About the Play:

Fathers and Sons is a full-length drama by Brian Friel, adapted from the 1862 novel of the same name by Ivan Turgenev. In rural Russia in the mid nineteenth century, a brilliant, anarchic young medical student arrives at the provincial family villa of his best friend for the summer vacation. He wants to despise the family for their imperturbable complacency and bourgeois effeteness, but he is tormented by conflicting emotions. His desperate action has tragic consequences.

Fathers and Sons speaks of the heartbreak of being a parent and the terrible compromise of growing up. Two young men arrive at a country estate, fresh from university: one, Arkady, the son of the landowner, the other a brilliant and charismatic radical, proclaiming a dangerous new philosophy. But their warm welcome cools as the new house guest attacks the values of his hosts, bringing to the surface the tensions between one generation and the next. Over the course of a summer, political ideals are tested by filial duty and the arrival of Anna, a mysterious visitor whose presence stirs the heart and threatens a friendship.

Fathers and Sons premiered in 1987 at the Royal National Theatre in London and was revived in 2014 at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

Cast: 6 women, 9 men

What people say:

"The evening leaves you pondering not just the play's political implications but the ageless tragedy of parent child relationship." — The Guardian (London)

"Drama at its most stimulating and eloquent... has the density, complexity and richness of a great 19th century novel without the usual creaking stage mechanism of dramatized fiction." — The New York Daily News

"A fine, solid piece of drama not just about the divisions between the different generations but also about nihilism, revolution and the immutability of love." — Time Out

About the Playwright:

Brian Friel (1929-2015) was an Irish dramatist, theatre director and author. One of Ireland's greatest playwrights, he was a leading voice on stages on both sides of the Atlantic. He received his college education in Derry, Maynooth and Belfast and taught at various schools in and around Derry from 1950 to 1960. Often described as the "Irish Chekhov," he has penned more than 30 plays in a career spanning six decades.