TWO BY FRIEL
Lovers: Winners
& The Yalta Game
50th Anniversary Production
Written by Brian Friel
Directed by Conor Bagley
With Phil Gillen, Aoife Kelly,
Jenny Leona, and Aidan Redmond
Premiered November 7, 2019
at Irish Repertory Theatre in
New York City.
Photography by Carol Rosegg
“all four actors do strong work… if you have a taste for the bittersweet, there is serious and quiet pleasure to be had in that tiny room: Some tempests are best seen in teapots.”
– Time Out New York
“How Bagley fashions and melds the two plays together just takes one’s breath away. The acting ensemble is extraordinary. Shepherded by Bagley, his economically staged direction enhances their creation of life and ineffable soulfulness. Indeed, Bagley does his hero Friel justice in these superlative renderings.” - Blogcritics.com
“All four actors are excellent in roles that demand wit and emotional range.” – The New Yorker
“Two By Friel is a must-see… enjoy every moment, every joy, every heartbreak in this glorious production, while it lasts.” – One Magazine
Two young lovers look toward the future. Two paramours live for the present.
Two by Friel juxtaposes two short plays by Irish master Brian Friel: Lovers: Winners (1967) and The Yalta Game (2001). Each piece centers on a couple in the blossoming stage of romance; they build worlds of imagination, possibility, and hope – pushing away the encroaching realities that threaten to extinguish their love.