The Freedom of the City (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Brian Friel
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1970
- Setting: Derry City, Northern Ireland
- Principal Characters: Lily, Skinner, Michael, The Priest, The Judge, Dr. Dobbs
- Genres: Social realism, Drama
- Subjects: Civil rights, 1970’s, Murder or homicide, Protests or demonstrations, Working class, Ethics, Ireland or Irish people
- Locales: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Derry
The Play
The Freedom of the City is based on events that occurred during Roman Catholic civil rights protests in Londonderry (“Derry”), Northern Ireland, in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. As the curtain rises, the corpses of the three main characters—Lily, Skinner, and Michael—are lying on a darkened street. The clock in the Guildhall behind them chimes six as each corpse is visited first by a photographer and then by a priest, who administers the last rites. Lights illuminate an English judge taking testimony from an Irish constable as he seeks to...
[The entire page is 2506 words long]
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