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Making History (play)

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Making History
Script cover
Written byBrian Friel
CharactersHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Mabel Bagenal
Harry Hoveden
Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Mary Bagenal
Peter Lombard
Date premieredSeptember 20, 1988 (1988-09-20)
Place premieredGuildhall, Derry
Original languageEnglish
SubjectIrish nationalism, Nine Years' War, historiography
GenreHistory play
SettingDungannon, Sperrin Mountains and Rome, 1590s

Making History is a play written by Irish playwright Brian Friel in 1988, premiered at the Guildhall, Derry on 20 September 1988.[1] It focuses on the life of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, who led a combined Irish-Spanish alliance against the English during the Nine Years' War. The play is set before and after the Battle of Kinsale. The battle does not directly feature in the play, although it is central to the plot.

The play's other main theme is O'Neill's unexpected third marriage to the much younger, English-born Mabel Bagenal, daughter and sister of two of his most implacable enemies, which the play presents as a genuine though ill-fated love marriage.[2]

Characters

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In its original production, O'Neill was portrayed by Stephen Rea, and Lombard by Niall Tóibín. Clare Holman and Emma Dewhurst respectively played Mabel Bagenal and her sister Mary.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "PROGRAMME: Making History, by Brian Friel (1988) - Field Day". Field Day. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. ^ Peacock, Alan J. The Achievement of Brian Friel Rowman and Littlefield 1993
  3. ^ Morgan, Hiram (August 2007). "Theatre Eye: Playing the earl: Brian Friel's Making History". History Ireland. 15 (4).