MOLLY SWEENEY RESOURCE PACK
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National Theatre of Scotland
Since its launch in February 2006, the National Theatre of Scotland has
been involved in creating more than 53 productions in over 88 different
locations. With no building of its own, the Company takes theatre all
over Scotland and beyond, working with existing and new venues and
companies to create and tour theatre of the highest quality.
It takes place in the great buildings of Scotland, but also in site-specific
locations, airports and tower blocks, community halls and drill halls,
ferries and forests.
The Autumn 2007 season has already seen the Company perform a wide
range of work in diverse spaces and locations including the bittersweet
story of Cupid’s journey in Venus as a Boy in Edinburgh and London,
with forthcoming performances in Glasgow and in Liverpool; the musical
pandemonium that is the stylish family show The Wolves in the Walls in
St Andrews; David Greig’s acclaimed new version of The Bacchae, which
enjoyed a sold-out run at the Edinburgh International Festival before
touring on to Glasgow and London; and Half Life, a site-specific coproduction with environmental charity NVA, set in Kilmartin Glen in Argyll.
Nationwide, the Company is presenting a small-scale tour of two
compelling and contrasting works — Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney and an
adaptation of the charming children’s tale, A Sheep Called Skye — which
visits communities from the Highlands to the Borders.
In the central belt, there are premieres of the National Theatre of
Scotland Workshop production Rupture, written and directed by Davey
Anderson and appearing at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.
In Dundee, The National Theatre of Scotland, in a co-production with
Dundee Rep Theatre, presents a new version of Peer Gynt, directed
by Dominic Hill.
The National Theatre of Scotland Learn Department pioneers a
programme of events which this autumn includes Transform — a bold,
innovative schools and communities project.
In addition to its Scottish appearances, the National Theatre of Scotland
will, for the first time, present work internationally: the multi awardwinning Black Watch and The Wolves in the Walls will appear in
the United States.
For details on all these — and for much more about the National Theatre
of Scotland — visit www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
Scottish theatre has always been for the people, led by great
performances, great stories and great playwrights. The National Theatre
of Scotland exists to build a new generation of theatre-goers as well
as reinvigorating the existing ones; to create theatre on a national
and international scale that is contemporary, confident and forwardthinking; to bring together brilliant artists, designers, composers,
choreographers and playwrights; and to exceed expectations of what and
where theatre can be.
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Contents
NTS Learn Department
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The Molly Sweeney resource pack
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Introduction / Synopsis
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Brian Friel biography P6
Cast list P6
Company list
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Character breakdown
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Discussion with Cara Kelly
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Interview with
Director Gregory Thompson
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Interview with
Set Designer Ellen Cairns
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The use of analogy and metaphor
in Molly Sweeney
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Exploration of central themes
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Drama exercises
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Into the text
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Writing questions P14
Games relating to Molly Sweeney
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Bibliography P14
Note.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy,
the non-tactile braille used in this resource pack is for
illustration and awareness purposes only.
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Frank is certain Molly has “nothing to lose”
in pursuing sight and, as far as he is concerned,
everything to gain.
National Theatre of
Scotland Learn Department
The Molly Sweeney
resource pack
Learn’s pioneering programme of events and projects
puts artists and theatre practitioners at the heart of
communities throughout Scotland. Access is at the
forefront of our philosophy. We aim to engage as
many people as possible, from the classroom to the
boardroom. Our creative approach encourages people
to recognise and achieve the best they can be.
This resource pack is designed to give users of the
Molly Sweeney workshops extra insight into the play
and provide some tools and exercises for further
exploration of the piece. It includes character
breakdowns, readings of the central themes and
interviews with the creative team which we hope will
add to the lines of enquiry already undertaken within
the creative workshops.
We have worked with schools, youth theatre
companies and community groups from Scotland
and beyond, involving people of all ages and abilities.
Learn’s collaborative projects not only have
the power to transform individual lives, but to
transform communities.
We encourage you to use this resource pack in
whichever way is best suited for your individual needs.
Maybe you’ll want to read it from start to finish or
prefer to dip in and out. Maybe you’ll enjoy it over a
cup of tea before seeing the main production or save it
for afterwards to reignite and challenge your own ideas
towards the play. Whichever way you prefer to use this
resource pack, have fun with it, allow it to enrich the
experience of both the creative workshop and the main
production of Molly Sweeney, creating a wealthier
engagement towards everything this fantastic play
has to offer.
