John Coulter
A kitchen house in Brickfield Street, Belfast.
The cast list for this entry is drawn from reviews of the premiere production. As such, cast size details should be taken as approximate.
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.
Drámaí Ginearálta
Dráma Fada
6
5
11
19 October 1948
Produced by Ulster Group Theatre
Group Theatre
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.
The Family Portrait
1937
Macmillan and Co.
LondonEngland
Information for this entry was taken from press cuttings, and from the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast.