Brian Friel - Philadelphia, Here I come!

B3 - In inglese

Is a poignant Irish drama that follows Gar O'Donnell on his last night in the fictional town of Ballybeg before emigrating to America. The play employs the innovative theatrical device of splitting the protagonist into two characters - Public Gar and Private Gar - representing his outward persona and inner thoughts respectively. As Gar prepares to leave his father's home and dry goods shop, the audience witnesses his internal struggle through Private Gar's commentary, revealing his deep-seated frustrations with his emotionally distant father, his regrets about lost love with Katie Doogan, and his conflicted feelings about abandoning his familiar but stifling Irish hometown for the uncertain promise of Philadelphia. The play explores themes of communication breakdown between generations, the pain of emigration, and the universal human difficulty of expressing genuine emotions, all while capturing the bittersweet reality of 1960s rural Ireland where young people felt compelled to seek opportunities abroad.