The Field Day Theatre Company began as an artistic collaboration between playwright
Brian Friel and actor
Stephen Rea. In 1980, the duo set out to launch a production of Friel's recently completed play,
Translations. They decided to rehearse and premiere the play in
Derry with the hope of establishing a major theatre company for
Northern Ireland. The production and performance of
Translations generated a level of excitement and anticipation that unified, if only for a short time, the various factions of a divided community.