Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Brian Friel Tackles British/Irish Conflict in ‘Translations’

Wednesday, November 6, 2013, By News Staff
Share
College of Visual and Performing Arts

In “Translations,” a group of students at a hedge school in 1833 Ireland are greeted by two British Army engineers who intend to map their town and change its place names from Gaelic to English. What ensue are the trials and tribulations of people living with a language barrier that quietly outlines a division between two very different cultures. “Translations” explores deeply rooted political and cultural issues about the imposition of the British on the Irish and what it means to preserve culture.

Translations_Cred“Translations” will run Nov. 15-23 in the Storch Theater at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex. Tickets can be purchased online at http://vpa.syr.edu/drama, by phone at 315-443-3275 and in person at the SU Drama Box Office, 820 E. Genesee St.

“Translations” is set in a hedge school: a secret educational institution originally created as a place to teach Catholic values when Anglo Protestants prohibited Catholic education in Ireland. This concept dated back to the 1690s. By 1833, when this play takes place, these schools were far less secretive, as Ireland progressed toward educational freedom. Friel uses the hedge school for “Translations” as a reminder of the constant shadow of British influence on the Irish.

When the community in “Translations” becomes divided by language, questions of cultural identity and moments of humor ensue. This includes a love story between one of the army engineers and a local resident where neither can declare their love for each other because one speaks Gaelic and the other English.  They know they’re in love, but they have no way to articulate it.

Written in 1980 by the man known as the “Irish Chekhov,” “Translations” was originally produced in Ireland at the Field Day Theater Company, founded by playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea, who starred in the production.

Friel is known for his “Chekhovian style,” as he uses few strong words to illustrate large societal implications, and creates moments of sadness that are not just sorrowful, but entertaining. His most famous works besides “Translations” include “Philadelphia,” “Here I Come!,” “Faith Healer” and “Dancing at Lughnasa,” which won three Tony Awards, including “Best Play” in the early 1990s.

“Translations” premiered in the United States in 1981 at the Manhattan Theater Club and made a brief appearance on Broadway in 1995, featuring actor Brian Dennehy. In 2007 it was revived at the Biltmore Theater in New York City.

Gerardine Clark, director of the SU Drama production, explains the complexity of “Translations,” a play that Friel has said is essentially about language.

“All our emotions are tied very strongly to our first language,” says Clark. In tackling the Irish/English conflict, Clark thinks that “Friel argues for both sides of the question,” and that “Without an abundance of natural resources, Ireland would be hard put to enter the modern world without the English language. However, one should be free to live in a world (language) that is beautiful and ornate.”

 

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Newhouse Creative Advertising Students Win Big at Sports and Entertainment Clios
    Friday, May 30, 2025, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Libraries’ Information Literacy Scholars Produce Information Literacy Collab Journal
    Thursday, May 29, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Spirit on Display: Limited-Edition Poster Supports Future Generations
    Thursday, May 29, 2025, By News Staff
  • Timur Hammond’s ‘Placing Islam’ Receives Journal’s Honorable Mention
    Tuesday, May 27, 2025, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University, Lockerbie Academy Reimagine Partnership, Strengthen Bond
    Friday, May 23, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Spelman College Glee Club to Perform at Return to Community: A Sunday Gospel Jazz Service June 29

As the grand finale of the 2025 Syracuse International Jazz Fest, the Spelman College Glee Club of Atlanta will perform at Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, June 29. The Spelman College Glee Club, now in its historic 100th year, is the…

Alumnus, Visiting Scholar Mosab Abu Toha G’23 Wins Pulitzer Prize for New Yorker Essays

Mosab Abu Toha G’23, a graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences and a current visiting scholar at Syracuse University, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for a series of essays…

School of Architecture Faculty Pablo Sequero Named Winner of 2025 Architectural League Prize

School of Architecture faculty member Pablo Sequero’s firm, salazarsequeromedina, has been named to the newest cohort of winners in the biennial Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, one of North America’s most prestigious awards for young practitioners. “An…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.