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

• Female

  5

• Total

  11

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.

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.