Introduction / Synopsis
Molly Sweeney was written by Brian Friel in 1994 and first premiered at the Gate Theatre in Dublin in the same year.
It follows the story of Molly Sweeney through alternating monologues from the points of view of three different
characters - Molly, her husband Frank and her surgeon Mr. Rice. Heavily based on Oliver Sack’s case study, To See
and Not See from An Anthropologist on Mars, it follows Molly’s journey from the blind world she lives and is happy
in, through to a partially sighted world which is new, fresh and exciting, yet ultimately overwhelming.
Left to her own devices, Molly would never herself have sought out her surgeon Mr. Rice. She is described as a
happy, competent inhabitant of her blind world, a woman who takes genuine pleasure in her work as a massage
therapist, in her cycling, in her dancing, in her socialising, in her two-year marriage to Frank and especially in
her swimming “Oh I can’t tell you the joy I got from swimming” (Molly). But Frank is certain Molly has “nothing to
lose” in pursuing sight and, as far as he is concerned, everything to gain “A new world, a new life!” he exclaims,
“A new life for both of us!” Frank is a man of enormous enthusiasms, prone to taking on causes with immense
passion and little forethought. Molly’s friend Rita sees his attraction to Molly as “all part of the same pattern
[. . .]: bees...whales...Iranian goats...Molly Sweeney”. It is to please Frank that Molly keeps her first
appointment with Mr. Rice, who sees in Molly the opportunity to redeem his lost reputation as a brilliant
ophthalmologist, that she agrees to two surgeries, one for each eye.
The operations are successful in restoring partial vision to Molly’s eyes. However the task of learning to see,
learning to recognise the meaning of the visual impressions she can now receive proves formidable. Though Molly
is enthusiastic at the outset, dutifully studying the terrain and objects of this new world and submitting herself
to endless testing, ultimately the task entirely overwhelms her. She retreats psychologically and loses her ability
to see. At the end of the play, deserted by both her husband and doctor, Molly resides in a psychiatric hospital
where, in Mr. Rice’s estimate, “she was trying to compose another life that was neither sighted nor unsighted”.
Molly herself tells us at the end of the play, “I think I see nothing at all now. But I’m not absolutely sure of that.
Anyhow my borderline country is where I live now. I’m at home there. Well ... at ease there”.
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Brian Friel biography
Cast list
Brian Friel was born in Omagh, County Tyrone in
Northern Ireland, on 5 January 1929.
His father was a teacher from Derry, and his mother
was from a Gaelic-speaking area of County Donegal.
Aged ten, his family moved to Derry, where he
attended St Columb’s College, a Catholic boys’
school, before going to the Irish Republic to study
for the priesthood in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
He left three years later to begin a teacher’s training
course in Belfast, before working as a teacher in
Derry throughout the 1950s, during which time
he began to write short stories. By 1955, he was
publishing stories in magazines, mainly in America,
and three years later he wrote several radio plays
which were performed on BBC radio. In 1960, Friel
left teaching to become a full-time writer. His first
stage-play, The Enemy Within, was produced at the
Abbey Theatre in 1962, and his reputation as a
playwright grew throughout the 1960s. He moved
over the border to the Irish Republic in 1967 where
he saw the outbreak of sectarian and political conflict
in the late 1960s. In the 1980s, possibly in reaction
to the on-going conflicts in Northern Ireland, Friel
set up The Field Day Theatre Company along with
actor Stephen Rea. Based in Derry city, it attempted
to draw on the Catholic and Protestant traditions in
an effort to analyse the two communities and bring
them closer together.
Cara Kelly
Oengus MacNamara
Michael Glenn Murphy
Friel’s writing career can be categorised into three
different phases. From 1952 to 1964 he wrote short
stories, radio plays and stage plays occupied with
the individual and with the effects of childhood on
adult life.
From 1964 to 1988 he showed a growing interest
in exploring the impacts of national and historical
forces on the lives of people and communities.
