The Freedom of the City
T290365824
A modern classic, inspired by the events of 'Bloody Sunday'. Derry, Ulster, 1970. The Civil Rights movement is at a pinnacle. As the unauthorised march from the Bogside explodes into violence, three unarmed marchers fleeing the tanks and tear gas find themselves in the mayor's parlour in the Guildhall. Lily, a cleaning lady and mother to eleven children, thinks it's all a hoot. Skinner wants to wreck the place. Michael takes the time to contemplate. As the police and army exaggerate their 'occupation' into a full-scale armed invasion, they pay with their lives for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Written as a direct response to the events of Bloody Sunday, the play documents the final hours of Lily, Skinner and Michael - and the subsequent inquest into their deaths. With a bitter attack on the establishment, and with Friel's unique mordant humour,
The Freedom of the City conjures an imaginary moment in which three innocent civilians find themselves the victims of a shameless killing and a horrifically unjust legal system.
Archive :: production:T290365824, play:S290799067, venue:V199
