Faith Healer, Bristol Old Vic

A gripping revival of Brian Friel's late-20th-century classic

by Mark KidelSunday, 06 February 2011

Finbar Lynch as 'the fantastic' Frank Hardy, Brian Friel's faith healer

Theatre, particularly tragedy, can pack a terrific punch when things are kept simple – even if the themes evoked are enfolded in layer upon layer of complexity. Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, a play with three characters, each of whom takes to the stage alone, explores in a multifaceted way the life of an itinerant Irish healer who plies his trade along the backroads of the Celtic fringes of Britain.

The actors in Friel's play have to create a magical bond with those who have come to the theatre for – well, not literally healing

Buy

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Theatre

The Years, Harold Pinter Theatre review - a bravura, joyous feat of storytelling The Almeida’s all-women hit transfers to the West End

Elektra, Duke of York's Theatre review - Brie Larson's London stage debut is angry but inert Brie Larson makes a brave West End debut that, alas, misfires

First Person: writer Lauren Mooney on bringing bodies together in the new Royal Court play, 'More Life' Kandinsky Theatre co-creator on a new play tethering technology to existence

Oedipus, Old Vic review - disappointing leads in a production of two halves Is it a dance piece with added text, or a stripped down play with excess choreography?

Second Best, Riverside Studios review - Asa Butterfield brings the magic Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the boy who survived

Mrs President, Charing Cross Theatre review - Mary Todd Lincoln on her life alone Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story

… Blackbird Hour, Bush Theatre review - an unrelentingly tough watch New play about mental breakdown is a mix of acute distress and poetic writing

Play On!, Lyric Hammersmith review - and give me excess of it! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment

Inside No 9: Stage Fright, Wyndham’s review - uneven fright-night from the fêted duo Still inventive and fun but short on sharp shocks

Cymbeline, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - pagan women fight the good fight A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms