Non-Modern Culture in Brian Friel’s Plays
ABEI Journal December 9, 2025 Chu He
Brian Friel's concern with paganism extends beyond his well-known play Dancing at Lughnasa to Faith Healer and Wonderful Tennessee. Shamanic healing and the mythological Otherworld, like the Lughnasa festival, are part of Irish pagan traditions. Friel depicts the Irish people's spiritual world of supernatural power, gods, and realms, showing that pagan cultures are not mummified in museums or memoirs but alive in corrupted, erratic forms interwoven with Christian beliefs and modern rationalities. This connection with the past and engagement with the present challenges the mutually exclusive category of tradition and modernity, exemplifying what David Lloyd calls 'non-modern culture.'