Vincent O’Neill*

(Teddy)

Promotional Photos by Jorge Luna Photography.

Director’s Note

When I was asked to direct Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, I was beyond thrilled. It is a play that has been very close to my heart for many years. Widely renowned as one of Ireland’s greatest dramatists for his insightful portrayal of the complexities of Irish life and culture, Friel’s work has been performed in theatres all over the world, and Faith Healer has long been considered his masterpiece.

When Faith Healer opened in New York City at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway in 1979, it closed after only twenty performances, despite the fact that it was directed by José Quintero and starred the wonderful James Mason in the central role of Francis Hardy. Despondent, Friel returned home to Ireland having proclaimed, in his diary of the rehearsal experience, ”I don’t want to write anymore.” Thank goodness he changed his mind!

His second venture into the world of Francis Hardy, was far more successful. I consider myself very fortunate indeed to have found myself in the audience to witness the Irish premiere of Faith Healer at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland’s National Theatre. The line for the box office stretched outside the theatre and down Bachelors Walk, along the River Liffey. Inside the theatre, I sat transfixed watching one of the great Irish actors of his time, Donal McCann, in this powerful, dark, and magical play.

Faith Healer is a haunting memory play consisting of four intriguing monologues about art, shifting perspectives, love, life, and death. All three characters have their own perception of reality, shaped from disturbing shared experiences. This powerful stage mystery leaves you, dear audience, to make your own decision as to who is telling the truth in these three refracted versions.

Faith Healer has widely been deemed a metaphor for artists: Frank is a performer who relies on the uncertainties of inspiration, and Friel ‘s special gift as a playwright is just as uncertain as Frank’s is for healing. In an extract from Friel’s diary, when preparing for a production of his play Aristocrats, he writes “On a day (days/weeks/months!) like this when I come upstairs at a fixed time and sit at this desk for a certain amount of hours, without a hope of writing a line, without a creative thought in my head, I tell myself that what I am doing is making myself obediently available – patient, deferential, humble. A conceit? Whether or not, it’s all I can do.“

– Josephine Hogan, Director