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The Arts Council Playography Na Gaeilge

Plays

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Stars of Brickfield Street

A Comedy

OVERVIEW

  • Playwright

    John Coulter 

  • Setting

    A kitchen house in Brickfield Street, Belfast.

  • Notes

    The cast list for this entry is drawn from reviews of the premiere production. As such, cast size details should be taken as approximate.

  • Synopsis

    Alec Neill is determined to become a famous playwright, but his family frowns on the idea. Nonetheless he perseveres, and one of his plays eventually wins fame and fortune in London. The family basks in reflected success but later, much to the members' discomfort, discover that they themselves are the central components of the play, which is set in their working-class district, and is not entirely flattering.

  • Play Type

    Plays General

    Number Of Acts

    Full-Length

  • Cast Size Male

    6

  • Cast Size Female

    5

Original Production

  • Date of First Production

    19 October 1948

  • Producer

    Produced by Ulster Group Theatre

  • Original Venue

    Group Theatre

  • Irish Premiere Notes

    The play is most commonly known as The Family Portrait, and was published as such by MacMillan in 1937. It was first produced for radio by the BBC in 1935. CBC radio in Canada produced it as Stars of Brickfield Street in 1938, and it was staged for the first time under that name at the Hart House Theatre in Toronto in 1938. The play has also been produced under the title The Folks in Brickfield Street.

Original Cast  
Unspecified Character(s) Margaret D'Arcy
Unspecified Character(s) Maurice O'Callaghan
Unspecified Character(s) Sheila McGibbon
Unspecified Character(s) R.H. MacCandless
Unspecified Character(s) Elizabeth Begley
Unspecified Character(s) John F. Tyrone
Unspecified Character(s) Joseph Tomelty
Unspecified Character(s) Min Milligan
Unspecified Character(s) James Young
Unspecified Character(s) John McDade
Unspecified Character(s) Gwendolen Perrott
Production Team  
Production by J.R. Mageean

Published Scripts

  • Title

    The Family Portrait

  • Year

    1937

  • Published By

    Macmillan and Co.

  • Address

    London
    England

Rights Information

  • Not Found

Source Of Information

Information for this entry was taken from press cuttings, and from the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast.