Brian Friel: Ireland’s Chekhov

Abstract

ABSTRACT Brian Friel acquired the appellation 'Ireland’s Chekhov' or the 'Irish Chekhov' during the 1970s when critics began to comment on similarities in their respective dramaturgies. Here Friel’s 'affinities' with Chekhov are outlined through his several observations on the playwright; a brief examination of three of his own plays with Chekhovian echoes and resonances; the consideration of his 'translations' of major plays described as “after Chekhov”; and an introductory appraisal of an original piece where Friel invents a fictional 'afterlife' meeting for two of Chekhov’s characters from different plays.