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Dancing at Lughnasa A Play Brian Friel 9780571144792 Books

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Dancing at Lughnasa A Play Brian Friel 9780571144792 Books

What follows is an adapted version of the liner notes I wrote in the production program of Dancing At Lughnasa which I recently directed. The production closed on May 18 2002.
"Careful, if you breathe, it breaks." Laura
"The play is memory, and being a memory play, it is sentimental, it is dimly lit, it is not realistic."
both quotes from The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
"I'd always heard that your entire life flashes in front of you the second before you die. First off, that second isn't a second at all. It stretches on forever like an ocean of time . . . you have no idea what I"m talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry .. . you will."
Lester from American Beauty written by Alan Ball
Brian Friel's gentle and poetic narrative seeks to capture the fragile and imperceptible line standing between nostalgia and history. "Dancing At Lughnasa" does not seek to be a documentary. It is not based so much on harsh reality as say McCourt's "Angela's Ashes".
The six adult siblings as viewed through the retrospective eyes of the adult narrator Micheal all share the common bond of blood, time and space. Their collective sense of love, compassion and interdependence makes them, I believe true heroes. In every family, there comes a time when the unit must break apart and each member must find their own independent way. the struggle against inevitable change, while it may appear foolish to some, I find admirable in the poetic sense. This struggle appears to provide the family with a history, a sense of place and purpose. Ultimately they find thier identity within the bird's nest ( in Friel's play, the hen house). The family also serves as the proving found. It defines, strengthens and completes its members. Perhaps in history before the radio of Marconi, the family found itself able to sustain and even thrive in one place.
Friel appears to use Dancing At Lughnasa as a vehicle for freezing in memory the final time before a family splinters off.
Memory often proves a decietful beast. Frequently we all remember things as we wish them to exist. This almost always contrasts with the factual. Micheal (Friel's alter ego) desires to hold this specific moment in time the way he wants to remember it, as an idealized image forever frozen in glass. Who really can blame us (and Micheal) for favoring nostalgia over fact? For like some sort of cruel trick, we amost never realize our key life events until long after they have played out.
The play's earthy philosopher Maggie even states, "just one quick glimpse-that's all you ever get. And if you miss that . . ." Dancing At Lughnasa serves as Friel's quick glimpse at a moment long gone.
Lughnasa is not a play of simple entertaiment. It is a complex work of art, filled with personal revelations, symbols and ideas that work together to reveal universe. It is a great play because it holds up to close reading and scrutiny. Enjoy and savor.


Tags : Dancing at Lughnasa: A Play [Brian Friel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It is 1936 and harvest time in County Donegal. In a house just outside the village of Ballybeg live the five Mundy sisters,Brian Friel,Dancing at Lughnasa: A Play,Farrar, Straus and Giroux,0571144799,European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh,Drama in English, 1945- - Texts,DRAMA European English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh,Drama,Friel, Brian - Plays & Criticism,Language & Literature,Plays,Plays Drama,Plays, playscripts

Dancing at Lughnasa A Play Brian Friel 9780571144792 Books Reviews

Very Emotional play. Rollercoaster of emotion. Reccommended read, reccommended watch. great play when done well.
This Play was for one of my college classes. But I found it to be well written and wonderful. If you like Irish plays you should read it.
Had to read this in my high school english class. It's a decent play just not my favorite.
This play is as satisfying to read as to see on stage - and more satisfying than to watch the worthy but not outstanding movie version. If you can't get to see it live, buy the script rather than the movie DVD.
A really interesting comedy-drama with priceless characters.

But I didn't get the part, so there's a touch o' tragedy as well, and the script is on the shelf.
GautamiPutra Satakarni
Great play
What follows is an adapted version of the liner notes I wrote in the production program of Dancing At Lughnasa which I recently directed. The production closed on May 18 2002.
"Careful, if you breathe, it breaks." Laura
"The play is memory, and being a memory play, it is sentimental, it is dimly lit, it is not realistic."
both quotes from The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
"I'd always heard that your entire life flashes in front of you the second before you die. First off, that second isn't a second at all. It stretches on forever like an ocean of time . . . you have no idea what I"m talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry .. . you will."
Lester from American Beauty written by Alan Ball
Brian Friel's gentle and poetic narrative seeks to capture the fragile and imperceptible line standing between nostalgia and history. "Dancing At Lughnasa" does not seek to be a documentary. It is not based so much on harsh reality as say McCourt's "Angela's Ashes".
The six adult siblings as viewed through the retrospective eyes of the adult narrator Micheal all share the common bond of blood, time and space. Their collective sense of love, compassion and interdependence makes them, I believe true heroes. In every family, there comes a time when the unit must break apart and each member must find their own independent way. the struggle against inevitable change, while it may appear foolish to some, I find admirable in the poetic sense. This struggle appears to provide the family with a history, a sense of place and purpose. Ultimately they find thier identity within the bird's nest ( in Friel's play, the hen house). The family also serves as the proving found. It defines, strengthens and completes its members. Perhaps in history before the radio of Marconi, the family found itself able to sustain and even thrive in one place.
Friel appears to use Dancing At Lughnasa as a vehicle for freezing in memory the final time before a family splinters off.
Memory often proves a decietful beast. Frequently we all remember things as we wish them to exist. This almost always contrasts with the factual. Micheal (Friel's alter ego) desires to hold this specific moment in time the way he wants to remember it, as an idealized image forever frozen in glass. Who really can blame us (and Micheal) for favoring nostalgia over fact? For like some sort of cruel trick, we amost never realize our key life events until long after they have played out.
The play's earthy philosopher Maggie even states, "just one quick glimpse-that's all you ever get. And if you miss that . . ." Dancing At Lughnasa serves as Friel's quick glimpse at a moment long gone.
Lughnasa is not a play of simple entertaiment. It is a complex work of art, filled with personal revelations, symbols and ideas that work together to reveal universe. It is a great play because it holds up to close reading and scrutiny. Enjoy and savor.