by Brian Friel. Directed by Allan Hart.
| Something is being eroded |
Wednesday 18 – Saturday 21 March and
Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 March at 7.30pm
Matinées on Saturdays 21 and 28 March at 3pm
At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington
| The action takes place in late August 1833 at a hedge school in the townland of Baile Beag, an Irish speaking community in County Donegal. In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and rendered into English. In examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group, Brian Friel skilfully reveals the far reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative. Written in 1980, he described Translations as “a play about language and only about language”, and was the first play to be staged by the Field Day Theatre Company, founded by Friel and actor Stephen Rea. |
Buy Tickets
Wednesday 18 March at 7.30pm
Thursday 19 March at 7.30pm
Friday 20 March at 7.30pm
Saturday 21 March at 3pm
Saturday 21 March at 7.30pm
Tuesday 24 March at 7.30pm
Wednesday 25 March at 7.30pm
Thursday 26 March at 7.30pm
Friday 27 March at 7.30pm
Saturday 28 March at 3pm
Saturday 28 March at 7.30pm
Cast
Manus : Alan Maddrell
Sarah : Varvara Barmpouri
Jimmy : Peta Barker
Maire : Laura Fleming
Doalty : Jack Hanrahan
Bridget : Cordelia Hennessy
Hugh : Robert Pennant Jones
Owen : Oscar Gill
Lancey : Charlie Patterson
Yolland : Peter Molloy
Production Team
Director : Allan Hart
Set Design : Max Batty
Costume Design : Sue Carling
Lighting Design : Stephen Ley
Sound Design : Feiyang Yang
Original Music : Colin Guthrie
Stage Manager : Azul Alysum
Associate Director : Feiyang Yang
Irish language coach : Jill Reynolds
Rehearsal Prompt : Ann Watchorn
 Alan Maddrell‘s first show at the Tower was Telstar in 2014. Since then he has appeared in Travesties, All That Fall, Pal Joey, The Night Alive, The Chimes and The Playboy of the Western World. In a strange turn of events, Translations will be Alan’s fifth show at the Tower playing an Irish character. He is not Irish. |
 Peta Barker‘s acting credits include Ariel and Caliban (The Tempest), Iago (Othello), Mrs Yajnavalkya (ValmouthThe Little Shop of Horrors), Mbongeni (Woza Albert!), Scullery (Road), Ash (Dealer’s Choice), Jack Mullen (The Weir), John (Shining City), Derek (Brighton Beach Scumbags), Hoke Driving Miss Daisy), Evan (Sweat), Joe (Port Authority), Coram Boy, Maurice (The Night Alive), Koch/Nikolai (Crime and Punishment) and, most recently, Manxman (Moby Dick). Directing credits include Blue Remembered Hills, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Burn This, Lysistrata, Brimstone and Treacle, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Arcadia and, most recently, Our Country’s Good. He adapted/directed Russell Hoban’s novel Kleinzeit, and played Snug the Joiner in the Tower Theatre Team in the RSC’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
 This is Cordelia Hennessy‘s second show at the Tower, having spent last summer participating in the wonderful production of Moby Dick. Cordelia trained for two years on the Acting part-time course at Rose Bruford College whilst completing her Masters in Film and Media Curating. She is looking forward to participating in this production of Translations, especially given her Irish roots on her Dad’s side. She feels so lucky to be fulfilling her love of performance whilst simultaneously delving into her own heritage. |
 Robert Pennant Jones is thrilled to be reprising the part of Hugh which he played in the Tower’s previous production in 1998. Robert joined the Tower in 1962 and has been involved as an actor or director in around 50 shows. His recent roles include King Lear, Prospero in The Tempest and The Old Man in Doctor Faustus. His directorial debut at the Tower, in 1963, was Waiting for Godot; since then he has directed and/or acted in all of Beckett’s major plays. His most recent productions as Director were the double-bill of Play and All That Fall in 2023. He produced The Genius of Christopher Marlowe for the Rose Theatre Trust with an illustrious cast of classical actors, including five theatrical knights. In 2021 he published his book First ACT Shakespeare. |
 Peter Molloy joined the Tower Theatre at the end of 2024, and Translations will be his second performance with the company. Moving to London from Dublin in 2020, Peter began following his curiosity for acting and theatre last year, and has really enjoyed treading the boards over the past 12 months, particularly in his debut theatre performance in After Life. With a career in both architecture and photography, acting is another creative pursuit from which he gets real fulfillment, and he is always excited to be part of a group of talented cast and crew to stage performances. A long time admirer of Brian Friel’s work, he’s both grateful and excited to be performing in this production of Translations. |
 Allan Hart has been a Tower member for over 30 years and directed many productions including The Night Alive, Port Authority, My Mother Said I Never Should, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Abigail’s Party, Dealer’s Choice, Closer, The Weir and The Homecoming. He has also acted in several shows, notably Arcadia, Waiting for Godot, Twelve Angry Men, In Celebration, East, Blue Remembered Hills, Road and How the Other Half Loves. |