During this period he explored subjects as
wide-ranging as emigration (Philadelphia, Here I
Come, 1964), the shooting of innocent civilians in
Derry (The Freedom of the City, 1973), and the
conflict between Irish and English military forces in
the late sixteenth century (Making History, 1988).
After 1988 he shifted focus away from the national
epic towards more autobiographical issues,
during which time he wrote Dancing at Lughnasa
(1990), Molly Sweeney (1994) and Give Me Your
Answer, Do (1997).
Molly Sweeney
Paddy Rice
Frank Sweeney
Company list
Greg Thompson
Ellen Cairns
Stuart Jenkins
Alison Brodie
Claire Bromhead
Ian Gilmour
Mickey Graham
Pamela Hay
Kirsteen Naismith
Matthew Padden
Martin Woolley
Gareth Nicholls
Jennifer Edgar
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer
Company Stage Manager
Technical Manager
Technician & Driver
Deputy Stage Manager
Tour Manager
Wardrobe Supervisor
Sound Consultant
Production Technician
National Theatre of Scotland Emerging Artist
National Theatre of Scotland Emerging Artist
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Character breakdown
Molly Sweeney
Frank Sweeney
Paddy Rice
Molly is in her early forties and is the
daughter of a judge. She has been blind since
she was 10 months old and can’t remember
ever being able to see. At the beginning of the
play she is somebody who is totally happy with
her universe, she is confident, self-assured
and a vibrant part of her local community.
Brought up largely by her father, she has no
sense of being deprived by her blindness and
often thinks that what she experiences through
her heightened sense of touch and smell is far
greater than what sight could ever bring her.
She has no real want for the operation on her
eyes, but goes ahead with it anyway, mainly
for Frank and Mr. Rice’s sake.
After the operation, the confident, happy
Molly we see at the start of the play starts to
disintegrate, as she struggles to adjust to the
new world that sight has brought her.
This decline in confidence is especially evident
in Mr. Rice’s comments towards Molly at the
end of the play “In those last few months it
was hard to recognise the woman who had first
come to my house…how self-sufficient she
had been”.
Frank is in his early forties and is a character
full of energy, enquiry and enthusiasm.
This enthusiasm often finds itself surfacing
in the form of strange projects and unusual
schemes, from importing Iranian goats to
setting up an African beehive business.
Frank’s energy is admirable, but often very
short-sighted as he lacks the ability to
contemplate the long-term (usually
disastrous) consequences of his actions.
He seems to have genuine love for Molly, yet
he again fails to consider the consequences
of his actions and what psychological effects
regaining sight might have on Molly,
“What has she to lose? – Nothing!” (Frank
commenting on Molly’s condition at the
beginning of the play).
Mr. Rice is over 60 years old and was once said
to be one of the best ophthalmologists
in Ireland, whose work took him all over the
world. He was married to a Swiss woman with
whom he later split up with after having two
daughters. According to gossip, she went off
with a colleague of his from New York which
might explain some of his bitter personality
traits in later life. His daughters now live with
her parents in Geneva; he has little contact
with them. Between this break-up and where
we find him at the beginning of the play there
are gaps in his story. Mr. Rice now works in a
regional hospital in Ballybeg, living alone and
enjoying a considerable amount of drink and
fly-fishing. When Frank alerts him to Molly
and her condition, Rice sees her as a showcase
for himself and his talents, an opportunity to
prove a point to his former colleagues around
the world. Fantasising about a successful
operation on Molly we can see Mr. Rice’s
excitement towards the glory it could bring
him “Delirium…hubris…the rogue star’s token
insurrection” (Mr. Rice) .
Discussion with Cara Kelly
Cara Kelly discusses the character of Molly Sweeney and some of the
inspiration behind Brian Friel’s award-winning play.
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Cara: Molly is in her early forties, she is the daughter of a judge. It is
set in a made up place called Ballybeg in County Donegal, on the border
between the north and the south. She is someone who has been blind
since a very early age, she wouldn’t even remember not being blind.
She is somebody who is totally happy with her universe.
She’s been brought up largely by her father who seems to be her biggest
influence. He has shown her by demonstration how to identify plants
for example, by their height, by their shape, by their texture, by their
formation. He then teaches her how to go round the garden and to
identify where she is simply by her sense of touch, her sense of smell
and by finely honing her other four senses so that she is at one with the
universe and has a fully lived life in it. She has no sense of being
deprived and she has a lot of interests.
