Saturday Play - Translations

A new production of Brian Friel's masterpiece about language and power. It's the summer of 1833. In a hedge-school in Donegal, the schoolmaster's prodigal son is about to return from Dublin. With him are two army officers. Their aim is to create a map of the area, and, in the process, replace the Irish place-names with English equivalents. It's an act with unexpected and violent consequences. Thirty years ago playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea founded the Field Day Theatre Company in Northern Ireland. A company that aimed to provide a 'fifth province' in which Ireland's political and social troubles could be explored and re-imagined. Translations was its first production and became an instant classic. To mark its anniversary, BBC Radio 4 has commissioned a new production, specially adapted for radio by Michael Duke. Cast: Yolland.....Samuel Barnett Lancey......Mark Bazeley Doalty......John Paul Connolly Jimmy Jack......Dermot Crowley Sarah........Roisin Gallagher Manus......David Ireland Bridget.....Aoife McMahon Hugh........Gerard McSorley Owen......Eugene O'Hare Maire......Eileen Walsh Director: Kirsty Williams.