Bararus hic ego sum quia non intelligor ulli "I am a barbarian
in this place because I am not understood by anyone." – Ovid is
perhaps the best play by contemporary Irish playwright Brian
Friel . It debuted September 23, 1980 and was the first
production of the Field Day Theater, a company started by Friel
and actor Stephen Rea , who starred in the play. The play is set
in August 1833 in the town of Baile Beag, Ireland and focuses on
a microcosm of eight Irish men and women. Their world is
disrupted when the British come calling. They are in town to do
a general survey of all of Ireland, a survey which is symbolic
of the cultural and linguistic colonialism practiced by the
British. "Ireland is privileged. No such survey is being
undertaken in England. So this survey cannot but be received as
proof of the disposition of this government to advance the
interests of Ireland." Beware of Brits bearing gifts.
Intentionally or not, the survey is cultural genocide . The
cultural legacy of Ireland is being destroyed as