Queen’s University Belfast has launched the ‘Friel Reimagined: A Playwright’s Works in Progress’ exhibition on playwright Brian Friel’s rich archive at the Guildhall, Derry, running from 17- 23 November 2022.
The exhibition will explore significant moments of creative transformation as Friel worked through five iconic works, from the 1960s to the 1990s.
As Brian Friel (1929-2015) drafted his plays, a cascade of notes emerged from his writing desk – from urgent scrawls to quiet musings. Over time, these turned into page upon diligent page of typescript drafts, not a line of which escaped his incisive correcting pen on the way to their final form. Within the Friel Papers at the National Library of Ireland, and now on the Brian Friel Digital Archive hosted by Queen’s University and JSTOR, we are given access to the voluminous output of a master of his craft. This exhibition introduces a selection of this rich archive.
Friel’s daily writing rhythm created fertile ground from which widely loved works of art would grow. Classics of twentieth century theatre, such as Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), Translations (1980) and Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), are among his prodigious output. Here in the archives, we can join him at his writing desk as he seeks out the precise words to convey his meaning – words that would, in time, become indelibly written on our collective cultural memory.
The exhibition is part of ‘Friel Reimagined’ Project at Queen’s University Belfast, produced in partnership with JSTOR and the National Library of Ireland, and with the support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Steel Charitable Trust. The original archival papers presented in the exhibition are held at the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin; they are copyright of the Brian Friel Estate and reproduced with kind permission.
The exhibition features essays by Kelly Matthews, Lisa Fitzpatrick, David Grant, Alison Garden and Bernadette Sweeney. Illustrations by Fuchsia MacAree, Lydia Hughes, Ashwin Chacko, Dermot Flynn and Ashling Lindsay. Exhibition design by Nongraphic, structural design and build by Shiro Masayuma.
When the exhibition ends at the Guildhall, it will move to the McClay Library at Queen’s University Belfast and will be opened to the public from 10 December.
Admission is free and everyone is welcome to visit.
WHEN: 17 – 23 November 2022 during Guildhall opening hours.
WHERE: Whittaker Suite, Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Derry/Londonderry BT48 6DQ
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