Irish drama 'Faith Healer' makes believer of Northeast Ohio actress Derdriu Ring

Irish actress Derdriu Ring, a powerhouse talent well known to Northeast Ohio audiences over the past 25 years, had planned to see her former teacher and director Joe Dowling direct the 40th anniversary staging of Brian Friel's "Faith Healer" in Dublin in 2021.

She bought tickets to see the show at Christmas time at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland's national theater, but she and her family got COVID-19 and couldn't fly to Ireland.

"In the back of my head, I'm like, 'I want to do "Faith Healer" now because I didn't get to see it," said Ring, an avid fan of the late Irish playwright Friel.

Now, that wish has come true as Ring plays the role of Grace at None Too Fragile in Akron. Her co-stars are David Peacock, a Scottish actor, and Sean Derry, co-artistic director of the theater who's also directing the play.

"I think his storytelling is unbelievable," Ring said of Friel, whose "Molly Sweeney" she also co-starred in at Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights decades ago. "As an actor, it's gorgeous language to work with."

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Background acting in the U.S.

Ring, who moved to the United States from Ireland in 1997, performed her first Equity role in this country in "Dracula," at Cleveland Playhouse. She worked at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis for two years before moving to New York and working in regional theater across the country, from Hartford to Los Angeles, plus Off-Broadway at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York.

She moved back to Cleveland to star in "Proof" at Cleveland Playhouse in 2003.

The actress, who lives in Chagrin Falls with her husband and two teenagers, has performed everywhere from Great Lakes Theater to Dobama to Beck Center for the Arts in Northeast Ohio. She's won best actress awards from the Cleveland Critics Circle three times.

She's now performing in her sixth show at None Too Fragile since her 2016 debut there, when she starred as Maureen in British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." She knows McDonagh and has been a fan of his since before anybody knew him.

Ring called Derry at None Too Fragile to ask about auditioning for "Beauty Queen" and he told the celebrated actress, "You've got the role. You don't even have to audition. Are you kidding me?"

The actress didn't know the Akron theater at the time but she's since developed a close working relationship with None Too Fragile, also starring in the emotional dramas "Annapurna," "Salvage," "Two" and "Bloomsday" over the years.

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"They just do very interesting work down there; it's why I'm always drawn to them. They do difficult, intelligent, soulful work and great work for actors," Ring said.

"It's about the story and it's about the actor and it's about connecting with the audience. As an actor, you feel vulnerable in that space and I like that. It's terrifying but I like it," she said of None Too Fragile's intimate black box theater.

"The audience are on top of you and they enjoy being on top of you. And there's an excitement to it. The audience are very intelligent. They have a very smart audience there and who are willing to go on a journey with you."

'Faith Healer' journey is difficult

For "Faith Healer," that's not an easy journey. In this 1979 masterpiece by Friel, Ring plays Grace, who's treated cruelly by her husband, faith healer Frank (Derry).

Through Friel's richly descriptive storytelling, we learn about the characters' traumatic experiences, told from three different perspectives. Audiences have to listen and be open to possibly being bewildered before they're able to try to add up all three of their tragic stories, told through a series of monologues.

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The accounts by Frank, Grace and Teddy (Peacock) about the same incidents during their faith healing touring together throughout Scotland, Wales and Ireland are so different, they leave viewers questioning the truth.

"You leave as an audience member thinking, 'now who's telling the truth and who wasn't, and does the truth matter?' I don't know," Ring said. "We are the story we tell ourselves."

The storytelling is so dense, the actress recommends that audience members come back and see it again "because there's so much information and it goes by so quickly." At None Too Fragile, subscribers may see a play again at no cost or let their friends and family use their subscription for free.

The tone of Friel's storytelling is poetic yet despairing. That's par for the course with an Irish play, Ring said.

Frank, who is tormented by his gift for healing, especially when it doesn't work, calls his public healing sessions "performances."

"This play is all about being an artist. Frank is an artist," Ring said. "This play is all about the artist and how difficult the creative process is and the damage ... artists in general do to the people around them in pursuit of that moment of perfection."

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Drama: "Faith Healer"

Where: None Too Fragile Theatre, 732 W Exchange St., Akron

When: Continuing through April 22, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Monday and Thursday

Onstage: Derdriu Ring, Sean Derry, David Peacock

Offstage: Brian Friel, playwright; Sean Derry, director; Margene Rannigan, stage manager

Cost: $35

Information: www.nonetoofragile.com, 330-962-5547

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Irish actress Derdriu Ring gets wish doing 'Faith Healer'