Theatrical Adaptation

Lovers and Losers - Lauren's Fifth Meditation

Lovers – just the word can evoke certain thoughts or feelings, right? For most, I would assume that lover is a term of endearment, maybe something to be desired. I knew from the beginning that the play ‘Lovers’ was divided into two acts – ‘Winners’ and ‘Losers’. I was not sure how lovers could be losers - but I was anxious to find out.


The first act was the ‘winners’, Mag and Joe. The audience soon finds out Mag is two months pregnant and she and Joe will be married in three weeks. Not a great start to a marriage, but I’ve heard of plenty of marriages (real and fictional) that have started out roughly and ended up becoming almost like great, epic love stories. The baby would be born, the couple would struggle, but in the end, they would realize they really were madly in love and meant to be together. I simply assumed that the ‘winners’ would have a happily-ever-after ending. A winning situation would leave them alive and well, of course.


I was very wrong. At the end of Act I, we know that Mag and Joe are dead. At first I didn’t understand how the fact they died could play into them being ‘winners’. Then I saw Act II. I thought that if the couple dies in the first act and they’re ‘winners’, what’s going to happen to the ‘losers’? I assumed the mother-in-law could be some comic relief, but not the catalyst for the problem. Again, I was wrong.


After seeing the play, it took me awhile to finally understand what Brian Friel meant for his audience to understand. The deaths of Mag and Joe could have very well saved them from heartache, misery, and discontent with each other and their lives. They died young and in love while the losers were simply stuck in their discontented position. Andy was at a loss on what to do with his wife and his mother-in-law. Brian Friel leaves the audience pitying Andy – the poor fool is destined to lead and unfulfilled life with his wife and his mother-in-law pitted against him.

posted by Anonymous @ 3:59 PM