Clock and Spiel Productions bring Irish playwright Brian Friel’s moving play Molly Sweeney, about disability and the way we frame blindness, to Flight Path Theatre this month, December 9-13. Hailed by the Irish Independent as a “meticulously crafted, beautifully written parable for our times,” it casts Grace Naoum as the eponymous Molly.
The daughter of a judge, she was born blind and is used to a tactile understanding of the world, with which she is very happy. But then she’s offered an operation to restore her sight and has to weigh up the pros and cons, a decision further complicated by the men in her life: her husband, Frank (Matt Abotomey) and Mr Rice (Yannick Lawry), the ambitious surgeon hoping to renew his mojo after a failed marriage.
The late Friel is hailed as one of Ireland’s most treasured storyteller, and Molly Sweeney as a riveting contemporary drama about the consequences of medical miracles. Wrapped up in memory, hope and despair, the work is a timely remember to look more closely at what matters most, and that just because society favours one state of being over the other doesn’t mean that’s necessarily the best way for everyone to live. Directed by Hailey McQueen with music by Luke Craig, this one’s sure to be a fascinating insight into a young woman’s sense of self.
Love drama? Take a look at Griffin Theatre's 2021 line-up.
