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The Weir

January 01, 1970

This article is about the 1997 play. For the National Trust property, see The Weir Garden. For other uses, see Weir (disambiguation).

The Weir is a play written by Conor McPherson in 1997. It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London, England, on 4 July 1997. It opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 1 April 1999. As well as several other locations in the UK and the U.S., the play has been performed in Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Australia and Canada.[2]

The Weir
Promotional poster for the Irish Theatre Group
Written byConor McPherson
CharactersValerie
Finbar
Jack
Brendan
Jim
Date premiered1997
Place premieredRoyal Court Theatre Upstairs, London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectA publican and three of his regulars attempt to spook a newcomer from Dublin but end up themselves frightened
GenreDrama
SettingA pub in County Leitrim, mid-1990s[1]

Plot summary edit

The play opens in a County Leitrim pub with Brendan, the publican, and Jack, a car mechanic and garage owner. These two begin to discuss their respective days and are soon joined by Jim. The three then discuss Valerie, a pretty young woman from Dublin who has just rented an old house in the area.

Finbar, a businessman, arrives with Valerie, and the play revolves around reminiscences and banter. After a few drinks, the group begin telling stories with a supernatural slant, related to their own experience or those of others in the area, and which arise out of the popular preoccupations of Irish folklore: ghosts, fairies and mysterious happenings.

After each man (except Brendan) has told a story, Valerie tells her own: the reason why she has left Dublin. Valerie's story is melancholy and undoubtedly true, with a ghostly twist which echoes the earlier tales, and shocks the men who become softer, kinder, and more real. There is the hint that the story may lead to salvation and, eventually, a happy ending for two of the characters. Finbar and Jim leave, and in the last part of the play, Jack's final monologue is a story of personal loss which, he comments, is at least not a ghostly tale but in some ways is nonetheless about a haunting.

The building of a hydroelectric dam, or weir, on a local waterway many years before is mentioned early in the conversation.

Characters edit

 
Valerie tells her tale in a 2011 production by OVO theatre company, St Albans, UK
  • Jack, a mechanic and garage owner in his fifties.
  • Brendan, the owner of the pub in which the play is set. He is in his thirties.
  • Jim, Jack's assistant, in his forties.
  • Finbar Mack, a local businessman in his late forties.
  • Valerie, a Dublin woman in her thirties.

Productions and cast edit

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, UK (Original cast)

National Theatre, Prague, Czech Republic (2000)

The Gate Theatre, Dublin (2008)[3]

  • Finbar - Denis Conway
  • Jim - Mark Lambert
  • Jack - Sean McGinley
  • Brendan - David Ganly
  • Valerie - Genevieve O'Reilly

Irish Repertory Theatre, Off-Broadway (2013)

  • Finbar, Sean Gormley
  • Jim, John Keating
  • Jack, Dan Butler
  • Brendan, Billy Carter
  • Valerie, Tessa Klein

Donmar Warehouse, London (2013 Revival)[4]

Rover Rep Theatre, Hamburg

  • Finbar, Roger Graves
  • Jim, Jeff Caster
  • Jack, John Kirby
  • Brendan, Dave Duke
  • Valerie, Valerie Doyle

Melbourne Theatre Company, Melbourne, Australia 2015

Ljubljana National Drama Theatre, Slovenia - performing continuously since April 2001.

  • Finbar, Aleš Valič
  • Jim, Igor Samobor
  • Jack, Ivo Ban
  • Brendan, Branko Šturbej
  • Valerie, Saša Pavček

Abbey Theatre, Dublin 2022–23

Nantwich Players Theatre, Nantwich, 2023[6]

Cast in order of appearance [7]

  • Jack, Don Hirst
  • Brendan, Adam Goode
  • Jim, Simon Porter
  • Finbar, Chris Ridge
  • Valerie, Megan Goode

Critical response edit

Reviews of The Weir have been positive. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play of 1997–98.[2] In addition, McPherson won the Critics' Circle Award as the most promising playwright in 1998 as a direct result of the success of The Weir. The play has received lofty praise, such as "beautifully devious,"[8] "gentle, soft-spoken, delicately crafted work,"[9] and "this is my play of the decade...a modern masterpiece."[10]

