Faith Healer, Old Vic: In Camera

Following the success of its socially distanced revival of Lungs with Matt Smith and Claire Foy, and its one-man play Three Kings starring Andrew Scott, the Old Vic has announced the third instalment of its In Camera series: Brian Friel’s 1979 play Faith Healer. The production stars Welsh actor Michael Sheen (The Deal, The Queen), Indira Varma (Kama Sutra, Game of Thrones), and David Threlfall (Shameless).

Showing for a limited run of just five performances from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 September, Faith Healer, as with previous instalments of the In Camera series, will be performed live on stage but to an audience watching from home via a video link.

With its format consisting of a series of four monologues, Faith Healer seems an ideal play to produce at a time when social distancing – on stage as well as in public – remains a must. The story focuses on the self-proclaimed faith healer Francis Hardy (Sheen), whose life we learn about from Hardy himself, his long-suffering wife Grace (Varma), his loyal manager Teddy (Threlfall), and finally Hardy again.

Between them, we hear about Hardy’s travels to remote corners of the United Kingdom and Ireland in his attempts to cure the suffering (with varying degrees of success). As each new character takes centre stage, contradictions emerge within the retelling of events as each player looks to reconcile themselves with the past, while letting us in on their own loves and losses.

Each performance of Faith Healer will be available to stream for up to 1,000 audience members – reflecting the physical capacity of the auditorium. Tickets are priced at £10 to £40 per device, and all 'seats' will offer a front-row view of the stage.

Faith Healer was last revived in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 2016, the year after its prolific writer died aged 86. Since then, Friel’s ‘finest and most universal’ play Translations has been staged (in 2018) and since revived (in 2019) at the National Theatre, both times earning critical acclaim and sellout success.

In a statement announcing the In Camera series, The Old Vic said: 'Rekindling live performance in this irrepressible 202-year-old venue, albeit with minimal staging and accessible only via camera and live-stream, is a genuine thrill for us. But this series is both an exciting creative experiment and also crucial in igniting the box office now all our usual channels of revenue have been entirely wiped out, and we fight to preserve this beloved theatre for our audiences, surrounding schools and communities, staff, crew, and the myriad writers, performers and creatives that work with us.'

Tickets for Faith Healer at the Old Vic are now on sale. Click here to book