Friel Festival comes to local beaches

The festival will celebrate the work of playwright Brian Friel with an adventurous mix of events and venues including beaches at Portstewart, Ballycastle, Downhill and Magilligan. This year’s Lughnasa FrielFest explores Friel’s love of Homer, the ancient Greek poet, with special dramatic readings of his epic poems The Odyssey and The Iliad.

The Odyssey will take place in a pitched tent on four beaches – Downhill (August 9), Portstewart (August 11), Magilligan (August 12) and Ballycastle (August 15). It will feature highly acclaimed actors including Maxine Peake, Natascha McElhone, Imogen Stubbs and Frances Barber reading from a translation of Homer’s poem, accompanied by Greek food, live Greek music. www.artsoverborders.com for further information.