Brian Friel’s 'Freedom of the City' at the Irish Rep - Freedom’s just another word

Friel's new drama shows the Irish-British conflict lucidly

By

CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

Irish Voice Arts Editor

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Cara Seymour and Joseph Sikora in a scene from The Freedom of the City.

Photo by Irish Rep

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The Freedom of the City is an angry play, made all the more so by the tragic failure of the warring factions to countenance their share humanity, or concede an inch of ideological ground. But Friel makes it even harder on the audience by underlining just how important the economic roots of the conflict are (and still remain).

When you're raised in poverty you live in a continual present that denies you the luxury of foresight, or the insight of reflection. Friel even brings a sociologist (Christa Scott-Reid) on stage to underline his points and link the Irish civil rights struggle to the global one of oppressed underclasses quietly waking from a decades long slumber and howling in anger over the deprivations they have suffered.

That struggle is far from over, as O'Reilly reminds us in this fast paced production. Church and divided state still lay claim to their discreetly garrisoned communities in the North, although a new atmosphere of cooperation and openness has finally taken root.

Had the peace process not taken root so deeply this play and this production would have been incredibly difficult to watch. As it stands its a marker of how far we've come, and how little we have changed in the interim.

The Freedom of the City runs until November 25 at the Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street. Visit www.irishrep.org for tickets and showtimes. 

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