Prodigal Son and Good Omens star Michael Sheen is stepping back into the theater world this month in a production of Brain Friel’s play Faith Healer. Due to COVID-19, the Old Vic theatre in London has created and streamed their In Camera productions, which all take place with socially distanced actors and no audience in the auditorium.
Written in 1979, Sheen will star as Francis Hardy along with fellow actors David Threlfall as Teddy and Indira Varma as Hardy’s wife, Grace. The Old Vic description of the play is as follows:
The Fantastic Francis Hardy (Sheen) travels the most remote corners of Wales, Scotland and Ireland attempting to heal those who wish to be healed. His wife Grace (Varma) and manager Teddy (Threlfall) complete this nomadic triptych, each with their own telling of the loss, love and struggle of life on the road with a seemingly predestined Faith Healer.
Brian Friel’s masterful and haunting Faith Healer is a kaleidoscopic, ever shifting exploration of the power of belief, as the contradicting recollections of these three characters seek to reconcile with the past.
Faith Healer is the third series to livestream as part of the In Camera series at the Old Vic. There will be a total of five performances streaming via Zoom at the following dates and times. Note that all times are in British Summer Time:
Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. BST
Thursday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. BST
Friday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. BST
Saturday, September 19 at 3 p.m. BST
Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. BST
Every performance is live captioned and audio described with the option to turn on these features in each Zoom stream as needed. Old Vic also provides a list of trigger warnings here. The Old Vic website states there is no difference between the cheaper and more expensive tickets, the prices are varied because the theatre currently has no revenue and they ask that viewers pay “what they normally would for a night out.” Tickets will go on sale to the general public Monday, September 7 at 10 a.m. BST at varying prices.
