The structure of `Translations' builds slowly towards this brief and brilliantly hesitant, pivotal love scene, which takes place between Yolland and Maire in Act 2 and is central to the play both dramatically and conceptually in revealing character and emotion. We are drawn in as Yolland and Maire struggle to find a way of communicating their feelings to each other despite the language and cultural barriers. Friel's intent to construct a `love scene between lovers who have no common language', an idea initially presented in his `Sporadic Diary', is successfully achieved in this scene.

The scene opens at Tobair Vree, with an optimistic and animated mood signified by stage directions where Friel indicates the requirement of gentle, dim lighting and music rising to a `crescendo' before gradually being replaced by soft, romantic `guitar music'. The result effect of the lighting and the music is the feel of an `outside...