A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY by Brian Friel comes to the Donmar Warehouse 22 August – 3 October 2026
What is it about?
Hundreds of women would envy me, wouldn’t they?
A beautiful house in the Russian countryside.
A doting husband, a circle of admirers.
A life of order, tranquillity and quiet restraint.
It’s enough to make you scream.
Natalya Petrovna looks to all the world like a contented woman, but the arrival of a penniless young tutor stirs a restless heart, igniting a spark of desire that sets the Summer ablaze.
A Month in the Country pits passion against propriety, as a cast of characters struggle to reconcile the lives they lead with the happiness they crave. Lyndsey Turner directs Brian Friel’s reworking of Turgenev’s most famous play.
The Creative Team
Brian Friel (1929 – 2015) is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest dramatists, having written over 30 plays across six decades. He was a member of Aosdána, the society of Irish artists, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Irish Academy of Letters, and the Royal Society of Literature where he was made a Companion of Literature. He was awarded the Ulysses Medal by University College, Dublin. His major works include Afterplay, The Bear, The Yalta Game, Molly Sweeney, Wonderful Tennessee, Dancing at Lughnasa, Making History, The Communication Cord, Translations, Aristocrats, Faith Healer, Living Quarters, Volunteers, The Freedom Of The City, The Gentle Island, Philadelphia Here I Come!, and The Enemy Within; and other major adaptations include Hedda Gabler, Uncle Vanya, and Three Sisters.
Lyndsey Turner returns to the Donmar, having previously directed Far Away, Aristocrats, Faith Healer, Fathers and Sons, and Philadelphia Here I Come!. Other theatre credits include 1536 (Almeida Theatre, The Ambassadors Theatre from May 2026) , The Treatment (Almeida Theatre), Chimerica (Almeida Theatre, Harold Pinter Theatre – Olivier Award for Best Director) Coriolanus, Roald Dahl’s The Witches, The Crucible, Under Milk Wood, Top Girls, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, There is a War and Edgar and Annabel (National Theatre), Moonlight (Harold Pinter Theatre), After the End (Theatre Royal Stratford East), A Number (The Old Vic), Hamlet (Barbican), Girls and Boys, Posh and Contractions (Royal Court Theatre).
