FAITH HEALER by BRIAN FRIEL at the LYRIC THEATRE, BELFAST on the 14th, October 2026
FAITH HEALER by BRIAN FRIEL at the LYRIC THEATRE, BELFAST on the 14 th, October 2026 Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer concerns the life of Francis Hardy, a travelling showman, fraudster, con man, artiste who claims to heal the sick and make miracles happen. It seems that Hardy is really a kind of metaphor for the artist who chooses the most precarious profession, far beyond the sureties of a 9 – 5 job, a salary and permanence. Hardy is well-used to confidence tricks, claiming to be the seventh son of a seventh son (and therefore a person endowed with mental powers beyond the norm), when he knows that he’s an only child, born in Ireland. Hardy is bemused by his own abilities and seems honestly confused himself as to whether he is a miracle worker or a shameless imposter. His work is, as Hardy says, ‘a vocation without a ministry’. The play consists of four dramatic monologues. The first is delivered by Hardy himself, the second by h...