At the beginning of the play you see someone who is very well adjusted
and who lives a happy life, using all four of her other senses. She is
aware of her blindness, would prefer to be sighted, but this is the way it is
and within that she has found a universe that she is totally at home with.
What the audience is relating to is someone who is thriving in her world
and then to what happens when you take that somebody, who is thriving,
happy, well adjusted and take them through the continuum of health.
[It’s about what happens when you] take them into a situation and
circumstance where they can’t thrive, where they don’t know how to
thrive, where they have not adjusted because they cannot adjust.
When you reach your early forties and you have some sight restored to
you there is no room in your brain to process the information any more.
There are no neuro-pathways to be chiselled through so the brain can
recognise [this new] information, to understand this information and
to process it.
If it happened when she was in her twenties, thirties maybe, there might
have been a possibility, but by the time that you get to your forties, like
we all experience, the brain gets a bit more recessive. So I think that’s
an interesting point about the story, well, there are many interesting
points but that seems to be the human story. You take any human being
when they are at full optimal health and take them to the other end of
the spectrum, how do they cope, or not cope?
Interview with Director
Gregory Thompson
What drew you towards Molly Sweeney?
Jeremy Raison [Artistic Director of the Citizens’ Theatre Glasgow, where
Gregory Thompson’s production of Molly Sweeney was first produced in
2005] asked me to work at the Citizens’ Theatre and we looked at various
plays. Jeremy suggested Molly Sweeney. I read it and thought it was
wonderful – the writing was beautiful, it has a real emotional kick and it’s
nice to have a play where the main protagonist is in her forties.
Could you tell me about your directing process in relation to this play? What
has been the most important aspect of the play you wanted to focus on?
The key thing was to make it theatrical. Most of Friel’s monologue plays
are written so that they’re very static. So the characters are sitting on
chairs and get lit when they are speaking and sit in the dark when
they are not – there are very little physical actions. So the key thing for
me was to make it into a complete theatrical experience so there would
be scenes, movement, and dance in order to bring it to life as much as
possible. That was the biggest challenge – to create scenes out of what
were monologues. However, because the writing is so fantastic all the
imagery was already there and that lends itself to theatricality. So it was
just a case of drawing it out really.
Leading on from this could you tell us a bit more about your
decision to stage it in the round?
It was partly because of the space it was originally in - the Circle Studio.
When you reach your early forties and
you have some sight restored to you there
is no room in your brain to process the
information any more.
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I had to ask myself where the actors would sit?
It’s in the round so, because of this, there was a need
for the actors to move around. It was also fun and we
started thinking about how much fun we could make it.
There are several different views on Molly Sweeney as a play – some say it
is Friel’s attempt to step away from political drama and concentrate on more
human aspects of life (relationships etc) while others hold that it is very
much politicised with Molly representing pre and post-colonial Ireland.
What are your thoughts on where it sits amongst Friel’s other pieces and did
you consider these types of readings when researching the play?
I think it is really different; it’s different with different plays. Before
Molly I didn’t know Brian Friel’s plays at all and had never seen one until
I agreed to direct Molly Sweeney whereupon I went to see The Aristocrats
at the National (National Theatre, London). So I don’t know how it fits in
with his other plays. It is tricky because with some plays you really do
have to do your research and really need to know them. However, the
audience come to see the show without any research. We are not writing
an academic piece, we are creating a piece of theatre and what we had to
look at was whether it worked theatrically and if it does then that’s fine.
One doesn’t want anything to be inaccurate and as I was working with
an Irish cast, if anything was incorrect they would put me right. It was
very interesting being an English man, working with an Irish cast on an
Irish play in Scotland. I’d never felt more English. But in terms of how it
[Molly Sweeney] fits into Friel’s writing I’m not sure. There are of course
political connections [within the play] but those are best made by the
audience and if they see them then that’s great but if you don’t see them
then it still has to work as a story about people.
Images: Photography of set model.
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Interview with Set Designer Ellen Cairns
What is your approach to designing a set, what is your starting point?
The starting point for a design is the script and you need to have a true understanding of what the writer has written. I must take into account if
he/she has specifically asked for anything in the stage directions i.e. “he comes in a door from the kitchen”, “it is raining” or “she takes off a coat
to reveal a tattoo number from a Nazi concentration camp”. I then make a scale model of the theatre stage in which the design goes so I know the
precise size of it in terms of the actor’s bodies in it and the audience’s relationship to it.
What process do you follow when designing a set?
I make a script breakdown of everything that is required, scene by scene, including all the above and anything that the characters say about one
another i.e. ‘you have beautiful red hair’ or ‘he is a spiteful person’, so I end up with a condensed version of the script and this becomes my ‘Bible’
that I constantly refer to during the design and rehearsal process. I research the period of the play and any of the themes relevant to it using books
and the internet. I have discussions with the Director about how they may be approaching the play and show them my research and any rough
thoughts and ideas I may have had. We may play around with a few rough notions in the model box. I then produce a complete finished scale model
with scale drawings and paint references and costume drawings to present to the actors and the workshops.
What was particularly challenging about designing a set for Molly Sweeney, particularly considering it is in the round?
The original script was set as three totally separate areas for each of the three actors and they never conversed with one another. Greg (Director)
was keen to have them interact with one another and also with the audience. So we really wanted a close relationship with the audience, hence in the
round. We wanted to keep the set really simple so that it could go back and forth in time and memory without any obstruction. As the play deals with
seeing, perception and illusion, some kind of mirror seemed appropriate and through trying out various shapes and sizes it started to develop as an
eye shape. Then the mirror became tarnished so the reflection is not true any more - this gave the possibility of the doctor being able to refer to it
directly as if it was a picture of Molly’s eye condition. Finally I fragmented it and it became a metaphor for all their shattered illusions. For dramatic
effect I use a black, grey and white colour palette in the first act and the colour, especially blood red, in the second act after the eye operation.
This creates an effect for the audience like seeing for the first time so they will really believe that Molly has got her sight back.
What do you think is the most important aspect of set design?
I believe my most important job is to extend the life of the words - while an audience may not remember the exact words, hopefully their visual
memory will return the experience and impact of them.
The use of analogy and metaphor in Molly Sweeney
Friel’s plays are characterised by his use of metaphor and analogy with this being particularly evident in Molly Sweeney. From the outset,
Friel’s language paints lavish images acting as metaphors for the characters’ lives, emotional states and often foreshadowing the journeys that the
characters will take. We see this in the first instance with Friel comparing the character of Molly to Nemophila flowers. “Nemophila are sometimes
called Baby Blue Eyes. I know you can’t see them but they have beautiful blue eyes. Just like you. You’re my Nemophila” .
In setting up the use of metaphor by comparing Molly to the flowers, Friel allows the idea of whatever happens to the flowers as happening to Molly,
to be established. This is then used to further the audience’s insight into Molly’s psychological state without directly addressing it. Talking about
Nemophila later in the play, Molly states that “[Nemophila] weren’t nearly as pretty as buttercups. Weren’t pretty at all” showing us that Molly views
herself very differently to how she used to before the operation.
This use of metaphor is woven throughout with Frank’s last monologue acting as a large analogy for the play as a whole. Here Frank talks about his
and Billy’s attempt to save two badgers from their soon-to-be flooded sett. He talks about digging them out of the ground and dragging them up the
mountain with the badgers struggling and scratching all the way. He talks about trying to force them into an old abandoned badger sett only for
them to run back down the mountain distressed, distraught and bumping into things on the way, far worse off for the experience.
It is in this story that we can make comparisons to the true cost of Molly’s operation. She, like the badgers’ is forced into moving ‘home’ – for the
badgers it’s into a new sett and for Molly it’s to a new way of experiencing the world she lives in. We see the badgers’ struggle as mirroring Molly’s
after the eye operation and ultimately we see the whole idea failing, leaving the badgers (and Molly) far worse off than before. We also get to see
another example of Frank’s schemes where his intent to do good is genuine, but his foresight for the consequences is virtually non-existent.
Exploration of central themes
1. Engram.
From the Greek word meaning something that is
etched or inscribed. A physical thought to occur
in the brain in response to stimulus which is then
transferred to memory.
The difference between seeing and
understanding
Fantasy versus reality
A metaphor for pre and post-colonial
Ireland (?)
As a blind woman Molly understands her world
through tactile engrams – inscriptions and
templates in the brain that mean she can
understand everything around her by touch
and smell. It is through these tactile engrams
that she is able to distinguish between a
buttercup flower and a petunia flower – by
recognising the difference in texture, size
and smell. However, when her sight is
suddenly restored she has to build a whole
new library of visual engrams – something she
has no experience of. She can see what is in
front of her but without the use of smell and
touch she cannot understand what it is. This
theme could also be applied to Frank’s outlook
on Molly’s condition, he can see she is blind
and knows medically it is possible to ‘fix’ her,
but he lacks an understanding of how this
will dramatically shift Molly’s perception of
everything around her.
Throughout the play we see several examples
of fantasy versus reality. We see Mr. Rice
fantasising about the glory that restoring
Molly’s sight would bring to him and his career.
We also see several fantasy schemes of Frank’s,
from beehives to badgers and the vision he has
of a fully-sighted Molly. Frank’s schemes never
take off and often backfire, while Mr. Rice’s
fantasies of glory never become a fully realised
reality, as Molly’s sharp deterioration dampens
any success he might have had. These stories
often act as metaphors for Molly’s situation
– the Iranian goats never adjust to Irish time
and the story of the badgers he tried to save
represent Molly’s own inability to adjust to her
new situation.
While on the surface Molly Sweeney seems to
be a shift away from Friel’s previous
interests in the political state and struggles
within Ireland, some have suggested that
Molly acts as a huge analogy for pre-colonial
and post-colonial Ireland, with “the blind
Molly acting as a symbol for Gaelic Ireland, the
partially sighted Molly serving as a metaphor
for the colonised country, and the Molly
hospitalised for madness representing the
post-colonial state” (Karen Moloney).
Some have gone so far as to suggest that
“Molly, as a contemporary Irishwoman,
is turned from a damsel to hag by the postcolonial Irish male and her experience signals
the continuing vexed status of women in
Ireland” (Karen Moloney).
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Drama exercises
Warm-up and trust games with Heightened
Sensory Experiences.
Pulse
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Begin the exercise by standing in a circle and
holding hands. Before anything happens,
close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Someone should already have been picked
before to start the pulse. This is simply
squeezing the hand of the person next to you.
Once the pulse has been started it should move
around the circle back to the first person.
Repeat in the opposite direction. This is an
effective way of building focus as a group
before moving on to the next exercises.
Spatial awareness
Walk around the space and heighten your
awareness of the size of the room, the number
of people in it, the sounds that are created
from people walking, breathing, etc. Are there
any objects in places they shouldn’t be, any
areas that seem dangerous? What speed are
people walking at?
Say it as it is
Once a spatial confidence has been developed,
find a partner and label each other A or B. A
close your eyes and wait for B to start verbally
directing you around the space. This can be
quite difficult if there are a lot of people in
the room as B must manoeuvre A safely in and
out of the other people. You should stay close
to one another, without having any physical
contact; this requires a high level of trust.
Swap around so that everyone has a chance to
experience this.
A push in the right direction
Develop this by adding a physical element.
A can now use their hand to guide B around
the space. A should gently place their hand
on B’s shoulder (could also be back of head,
arm etc) and begin to guide without any
verbal communication.
Sound matters
With your partner, decide on a sound that
can be distinguished from the other pairs.
Move as far away from each other as possible
and A close your eyes. In order for A to find
B, B must make the noise that was agreed
on. From listening alone, A has to find their
way back to B. As before, swap this around to
ensure everyone experiences the heightened
sensory sensation.
Into the text
In Frank’s final monologue, he talks about the last time he spoke to Mr. Rice. This was when he and Billy Hughes
were on a mission to save two badgers from being drowned. Mr. Rice was fishing at a nearby lake.
It becomes apparent that the badgers, which do not want to be moved, are a symbol for Molly - someone who did
not want to be ‘rescued’. Frank’s enthusiasm is portrayed once again, putting all his efforts into this new project.
Exercise One – Prepare arguments
Exercise Two - Debating
After reading Frank’s monologue split into three
groups. Numbers shouldn’t be higher than ten in
each group.
Perform these arguments to each other. This can be set
up as if having a debate.
