly, the scene
was as comprehensible as before the din began. Director Rhea, knowing that
storms were predicted and remembering the night they had to stop the show
for a similar downpour during Keegan's production of
Side Man here, had
alerted the cast to the possibility of a problem and asked that they "be
aware and project." The adjustment was so smooth that it didn't interrupt
the flow of the play - a tribute to the professionalism of the entire
ensemble.
Written by
Brian Friel. Directed by Mark A. Rhea. Design: George Lucas (set) Kelly
Peacock (costumes) Dan Martin (lights) Tony Angelini (sound) Megan Thrift
(stage manager). Cast: Kevin Adams, Erin Buchanan, Peter Finnegan, Matthew
Keenan, Daniel Lyons, Susan Marie Rhea, Samantha Sheahan, Stan Shulman,
Colin Smith, Jon Townson. |
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May 15 - June 7, 2008
Closing Time
This will be the American premiere of a play by
Mojo Mickybo author
Owen McCafferty. It is set in a run-down hotel/pub in Belfast. Performances
will be at Arlington's
Theatre on the Run as part of Keegan's New Island
Theatre Project.
July 10 - August 16, 2008
Man of La
Mancha
Mark A. Rhea directs Mitch Leigh's musical version of the stories spun by
Cervantes in the Church Street Theatre.
July 21 - August 23, 2008
The Happy
Prince
Kerry Waters Lucas directs her own adaptation of Oscar Wilde's children's
story of a sparrow acting as the messenger of a prince imprisoned in a
golden statue. She uses live actors, masks and puppets in a show designed
for all ages at Arlington's
Theatre on the Run as part of Keegan's New Island
Theatre Project.
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