By Josephine Craven
Writers Theatre’s production of Translations is a breathtaking achievement—poignant, intelligent, and emotionally charged. Brian Friel’s masterwork about language, identity, and colonialism is given a deeply resonant staging under the assured direction of Braden Abraham. With a superb cast, evocative design, and a script rich in poetic nuance, this is a production that lingers long after the final blackout.
Set in 1833 in the fictional rural village of Baile Beag, County Donegal, Translations unfolds in the tense calm before the Great Famine, as British soldiers arrive to map the area and anglicize its Gaelic place names. What may seem a benign bureaucratic task becomes, in Friel’s hands, an act of quiet violence—a symbolic erasure of culture and identity. As names disappear from the landscape, so too does the meaning they carry, severing people from the language that holds their history and their sense of place.
The acting across the board is stellar, with the cast managing the challenging linguistic dance between English and Irish (spoken in English on stage) with finesse. Andrew Mueller is magnetic as Manus, grounding the role in a moving emotional core and an impressively authentic Donegal accent. Tyler Meredith is luminous as Maire, her performance alive with physical and emotional expressiveness. In one beautifully subtle gesture, Maire glances back toward Yolland, then gently traces his map, laid on the floor, with her toe. The gesture is flirtatious and tender, layered with contradiction—desire unfolding over a symbol of cultural erasure.
That interest builds to a love scene following the village dance—a highlight of the production. Meredith and Erik Hellman (as Yolland) capture a blend of romantic tension, awkwardness, and emotional openness in a scene where neither character speaks the other's language. The chemistry is palpable, and the moment unfolds with warmth and poignancy as they struggle to communicate through repetition and gesture. It's funny, romantic, and quietly devastating.
Hellman’s Yolland is a standout. He plays the character not as a man torn between duty and desire, but as someone utterly besotted—with Ireland, with Maire, and with an idealized vision of life in Baile Beag. And yet, what makes his performance so affecting is Yolland’s quiet awareness that he remains an outsider. Even as he dreams aloud of staying there “always,” there’s a sense that he knows he can never truly belong. Learning the Irish language may bridge part of the gap, but not the deeper cultural divide. Hellman’s performance carries that tension with a fragile, hopeful intensity.
The ensemble adds texture and richness to the world of the play. Jonathan Weir is excellent as the eccentric, learned Jimmy Jack, balancing humor with melancholy. Julia Rowley brings warmth and quiet resilience to Sarah, while Kevin Gudahl’s Hugh commands the stage with authority and lyricism. Casey Hoekstra is compelling as Owen, capturing the painful complexity of a man complicit in the transformation of his own homeland. Their performances help build a vivid, lived-in community.
Visually, the production is beautifully realized. The set, a barn-like structure housing the hedge school, is both solid and weathered, steeped in history. Downstage, an authentic patch of grassy earth creates an intimate natural setting for the love story. A thatched roof and an expansive mountainous backdrop suggest the rugged beauty of Donegal, and gives the lighting design a canvas on which to paint subtle shifts in mood and time.
At its heart,Translations, is about more than language - it’s about the soul of a people. Friel shows us how language doesn’t just express identity - it constitutes it. This production honors that idea with clarity and emotional force, allowing the audience to feel the loss of language and belonging not just intellectually, but viscerally.
Writers Theatre’s Translations is a stirring, thought-provoking, and beautifully executed production - a testament to the enduring power of theatre, and of words, to hold and shape who we are.
Translations runs through May 4th, 2025, Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org
