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Famous Like Me > Writer > F > Brian Friel

Profile of Brian Friel on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Brian Friel  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 9th January 1929
   
Place of Birth: Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, UK
   
Profession: Writer
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

Brian Friel (born January 9, 1929), a teacher's son, was born in Omagh, County Tyrone (Northern Ireland). He received his college education at St. Columb's College in Derry and St. Patrick's Maynooth, and in Belfast, and he taught at various schools in and around Derry from 1950 to 1960.

Known today for his extraordinary achievements as playwright and director, Friel began writing short stories for The New Yorker in 1959 and subsequently published two collections: The Saucer of Larks and The Gold in the Sea. His first radio plays were produced by the BBC, Belfast, in 1958; his first play - This Doubtful Paradise - premiered in 1959, The Enemy Within (1962) gained him recognition in Ireland. Philadelphia Here I Come! (1964), The Loves of Cass McGuire (1966), and Lovers (1967) were highly successful in Ireland as well as overseas. Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), probably his most successful play so far, premiered at the Abbey Theatre, transferred to London's West End and went on to Broadway, where it won three Tony Awards in 1992, including Best Play.

Friel's most recent work is Homeplace (2004), which after a sold-out season at the Gate Theater in Dublin, transferred to London's West End on May 25th 2005.

Most of Friel's plays have been performed extensively in Dublin at the Abbey, Gate and Olympia theatres, in many West End theatres in London and on Broadway. Dancing at Lughnasa was made into a motion-picture (starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O'Connor, script by Donegal playwright Frank McGuinness) in 1998.

Brian Friel was awarded an honorary doctorate by [Rosary College], Chicago, Illinois in 1974; in 1989, BBC Radio devoted a six-play season to his work, the first living playwright to be so distinguished. Friel received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Times in 1999. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the (British) [Royal Society of Literature] and the Irish Academy of Letters.

Friel co-founded (together with Stephen Rea, Tom Paulin, Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane) the Field Day Theatre Company, where many of his pieces, including Translations (1980), The Communication Cord (1982) and Making History (1988) premiered.

Friel lives in Donegal, which he moved to from Derry in 1967.

Plays

  • This Doubtful Paradise (1958)
  • The Enemy Within (1962)
  • Philadelphia Here I Come! (1964)
  • Lovers (1967)
  • Crystal and Fox (1968)
  • The Freedom of the City (1973)
  • Volunteers (1975)
  • Living Quarters (1977)
  • Aristocrats (1979)
  • Faith Healer (1979)
  • Wonderful Tennessee (1993)
  • Molly Sweeney (1995)
  • Give Me Your Answer, Do! (1997)
  • Translations (1980)
  • Three Sisters (Chekhov adaptation, 1981)
  • The Communication Cord (1982)
  • Making History (1988)
  • Dancing at Lughnasa (1990)
  • Uncle Vanya (Chekhov adaptation, 1998)
  • The Yalta Game (Chekhov adaptation, 2001)
  • The Bear (Chekhov adaptation, 2002)
  • Homeplace (Chekhov adaptation, 2004)

External link

Aosdána biographical note

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Brian Friel