Written by Brian Friel
The Irish Rep present one of the lesser known works of Brian Friel, a giant of Irish writing who was often compared to Chekhov and Tennessee Williams. The playwright's last original work, The Home Place first debuted in Dublin in 2005, and is a typically rich portrait of an Ireland on the brink of huge change, with the English gentry unsure of their place in this brave new world. Rep Artistic Director Charlotte Moore directs.
The year is 1878 in Donegal and a charged atmosphere hangs over the house of English landlord Christopher Gore. Another nearby English aristocrat has been murdered, and ill feeling against Christopher has been stacked by the actions of his cousin Richard, a believer in eugenics who spent his recent visit to the town measuring the locals' heads for signs of biological inferiority. Add to this the fact that both Christopher and his son David are in love with their housekeeper Margaret, and you have a very combustible situation.