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Register for The Wild Geese Today e-mail updates. At Manhattan's Biltmore Theater through March 11, a new production of Brian Friel's "Translations" looks at language, and how, in the context of Ireland's "Troubles," it could bedevil as well as define. WGT's Patricia James-Sammartano says that with this most welcome revival, the Manhattan Theater Club has crafted a masterful evening of theater. 2/17/07, 9:15 PM EST 'Translations': A Stirring Look At How Words Failed the Irish This new Broadway revival of Brian Friel's 1980 play poignantly explores the consequences of miscommunication, imperialism, cultural dissonance, exile and loss as Gaelic Ireland faces its dusk. By Patricia Jameson-Sammartano/ WGT Culture Editor Photo by Joan Marcus Chandler Williams (Lt. Yolland) and Susan Lynch (Maire). (For a larger view, click the image.) New York — Brian Friel's "Translations," now on Broadway at the Biltmore Theater until March 11, could be summed up with the iconic line from the 1967 prison-gang movie "Cool Hand Luke": "What we have here is a failure to communicate." While Donegal-born playwright Friel was not writing about inmates in his play, his Ireland-based cast is linguistically and culturally imprisoned by their British military oppressors and by their own inability to effect change, making them analogous to the convicts on the chain gang. Friel set "Translations" in Bhaile Beag, or Ballybeg, in the anglicized version, a mythological town in Donegal, in late August 1833; the Gaelic words Bhaile Beag literally mean "little town," and Friel has set many of his plays here. British soldiers in have come to make the first Ordnance Survey map, ostensibly to gather topographical information on the land for the military, and also will reassess the land valuation for taxation. Hedge schools sought to keep the faith Ireland's hedge schools, a central feature in Brian Friel's play "Translations," were a response to the Penal Laws, set in force by the British government in 1695 after the Ulster Plantation by Oliver Cromwell (1649) and the Battle of the Boyne (1690). Catholics were forbidden, among other things, to teach or send their children abroad to study under the tenets of their faith. Rather than send their children to Ireland's Protestant-dominated schools, parents in the 18th and early 19th centuries would pay fees to hedge schoolmasters, who taught in far from ideal conditions, according to P. J. Dowling in "The Irish Hedge School. "The schoolmaster ... selected, in some remote spot, the sunny side of a hedge or bank which effectively hid him and his pupils from the eye of the chance passer-by. ... One pupil was usually placed at a point of vantage to give warning of the approach of strangers; and if the latter were suspected of being law-officers or informants, the class was quickly disbanded for the day — only to meet again on the morrow in some place still more sheltered and remote." Only later, when the laws against Catholic-inspired teaching were relaxed, did schoolmasters teach in cabins or barns, but the name hedge school still applied. Students were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and sometimes even Latin and Greek. The national schools began in Ireland in 1831; this play takes place in 1833. — PJS The British military presence in the Irish-speaking village instills apprehension. The real purpose of the Ordnance Survey is not readily comprehensible to the natives of the Gaeltacht, nor would they likely approve. A local man understands that their translator is not translating accurately; he wants to know why. Sarah, a pupil at the local hedge school, has a speech defect; her major victory is the simple declaration, "My name is Sarah." She serves as metaphor for the lack of communication as she struggles to repeat the few words given her. Morgan Hallett does an outstanding job portraying this young woman, who communicates through mime and hardly any words. The ensemble is a mosaic of rural Ireland in the decades before An Gorta Mor. Hugh Mor O'Donnell, ably depicted by Niall Buggy, the schoolmaster, is attempting to become the headmaster of the national school; the system was introduced into Ireland in 1831, and is making its way to Donegal. His son and assistant Manus is hindered in his marriage plans because he has no job. Manus' intended, Maire, wants to learn because she wants to go to America. David Costabile gives a thoroughly convincing performance, as he plays Manus, the sturdy son with the limp; Susan Lynch, whom we remember from the 1993 movie "The Secret of Roan Inish," captivates as Maire. Dermot Crowley amuses as Jimmy Jack, who is nicknamed "the Infant Prodigy," speaker of Latin, Gaelic and Greek -- but no English, which makes his nickname ironically prescient, as infants do not speak; Michael Fitzgerald is Doalty Dan Doalty, the consummate class clown. Bridget (Geraldine Hughes), another student, is apprehensive because she has been told that the "sweet smell" was in the air beyond where the British were carrying out the Ordnance Survey. The "sweet smell" is, of course, the metaphorical corruption of power that augurs the death of the potato plants -- and this is the portent of the blight that would bring The Great Hunger in 1845. An additional consequence of that blight was the further erosion of the Gaelic language. Photo by Joan Marcus Left to right: Michael FitzGerald (Doalty), Geraldine Hughes (Bridget), Alan Cox (Owen), Susan Lynch (Maire). (For a larger view, click the image.) The survey crew is led by Captain Lancey, assisted by Lieutenant George Yolland and Owen O'Donnell, the younger son of the headmaster Hugh; Owen, away in Dublin for the past six years, is employed by the army as a civilian interpreter. As the British cannot communicate in Gaelic, Owen, ably played by Alan Cox, is there to translate for them, and he deliberately mangles the job, and with alacrity. Lancey (Graeme Malcolm) plays the stereotyped British officer, full of pomposity, looking down on the natives; Yolland (Chandler Williams) is a different story. He feels out of place because he cannot communicate with the locals in their own language. Where Lancey over-enunciates and speaks too loudly, as