Overview
Synopsis
Translations is set in a small Irish town in the summer of 1833. Hugh O'Donnell is the headmaster of a hedge school, a rural school that teaches basic education to farm families. Hugh's older son, Manus, teaches there with him. Hugh insists on teaching in Irish, even though he knows that the language will inevitably change to English. His younger son, Owen, comes to town with the British Royal Engineers, who are mapping the Irish countryside. Owen helps the engineers by translating their foreign words to the townsfolk and assisting with the anglicisation of the Irish town names. One of the engineers, Lieutenant Yolland, is captivated by Irish culture and comes to believe that the work they are doing is an act of destruction. A love triangle develops between Manus, Yolland, and Maire, a strong, young woman in the village who is determined to make a new life for herself. Yolland disappears mysteriously after being seen kissing Maire and Manus leaves town broken-hearted. Although he swears he had nothing to do with it, Owen knows his brother's sudden flight will make him seem guilty. Ending without resolution, Friel's play demonstrates the relationship between language and culture and the ways we choose to ignore or break down our cultural barriers.
Show Information
- Book
- Brian Friel
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1980
- Genres
- Drama, Historical/Biographical
- Settings
- Period, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- Baile Beag (Ballybeg), County Donegal, Ireland, 1833
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Regional Theatre, Professional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Translations was first performed at the Guildhall, Derry, Northern Ireland in September 1980. It was the first production by the Field Day Theatre Company founded by Brian Friel and Stephen Rea. Both Friel and Rea believed that the play would have a more profound impact being staged in Derry rather than Dublin. The play premiered in America in 1981 at Cleveland Playhouse. It then transferred to New York City later that year, opening at the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). In 2006-2007, MTC
to read the context for Translations and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
The play opens in the hedge-school of the Gaelic-speaking town of Baile Beag in August 1833. Manus is teaching Sarah, a woman with a severe speech defect, to say her name. Also present is Jimmy Jack Cassie, an educated and eccentric bachelor in his sixties who is reading ancient Greek. Manus is waiting for his father. Hugh, who is the school master. However, Sarah mimes rocking a baby and drinking, which Manus translates as his father is at the pub following a local christening.
to read the plot for Translations and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
Sorry! We do not currently have terms for this guide.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.
Quote Analysis
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.
Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher