The late Brian Friel was considered one of the best-known Irish playwrights of his generation, and his first play Philadelphia, Here I Come! premiered in Dublin in 1964, before subsequently moving to Broadway where it ran for 326 performances and earned several Tony Award nominations. The play is described as a tragicomedy, and explores themes like new beginnings, emotional escapism, memory, nostalgia, and more. Adapted for the Malaysian stage by Joe Hasham OAM back in 1994, the play is being staged once more in 2022 with a cast of both new and veteran talents. We find out more from Omar Ali, the dramaturg of the play, and who works in dramaturgy development at The Actors Studio.

Image credit: Dev Lee