About the Play:

Of the Fields, Lately has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues.

Of the Fields, Lately is a full-length drama by David French. The older son returns home, after a two-year absence, to attend his aunt's funeral. In Leaving Home, the Mercer family had split up; in Of The Fields, Lately, there is a healing of old wounds. The father and son manage a moment of reconciliation, with death hanging like a shadow over the house.

Of the Fields, Lately follows the fortunes of the Mercer family, ex-pat Newfoundlanders forging a new life in the inner city of Toronto. This emotionally charged sequel to his first play, takes up two years after young Ben Mercer left his dysfunctional Newfoundland family, returning home for his aunt Dot's funeral. Upon his return, he's found his father Jacob has suffered a recent heart attack. Ben's father has been advised not to go back to work, but feels he must provide for his family. Ben is trying to come to an important decision while his mother Mary and Uncle Wiff grieve his aunt. Should Ben remain and support his family or pursue his dreams in the big city? While Ben and Jacob make tentative gestures toward reconciliation, Mary hopes that some day they will find a way to love each other despite their history of discord. Everyone in the play discovers something about themselves, under the pressure of imminent death. Ben finally realizes that his father has been a profound influence in his life, one that will continue even after his death. The dialogue is idiomatic, funny, and lyrical. A true theatrical masterpiece. Of the Fields, Lately is the second part of what has come to be known as The Mercer Family play cycle.

Of the Fields, Lately premiered in 1973 at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and won the prestigious Chalmers Award for Drama. On Broadway in 1980, acclaimed actor Chris Cooper starred as Ben. This Canadian Classic has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has played in theatres across Canada and around the world.

Cast: 1 female, 3 male

What people say:

"Worthy and convincing. Line by line, scene by scene, it is above reproach." — The New York Times

"An agonizingly beautiful work." — New York Post

"...very fine." — The Globe and Mail

"Like the first play, Of The Fields, Lately enfolds a simplicity of action which is both natural and deceptive. Through the uncommon honesty of his observation, the unfailing truth of his feeling, David French brings us to an understanding of the interrelation of death and pride, love and fury." — Toronto Star

"A transplanted Newfoundlander, French never strayed far from the rich vein of family lore and tradition he mined to create these classics, including Leaving Home and Of the Fields, Lately. [In The Mercer Family Play Cycle] David French created the Canadian equivalents of Tennessee Williams's characters with their haunting, visceral, essential take on leaving home, politics, love and the eternal drama of families." — The Book of Lists

About the Author:

David French (1939-2010) was one of Canada's most popular and critically-acclaimed playwrights. He is best remembered for the Mercer family plays, such as Leaving Home, which chronicle the lives of a Newfoundland family with humour and pathos. The Mercer plays have received hundreds of productions across North America, including a Broadway production of Of the Fields, Lately. This quintet of plays has also touched audiences in Europe, South America and Australia. His backstage comedy Jitters has been performed all over the continent, and most of his plays have had successful international runs, including two Broadway productions. In 1989, David French was inducted into the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour, and in 2001 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.