The Weir was voted one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the Royal National Theatre, London. It tied at 40th place with Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, Samuel Beckett's Endgame and Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge.[11] The Guardian critic Michael Billington listed The Weir as one of the 101 greatest plays of all time in his 2015 book The 101 Greatest Plays: From Antiquity to the Present.[12]

Awards and nominations edit

  • 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

References edit

  1. ^ "The Weir". Decadent Theatre Company.
  2. ^ a b Kerrane, Kevin. The Structural Elegance of Conor McPherson's The Weir New Hibernia Review 10.4 (2006) 105-121
  3. ^ Meany, Helen. The Weir The Guardian, 12 June 2008
  4. ^ "The Weir, Donmar Warehouse". Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  5. ^ "The Weir". Abbey Theatre.
  6. ^ "The Weir". Nantwich Players. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  7. ^ Nantwich Players Theatre programme, 8–16 September 2023, second page, no ISBN
  8. ^ Brantley, Ben. "Dark Yarns Casting Light." New York Times. 2 April 1999, p. b 1.
  9. ^ Curtis, Nick. Evening Standard. 19 October 1998.
  10. ^ Langton, Robert G. The Express. 19 October 1998.
  11. ^ Page summarising the Royal National Theatre's NT2000 survey, originally at spot.colorado.edu July 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 14 October 2017
  12. ^ Billington, Michael (2015-09-02). "From Oedipus to The History Boys: Michael Billington's 101 greatest plays". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2017-10-15.