Group 1
Prepare an argument from Frank and Billy’s point
of view, explaining why it is imperative that the
badgers get moved.
Exercise Three – Hot seating
Group 2
Prepare an argument from the badger’s point of view,
explaining why they don’t want to be/shouldn’t
be forced to move.
Group 3
Giving witness – In the same way that Frank gives
his account of what happened to the badgers in
Molly Sweeney, retell what happened from the point
of view of the badgers – i.e. “we were sitting in our
setts when…”
Once the arguments have been performed, each group
will now have the chance to Hot Seat the other in order
to find out exactly how they felt after Frank and Billy
moved the badgers. In your groups, prepare questions
to ask the other group in order to find out how they
feel after their ‘mission’ failed.
Do Frank and Billy understand why the badgers
went straight back to their original sett?
Do the badgers understand why they were moved in
the first place?
The questions should be answered in character as
honestly as possible, in order to gain more insight into
the thoughts of both parties.
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Writing questions
1.) The difference between seeing and understanding is a recurring
theme throughout Molly Sweeney. Adding to the examples already given
in this pack, can you find more cases of this theme and explain how they
often act as metaphors for Molly’s situation?
2.) During Act One, we see Mr. Rice fantasising about what a successful
operation on Molly could do to his failing career. Find more examples of
‘fantasy’ from each character in Molly Sweeney before listing how the
reality is in sharp contrast to this.
3.) Molly Sweeney is a metaphor for pre-colonial and post-colonial
Ireland. Using this statement discuss and explore whether this is a fair
reading of the play using historical references and quotes from the play
to support your argument.
The conflict between seeing and understanding is evident throughout
Molly Sweeney. This next game acts as a fun way of exploring the issue.
Never question the expert
Minimum number of participants: 5.
Object of the game: To be as convincing and imaginative as possible.
Everyone in the group should bring in a random object of their
choosing. One object will be used at a time. While sitting in a circle,
choose one person to begin by holding up the first object. They then
have to convince the rest of the circle that the object is not what they
think it is. Everyone should take on the role of ‘expert’ and become an
expert on the object and whatever they make the object into.
For example:
Object: A paint-brush.
“This is not a paint-brush, no, this is actually an extremely rare kind of
tree, which has only been sighted in the deepest, darkest regions of the
Amazon! The tree is called...”
After you make your statement pass the object on, letting it embody a
completely different function or form. The next expert must confidently
contradict the previous one. Repeat with every object and explore its
endless possibilities.
P14
Games relating to Molly Sweeney
Bibliography
Electric fence
The following resources were used in researching and compiling
this resource pack.
Minimum number of participants: 10.
Split into two groups, A and B.
A’s aim: To stop as many Bs getting through the fence as possible.
B’s aim: To get as many Bs through the fence as possible.
A should make two/three horizontal lines facing the opposite wall.
There should be enough space in between each person so that when
you extend your arms, your fingers touch the fingers of the person
next to you. The next step is to close your eyes and wait.
If you hear the slightest noise, extend your arms immediately to
create the electric fence.
While group A is getting into their lines, group B should be discussing
their tactics of how to get as many of you through the electric fence as
possible. You can send everyone at once, or send people one at a time
etc. You have to be as quiet and discreet as possible, for the electric
fence will move at the slightest sound. If you make contact with any
part of the fence you are put out!
If there are more Bs in than out at the end, then they win,
however if more are out than in, then As win.
Oliver Sacks, To See and Not See from An Anthropologist on Mars
(Vintage Books, 1995)
www.wikipedia.org
National Theatre (London) educational resource pack for Translations
by Brian Friel
Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel
(Penguin Books 1994)
Molly Astray: Revising Ireland in Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney - Critical
Essay by Karen M. Moloney (Twentieth Century Literature, autumn, 2000)
www.pharmabraille.co.uk
This resource pack was compiled and written by Gareth Nicholls and
Jennifer Edgar (National Theatre of Scotland Emerging Artists), with
contributions from National Theatre of Scotland’s Learn department,
Gregory Thompson and Ellen Cairns. Photography by Richard Campbell.
Designed by Gavin Nicholls.
P15
It was hard to recognise the woman who had first come to my
house…how self-sufficient she had been.
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