if he were addressing children, Owen renders his bureaucratic language into a more accessible form. The full house in the theater gave many of his missed "translations" abundant laughter on the night we attended. Act II has Owen and Yolland looking at the Name Book and standardizing place names, either by snglicizing them phonetically or translating them into English. Bun na h Abban, "mouth of the river" in Gaelic, becomes Bunowen, then Burnfoot. They are drinking poteen, the local whiskey, and talking; the conversation ebbs and flows between work and the more personal, including talk of troubled relationships with their fathers. In a particularly funny scene, Yolland calls Owen by the name "Roland" one too many times, and Owen explodes at him -- what's in a name, indeed? A British officer's threat augurs the destruction of a way of life In Friel's world, baptizing something makes it spring into existence. Owen and Yolland are naming places and anglicizing them, and that gives the places life, and the characters purpose. Manus appears with the news that he has been asked to start a hedge school on Inis Meadhon; free house, free turf, free milk, corn, potatoes, and a salary of 42 pounds a year, and the three drink to his newly acquired substance. Maire enters to hear this news, and she and Yolland talk around one another. 'TRANSLATIONS' AT A GLANCE "Translations" by Brian Friel Directed by: Garry Hynes Biltmore Theater 261 West 47th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) New York, NY Schedule: Through March 11 Monday: No Performance Tuesday: 8 pm Wednesday: 2pm (when scheduled), 8 pm Thursday: 8 pm Friday: 8 pm Saturday: 2pm, 8 pm Sunday: 2pm Single tickets ($86.25 - $26.25) are available by calling TeleCharge.com at 212-239-6200 or at www.telecharge.com or at the Biltmore Theater box office. MTC's "Translations" Website One of the ironies of this play is that everything, with the exception of place names and a few Latin and Greek words, is spoken in English, yet the characters are speaking separate languages. This is accomplished by the use of accented English to distinguish the Irish dialogue from the English. It is a testament to the actors, and to the director, Tony-Award winner Garry Hynes who is known for her work with Martin McDonagh ("The Beauty Queen of Leenane" "The Lonesome West"), that the production succeeds with this device: The actors who speak Gaelic do not react to the English words being spoken by the soldiers and Owen. Raised voices and deliberately slow speech are heard by those who speak Gaelic. Otherwise, the actors speak around one another, and this helps engender conflict, as we see the frustration demonstrated by not understanding one another. Act II, Scene 2 brings a brilliant scene change; the schoolhouse/barn is transformed into moonlit woods for an extraordinarily beautiful love scene between Yolland and Maire. Chandler Williams and Susan Lynch play this scene to perfection; unable to communicate in one another's language for more than a few words, they settle for pointing, gesturing, speaking in Latin and reciting Gaelic place names to one another. As Friel says in the voice of Owen, "Uncertainty in meaning is incipient poetry." This love scene develops that verse wholeheartedly. The scene design and lighting complement the transformation of the byre to the woods flawlessly; scenic and costume designer Francis O’Connor, who has worked with director Hynes previously, and lighting director Davy Cunningham, have done a wonderful job. If no one provides the missing man's whereabouts within 24 hours, they will face dire consequences, ones that would forever transform Ballybeg and their lives. By Act III, the scene has changed back to the schoolhouse; it's daytime, and a tempest thunders angrily outside the school, foreshadowing trouble. A heartbroken Manus gathers his books and clears out for Mayo; Owen tells him not to leave so precipitously because Lancey will suspect him in the disappearance of one of the British survey team. Determined to rescue the man, Lancey tells the villagers that if no one provides his whereabouts within 24 hours, they will face dire consequences, ones that would forever transform Ballybeg and their lives. Ironically, The Great Famine would realize the promised consequences in much of Ireland 15 or so years later. After Lancey's threat, Bridget rushes to hide the livestock and panics when she notices the "sweet smell" again. As the play ends, Hugh and Jimmy are drinking; Hugh faces a crushing loss and, reduced now to past glory, recalls his role in a march to Glenties during the Rising of 1798. Jimmy, deep within his cups, talks about marrying the goddess Pallas Athene. And Maire, it seems, may learn English after all -- beginning tomorrow, Hugh tells her. Univ. of South CarolinaBrian Friel "Translations" was written in 1980 and first performed at the Field Day Theatre Company in Derry; cast members included Mick Lally as Hugh, Liam Neeson as Doalty, and Stephen Rea as Owen. The first American performance was off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1981, with the late Barnard Hughes as Hugh. Twenty-five years later, the themes of tragic miscommunication, imperialism, cultural dissonance and loss resonate with us deeply. Language acquisition and the loss of language also stir us, perhaps now more than when the play was new. Still, though the play is a tragedy, there is much laughter throughout. This is a Broadway revival; it was originally on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre from March to April 1995, with a cast including Brian Dennehy as Hugh, Donal Donnelly as Jimmy Jack, Dana Delaney as Maire (and author, raconteur, activist and former gubernatorial candidate Malachy McCourt as an understudy for Dennehy and Donnelly). It is a masterful evening of theater touching many different themes; this play should not be missed. WGT This feature was edited by Gerry Regan and produced by Joe Gannon. Copyright © 2007 by Patricia Jameson-Sammartano and GAR Media LLC. This article may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior permission from the author. Direct questions about permissions to permissions@garmedia.com. 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