A man, Francis Hardy, the faith healer, comes out onto a nearly empty stage and talks to us. He does not preach. He does not try to convince us of his healing powers. He does the very opposite- he reveals all the phoniness of the profession, the acting, the bogus shamans. This is the first of four monologues that comprise the play “Faith Healer,” written by Brian Friel in 1979 and brought to the stage by Lantern Theater Company.
We listen as Hardy explains the profession and his attraction to it. But it is also about the man himself- his childhood, his relationship with his partner Grace, and with his manager, Teddy. There are descriptions of his travels from Ireland to Wales and Scotland and the people he tried to “cure.” He is not sure of his own “power” and he tells us that he fails nine out of ten times. There is so much information in this first scene, even though it is interesting, that it is a bit overwhelming to stay focused and absorb it all.
Things start to become clearer in the second scene when Grace replaces him on stage. We learn from her that she is in Frank’s (Francis’) wife and not just his partner. She tells us of her troubled family and of her attraction to her husband. And unlike Frank, who says she is infertile and unable to bear children, we learn of the miscarriages and still born child. We quicky realize that we are listening to two different interpretations of the same events, including the preaching he’s done over the years. At the intermission between scenes 2 and 3, I could hear many in the lobby talking with each other, trying to clarify what happened and what was true.
After the intermission, we meet Teddy. He provides an outside look at the relationship between Frank and Grace. We see what he has done to push the struggling career of his client. Things become clearer…or do they? Is his interpretation of life’s events, punctuated with more humor, any more accurate?
Then, there is one last scene. Frank returns with more information, to gives us his interpretation one more time, with a few additions and changes.
Ian Merrill Peakes (Frank), Genevieve Perrier (Grace), and Anthony Lawton (Teddy) do a superb job in relating their interpretations of the events with just enough lilt of the Irish accent without overplaying it and making it harder to understand. And Peter DeLaurier has established the perfect pace for this unusual piece. But the play is telling us what happened, not showing us, so it asks a lot of the audience to listen without seeing what has occurred. And I know that if Friel presented this play to a potential producer today, he would be asked to reduce it from 2½ hours to 90 minutes- this to a world-famous playwright who has won all kinds or awards and his been called “the Irish Chekhov.”
While I enjoyed the development of a most interesting story by three fine actors, let me warn you- be prepared to be confused.
“Faith Healer” by Brian Friel at Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. 215-829-0395 lanterntheater.org thru March 3, 2023.
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 