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Category: Faith Healer

Faith Healer

By Brian Friel

Abbey Theatre Dublin 10^th January 2022

After being postponed in March 2019 due to COVID, ‘Faith Healer’ finally opened at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in December 2021.  Due to restrictions in Ireland. the play started at 5pm in the evening, the bar was not open, and we were asked not to loiter in the foyer, it was straight into the theatre to take our seats.

The play itself is a three hander, divided into four monologues, the actors take the stage one at a time, alone, meaning social distancing was not an issue for the cast, probably one of the reasons the play is still going ahead, despite the performance in the Peacock Theatre next door being cancelled.

Aidan plays Frank Hardy, the ‘Faith Healer’ of the title, he is the first to take to the stage, describing, with great flourish, his life on the road, peddling his trade around small, rural towns of Scotland and Wales, with a final homecoming to Ireland. He is accompanied on his travels by his wife Grace and his manager Teddy.  

Of course, I have always known that Aidan was a good actor, but this performance here is phenomenal. He prowls round the stage, questioning his own ‘talents as a faith healer and painting a vivid picture of his life and how it is impacted, not only by those who share his journey, but also by the events that shape the version of himself he portrays.  I was in the middle of the front row and Aidan was about 10 foot in front of me, I thought that in itself might distract me from the performance, but I was totally mesmerised. I actually forgot it was Aidan I was looking at; I was that drawn into the tale of Frank and his life on the road.

The second monologue comes from Frank’s wife Grace played by the always excellent Niamh Cusack. Grace’s recollection of the events described by Frank, are not only different but are truly heart-breaking. When we meet Grace, she is a broken woman, a victim of Frank’s cruelty and one tragic event to which Frank does not even refer.  As the curtains go down at the end of the first act it is difficult to determine fact from fiction in both accounts.

The second act begins with a monologue from Frank’s manager Teddy (played by Nigel Lindsay), we are told by Frank he is devoted to him, but by Grace he is a thief and a con man.  So, can we trust anything Teddy says? His monologue is pretty close to that of Grace, despite insisting that one of his main roles is not to mix the professional with the personal, it is clear he cares for both Grace and Frank.  But how much can you trust a man who swears he taught a whippet how to play the bagpipes!

The intensity and drama are kept up throughout and come to a climax during the final monologue which comes from Frank. As an audience we are left guessing as to Frank’s fate, a picture is painted, beautifully, of what might or might not be Frank’s final moments. After travelling in Wales and Scotland he has finally come home to Ireland and seems to be at peace with himself.

I feel very privileged to have seen this production of Faith Healer, all three actors were phenomenal, and I was gripped throughout, it has made me even more in awe of Aidan’s talents.