Brian Friel has long been recognized as Ireland’s leading playwright. His
work for the theatre spans almost fifty years and his reputation has
expanded well beyond Ireland. In January 2009 Friel turned eighty and
only a few months before, his adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler,
opened at the Gate Theatre Dublin on 30th September 2008. This article
will first provide a survey of Brian Friel’s remarkable career, trying to
assess his overall contribution to Irish theatre, before looking at his various
adaptations to finally focus on Hedda Gabler, its place and relevance in
the author’s canon.
