Translations at Writers Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...On a deeper level, the play is about the acquisition of the English language in rural Ireland. Friel's characters are mostly involved in a so-called Hedge School, in essence the equivalent of joint home-schooling in 19th century Ireland, where Gaelic is the dominant language. (Most people in 1833 Baile Beag, later anglicized as Ballybeg, did not speak English.) The classical languages of Greek and Latin were also taught, the belief being that they were a superior form of communication for the Irish tongue than the King's English spoken across the North Sea."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Brian Friel's 1980 play "Translations" considers language in all its contradictions, as a vehicle for understanding and misunderstanding, human progress and historical loss, self-actualization and colonialist control. It's a thoughtful and moving play, receiving a lovely production at Writers Theatre filled with soulful performances."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...Certainly, the notion of renaming things just because you feel like it hits home, given the recent "Gulf of America" nonsense. But the great beauty of Friel's play (and there are many beautiful as well as funny interludes in Abraham's thoughtful staging) is that, while it's clearly rooted in Irish history, it offers insight for anyplace where people have felt torn between the traditions they were born into and the ones thrust upon them, and where the choice to adapt in order to survive sometimes comes at a very high cost indeed."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...Glencoe's Writers Theatre wasn't always decked out in a gorgeous and comfy Jeanne Gang designed space: it started out so simply in the back of a bookstore and was dedicated to making words come to life, to making a good story the place to connect and contemplate our essential humanity. In a way, the current production of Translations by esteemed Irish playwright Brian Friel takes us back to those roots. It is a play that deals with a horrible history, and hearing this story right now makes us realize that the awful things we are facing have a terrible sameness to the ugly parts of many histories."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Let me start this review by saying that while the production of "Translations" now onstage at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, is indeed a wonderful one, the play, written by Brian Friel, may not appeal to everyone. The story is history (taking us back to the early 1800's, almost 200 years ago) in County Donegal in Ireland. The people of this community are happy and very set in their ways. The headmaster, Hugh ( a delightful character created by Kevin Guidahl) and one of his sons, Manus ( played to perfection by Andrew Mueller) are the local teachers, teaching Latin and Greek. Hugh has another son, Owen ( deftly handled by Casey Hoekstra) who is employed by the English army as a translator. It is his arrival with the British army that changes the direction of the story and the people."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...It's been a minute since any of Brian Friel's wonderful works have been seen in Chicago.This particular play seems especially ripe for today's theatergoer. Ireland in the mid-19th century was coping with economic problems while helplessly watching as the British asserted their rule and their ways. America seems to be in a similar awkward position of having to cope with economic problems while a new, autocratic government is also trying to change the status quo to please the party in power. It's interesting how, while watching a story set in another time and another place, actually almost 200 years ago, we find ourselves drawing such close parallels to our own world today. But that's what makes a play like this, a celebration of the power of language, so special. This story of a go-between, caught between two ideologies or two TRANSLATIONS, so completely fascinating and realistic."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Brian Friel?s ?Translations,? now playing at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL, shows off the renowned Irish playwright?s signature skill in creating a stage full of memorable characters, 10 in this case, each with depth sufficient to fuel their dramatic paths."

Irish American News - Highly Recommended

"...Writers Theatre's production of Translations is a breathtaking achievement-poignant, intelligent, and emotionally charged. Brian Friel's masterwork about language, identity, and colonialism is given a deeply resonant staging under the assured direction of Braden Abraham. With a superb cast, evocative design, and a script rich in poetic nuance, this is a production that lingers long after the final blackout."

Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended

"...Brian Friel's 1980 play is about a lot of things. There's colonialism. There are border challenges. There's love. However, at the root, there's a story about language. We have so many different ways to communicate in this world. Even when it seems like there's no hope to ever understand, we often still find a way."

PicksInSix - Highly Recommended

"...It would be very easy to see "Translations," the thick, challenging classic by the great Irish playwright Brian Friel, as a treatise about endless attacks on Irish colonialism. After all, British soldiers travel from town to town and literally change the names of where people live to make them conform with English culture and language-by force, if necessary. And in many ways, this is true. But, as the elegant production at Writers Theatre in Glencoe that opened Friday shows in no uncertain terms, the real story here is about the magic of language itself. Writers Artistic Director Braden Abraham has deftly followed the brushstrokes of the master Mr. Friel in creating this entire world of contradiction and mystery."

Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended

"...Brian Friel's masterful 1980 play Translations, now onstage at Writers Theatre, quickly peels back the surface layers of the situation and shows how the soldiers, who speak no Irish, and the Irish, who speak no English, are nonetheless able to intuit the ill intentions they have toward each other. The Irish just wish to be left alone, but if the soldiers persist in these acts of cultural destruction and assimilation, they'll fight back. And the English, like many an occupying force in a land where they don't speak the language, see threats everywhere and view the natives with condescension and derision."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...This production of Brian Friel's celebrated, poignant and cerebral play brings forth all the magic that a great playwright, a smart director-Writers Theatre artistic director Braden Abraham-and a masterful cast can wring out of a stationary set, a few props and a whirlpool of ideas that grows ever deeper with each line of dialogue. It's a stunning production that should be seen at least once, though I, for one, wish I could see it a dozen times or more."