About the Play:

Three Plays After contains three one-act plays by Brian Friel. Inspired by works of the great Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, this collection explores the absurd realm which lies between perpetual hope and a penchant for self-destruction. These exquisite short masterpieces may be performed separately or as an evening of entertainment.

The Yalta Game (subtitled From a theme in Chekhov's 1899 story The Lady with the Lapdog) explores the loneliness of an unhappy marriage. Two strangers meet on holiday and almost manage to convince one another that disappointments are merely 'merely the postponement of the complete happiness to come...' (Cast: 1 woman, 3 men)

What people say:

"A beautiful and melancholy piece of theatre, modern in its wit but wonderfully evocative of a lost time and place." — Stage

In The Bear (subtitled A Vaudeville), Elana Popova, young and attractive widow, has immersed herself in the role of mourning for her philandering but now dead husband. Luka, her frail ancient man-servant, tries in vain to snap her out of it. Then Smirnov barges in... (Cast: 1 woman, 2 men)

What people say:

"Friel's version is superbly funny, vivid, keenly alert to Chekhov's so modern sensitivities to gender issues." — Financial Times

Afterplay is set in 1920s Moscow in a small run-down café. Uncle Vanya's niece Sonya Serebriakova, now in her forties, is the only customer. Until the arrival of the Three Sisters' put-upon brother, Audrey Prozorov. (Cast: 1 woman, 1 man)

What people say:

"As an autumnal, middle-aged idyll, the piece is a lttle gem in Friel's output – a short story in 3D – a total delight." — Daily Mail

The Yalta Game premiered in 2001 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. Afterplay and The Bear premiered at the Gate Theatre in 2002 and later that year Afterplay transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London.

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.