A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Freedom of the City

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 16m

Brian Friel

"Friel fleshes the awful, numbing casualty statistics and gives them breath and life." - The Sunday Telegraph

The Freedom of the City

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 16m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Docudrama/Historic
  • Suggested Use
    • Cutting Approved for Competition
    • Scene work
    • Competition or audition material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary
Set in Londonderry in 1970, this gripping drama by the acclaimed author of Faith Healer and Translations explores the ongoing Irish “troubles” that plague the country to this day. An unauthorized Civil Rights March has been dispersed, and three demonstrators, two young men, and a middle-aged mother of eleven take refuge in the Town Hall. Hysterical rumor inflates the trio to forty armed rebels, and they are besieged. When they surrender, they are shot.
History
The Freedom of the City was first presented in the United States at the Goodman Theatre Center in Chicago, Illinois. It was directed by William Woodman. The play was subsequently presented Off Broadway by Konrad Matthaei and Hale Matthews at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on February 17, 1974. It was also directed by William Woodman.
Keywords
Performing Groups
LILY - 43. Has 11 children and her body has long since settled into its own comfortable contours. But poverty and child-bearing have not completely obliterated the traces of earl prettiness.
SKINNER - 21. Very lean, very tense, very restless. He is described as "glib" but the adjective is less than just. A quick volatile mind driving a lean body.
MICHAEL - 22. Strong, regular features, but not handsome.
PRESS PHOTOGRAPHSE
PRIEST
JUDGE
POLICE CONSTABLE
DR. DOBBS - Sociologist
BALLAD SINGER
BRIGADIER JOHNSON HANSBURY
ARMY PRESS OFFICER
DR. WINBOURNE - Forensic expert
PROFESSOR CUPPLEY - Pathologist
LIAM O'KELLEY - RTE Commentator
SOLDIERS, REPORTERS, BARKEEP
  • Time Period 1970s
  • Setting Derry City, Northern Ireland. 1970.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Gun Shots
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Friel fleshes the awful, numbing casualty statistics and gives them breath and life." - The Sunday Telegraph

"Friel has written the best Northern Irish play since the present troubles began; it is also the least tainted by propaganda or the simplifications to which such a subject becomes prone." - The Financial Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Brian Friel

Brian Friel

Brian Friel (1929-2015), largely considered modern Ireland’s leading playwright, was born to a schoolmaster and a postmistress. After working as a teacher in Derry for ten years, he married Anne Morrison and moved to Donegal to begin writing in earnest. His first significant ...

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