:This article is about a play, for the religious concept of faith healing, see faith healing
Faith Healer
is a play by Brian Friel about the life of faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy.
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FAITH HEALER - THEATRICAL PRODUCTION TICKETS
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Synopsis
The play consists of four parts, with a
monologue making up each part. The monologues are given, in order, by the
faith healer, Francis (Frank) Hardy himself; his wife, Grace; his
cockney manager, Teddy, and finally Hardy again.
The monologues tell the story of the faith healer himself, including an incident in a
Welsh village in which he cures ten people. Teddy's monologue reveals that Grace Hardy commits suicide, while Frank ponders whether his gift is for real or not.
Production history
Faith Healer
received its first performance in 1979 on
Broadway in a production by
José Quintero, with
James Mason,
Clarissa Kaye and
Donal Donnelly. It closed after twenty performances.
It was revived in 1983 at the
Vineyard Theatre, directed by
Dann Florek, with
J. T. Walsh, Kathleen Chalfant and Martin Shakar.
It was again revived in 1994 at the
Long Wharf Theatre under the direction of
Joe Dowling and starring
Donal McCann,
Judy Geeson and
Ron Cook. The
New York Times called the production "incandescent" and recommended it to "any connoisseur of theater".
It was revived again at the
Booth Theatre on
May 4,
2006. The cast consisted of
Ralph Fiennes,
Cherry Jones and
Ian McDiarmid in a production from the
Gate Theatre in
Dublin, directed by
Jonathan Kent. The Broadway revival received four
Tony Award nominations and won one:
Best Featured Actor in a Play,
Ian McDiarmid.
It is currently being staged as part of the
Sydney Festival 2009, as part of a trio of works being performed to honour the eightieth birthday of
Friel. The other works are
The Yalta Game and
Afterplay. It is also currently being staged in the Unicorn Theatre at Berkshire Theatre Festival.