Further reading edit

External links edit

January 01, 1970
weir, this, article, about, 1997, play, national, trust, property, garden, other, uses, weir, disambiguation, play, written, conor, mcpherson, 1997, first, produced, royal, court, theatre, upstairs, london, england, july, 1997, opened, broadway, walter, kerr, . This article is about the 1997 play For the National Trust property see The Weir Garden For other uses see Weir disambiguation The Weir is a play written by Conor McPherson in 1997 It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London England on 4 July 1997 It opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 1 April 1999 As well as several other locations in the UK and the U S the play has been performed in Ireland Germany the Czech Republic Slovenia Australia and Canada 2 The WeirPromotional poster for the Irish Theatre GroupWritten byConor McPhersonCharactersValerieFinbarJackBrendanJimDate premiered1997Place premieredRoyal Court Theatre Upstairs LondonOriginal languageEnglishSubjectA publican and three of his regulars attempt to spook a newcomer from Dublin but end up themselves frightenedGenreDramaSettingA pub in County Leitrim mid 1990s 1 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Productions and cast 4 Critical response 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksPlot summary editThe play opens in a County Leitrim pub with Brendan the publican and Jack a car mechanic and garage owner These two begin to discuss their respective days and are soon joined by Jim The three then discuss Valerie a pretty young woman from Dublin who has just rented an old house in the area Finbar a businessman arrives with Valerie and the play revolves around reminiscences and banter After a few drinks the group begin telling stories with a supernatural slant related to their own experience or those of others in the area and which arise out of the popular preoccupations of Irish folklore ghosts fairies and mysterious happenings After each man except Brendan has told a story Valerie tells her own the reason why she has left Dublin Valerie s story is melancholy and undoubtedly true with a ghostly twist which echoes the earlier tales and shocks the men who become softer kinder and more real There is the hint that the story may lead to salvation and eventually a happy ending for two of the characters Finbar and Jim leave and in the last part of the play Jack s final monologue is a story of personal loss which he comments is at least not a ghostly tale but in some ways is nonetheless about a haunting The building of a hydroelectric dam or weir on a local waterway many years before is mentioned early in the conversation Characters edit nbsp Valerie tells her tale in a 2011 production by OVO theatre company St Albans UK Jack a mechanic and garage owner in his fifties Brendan the owner of the pub in which the play is set He is in his thirties Jim Jack s assistant in his forties Finbar Mack a local businessman in his late forties Valerie a Dublin woman in her thirties Productions and cast editRoyal Court Theatre Upstairs UK Original cast Finbar Dermot Crowley Jim Kieran Ahern Jack Jim Norton Brendan Brendan Coyle Valerie Michelle Fairley National Theatre Prague Czech Republic 2000 Finbar Vaclav Postranecky Jim Jan Hartl Jack Alois Svehlik Brendan Alexej Pysko Valerie Miluse Splechtova The Gate Theatre Dublin 2008 3 Finbar Denis Conway Jim Mark Lambert Jack Sean McGinley Brendan David Ganly Valerie Genevieve O Reilly Irish Repertory Theatre Off Broadway 2013 Finbar Sean Gormley Jim John Keating Jack Dan Butler Brendan Billy Carter Valerie Tessa Klein Donmar Warehouse London 2013 Revival 4 Finbar Risteard Cooper Jim Ardal O Hanlon Jack Brian Cox Brendan Peter McDonald Valerie Dervla Kirwan Rover Rep Theatre Hamburg Finbar Roger Graves Jim Jeff Caster Jack John Kirby Brendan Dave Duke Valerie Valerie Doyle Melbourne Theatre Company Melbourne Australia 2015 Finbar Greg Stone Jim Robert Menzies Jack Peter Kowitz Brendan Ian Meadows Valerie Nadine Garner Ljubljana National Drama Theatre Slovenia performing continuously since April 2001 Finbar Ales Valic Jim Igor Samobor Jack Ivo Ban Brendan Branko Sturbej Valerie Sasa Pavcek Abbey Theatre Dublin 2022 23 Finbar Peter Coonan Jim Marty Rea Jack Brendan Coyle Brendan Sean Fox Valerie Jolly Abraham 5 Nantwich Players Theatre Nantwich 2023 6 Cast in order of appearance 7 Jack Don Hirst Brendan Adam Goode Jim Simon Porter Finbar Chris Ridge Valerie Megan GoodeCritical response editReviews of The Weir have been positive It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play of 1997 98 2 In addition McPherson won the Critics Circle Award as the most promising playwright in 1998 as a direct result of the success of The Weir The play has received lofty praise such as beautifully devious 8 gentle soft spoken delicately crafted work 9 and this is my play of the decade a modern masterpiece 10 The Weir was voted one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the Royal National Theatre London It tied at 40th place with Eugene O Neill s The Iceman Cometh Samuel Beckett s Endgame and Arthur Miller s A View From The Bridge 11 The Guardian critic Michael Billington listed The Weir as one of the 101 greatest plays of all time in his 2015 book The 101 Greatest Plays From Antiquity to the Present 12 Awards and nominations edit1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New PlayReferences edit The Weir Decadent Theatre Company a b Kerrane Kevin The Structural Elegance of Conor McPherson s The Weir New Hibernia Review 10 4 2006 105 121 Meany Helen The Weir The Guardian 12 June 2008 The Weir Donmar Warehouse Retrieved 9 July 2013 The Weir Abbey Theatre The Weir Nantwich Players Retrieved 14 September 2023 Nantwich Players Theatre programme 8 16 September 2023 second page no ISBN Brantley Ben Dark Yarns Casting Light New York Times 2 April 1999 p b 1 Curtis Nick Evening Standard 19 October 1998 Langton Robert G The Express 19 October 1998 Page summarising the Royal National Theatre s NT2000 survey originally at spot colorado edu Archived July 13 2009 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 14 October 2017 Billington Michael 2015 09 02 From Oedipus to The History Boys Michael Billington s 101 greatest plays The Guardian London Retrieved 2017 10 15 Further reading editMcPherson Conor 1997 The Weir 1st ed London Nick Hern Books ISBN 1 85459 368 4 Billington Michael 2015 The 101 Greatest Plays From Antiquity to the Present London Faber Guardian ISBN 9781783350308 External links edit The Weir at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Weir amp oldid 1194544458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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