Coming to Audible . . . Brian Friel production Faith Healer
As the arts and entertainment world continue on their road out of recovery a new and exciting production has been released by the world’s leading provider of spokenword entertainment.
Audible has released Brian Friel’s masterful and haunting Faith Healer, aimed specifically at listening audiences and starring Golden Globe nominee Toby Jones (Infamous, Detectorists), Ciarán Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Rome, Game of Thrones) and Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones, Gangs of London) in the UK.
Directed by world renowned theatre director Ian Rickson, formerly artistic director of the Royal Court, sound design is by Ian Dickinson for Autograph Sound.
Brian Friel’s 1979 play follows the mesmerising Francis Hardy as he travels to the most secluded corners of Wales, Scotland and Ireland attempting to heal those who wish to be saved. His bitter but loving wife Grace and manager Teddy complete this nomadic trio, each with their own confession of love, loss and the troubles of life on the road with a seemingly fated Faith Healer.
Presented over the course of four separate soliloquies, these three characters build differing impressions of their relationships and their village hall tours of Wales and Scotland. Their slippery recollections do not tally.
Only a few facts hold firm ... place names, a couple of events, and the act of questioning. Listeners will be left doubting who and what should we believe, or believe in this kaleidoscopic, shifting exploration of the power of belief.
Toby Jones said: “It’s been an honour to work on this legendary play alongside such a great cast under Ian’s meticulous direction. This seems like an ideal format in which to experience the mystery and heartache of Friel’s stranded company.”
Ciarán Hinds said:
“Brian Friel’s Faith Healer is shrouded in mystery. Working with Ian was like being in the intimacy of the confessional, seeking some form of
absolution through half-lies, embellishments and searing truth.”
Michelle Fairley said: “It was an honour and a joy to have been involved in Ian’s audio production of Brian Friel’s masterpiece, Faith Healer for Audible. I adored working on Brian’s words and I completely feel in love with Grace, she mesmerised me.”
Director Ian Rickson said: “I loved working on Faith Healer for Audible.
It’s so suited to an intimate and epic audio experience, voodoo for the ears. The play is a gripping whodunnit, a meditation on creativity, and a profound examination of loss. It was such a pleasure calibrating Brian’s words for the listener.”
Abigail Gonda, Producer, Audible Original Theatre said: “Faith Healer is an astonishing piece of drama. We are completely blown away
by this beautifully designed, atmospheric production and the profoundly moving performances by true titans of the stage. It really is something special. This play joins a strong theatre catalogue at Audible and we are delighted to offer people a new way to access theatre, in lockdown and beyond.”
Faith Healer, an Audible Original Theatre production, is available to download at www.audible.co.uk (one credit per title for Audible members or a title free with Audible’s 30-day trial).
Faith Healer will join other theatre titles narrated by world-class talent on Audible, including Sebastian Barry’s On Blueberry Hill and The Year of Magical Thinking performed by Emmy award winner Vanessa Redgrave and Until The Flood, written and performed by Pulitzer nominee Dael Orlandersmith.