''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 The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shub ...

on 1 April 1999. As well as several other locations in the UK and the U.S., the play has been performed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Australia and Canada.Kerrane, Kevin. ''The Structural Elegance of Conor McPherson's The Weir'' New Hibernia Review 10.4 (2006) 105-121

Plot summary

The play opens in a

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

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

* Jack, a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...

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

Royal Court Theatre Upstairs The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

, UK (Original cast) * Finbar, Dermot Crowley * Jim, Kieran Ahern * Jack, Jim Norton * Brendan,

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for '' The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert ...

* Valerie, Michelle Fairley National Theatre,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic (2000) * Finbar, Václav Postránecký * Jim,

Jan Hartl Jan Hartl (born 12 September 1952) is a Czech actor who played Karel Horák in the 2000 Czech film ''Little Otik'', also known as ''Otesánek''. He was born in Prague, Czech Republic (then part of Czechoslovakia). Hartl is a member of the Nati ...

* Jack,

Alois Švehlík Alois Švehlík (born 30 July 1939) is a Czech actor and theatre pedagogue. Life and career Švehlík was born in Pardubice, then part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, in 1939. Together with his older brother Jaroslav, he became invo ...

* Brendan, Alexej Pyško * Valerie, Miluše Šplechtová The

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

, Dublin (2008) * Finbar - Denis Conway * Jim - Mark Lambert * Jack - Sean McGinley * Brendan - David Ganly * Valerie - Genevieve O'Reilly

Irish Repertory Theatre The Irish Repertory Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre founded in 1988. History The Irish Repertory Theatre was founded by Ciarán O'Reilly and Charlotte Moore, which opened its doors in September 1988,http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/ ...

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

(2013) * Finbar, Sean Gormley * Jim, John Keating * Jack,

Dan Butler Daniel Eugene Butler (born December 2, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on the TV series '' Frasier'' (1993–2004); Art in ''Roseanne'' (1991–1992); for the voice of Mr. Simmons on the ''Nickelodeon'' T ...

* Brendan, Billy Carter * Valerie, Tessa Klein

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

, London (2013 Revival) * Finbar, Risteárd Cooper * Jim, Ardal O'Hanlon * Jack, Brian Cox * Brendan, Peter McDonald * Valerie,

Dervla Kirwan Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish television, stage, and film actress who specializes in drama roles. She gained attention for her roles in ''Ballykissangel'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', and the Doctor Who Christmas special epi ...

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 The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

* Jack,

Peter Kowitz Peter Kowitz is an Australian actor. Film and television acting His television credits include: ''Prime Time'', '' Richmond Hill'', ''Rafferty's Rules'', ''Chances'', ''Pacific Drive'', '' Water Rats'', '' Big Sky'', ''Halifax f.p.'', ''Swimm ...

* Brendan,

Ian Meadows Ian Meadows is an Australian actor, playwright and writer. Early life and education Born and raised in Collie, Western Australia, Meadows trained at Curtin University and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating i ...

* Valerie,

Nadine Garner Nadine Lynette Garner (born 14 December 1970 in Knoxfield, Melbourne) is an Australian actress who started her career as a teen performer. Biography Garner first came to public attention in 1985, as Tamara Henderson in the Australian TV serie ...

Ljubljana National Drama Theatre The Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Drama ( sl, Slovensko narodno gledališče Drama Ljubljana, ), or the Slovene National Theatre Drama in Ljubljana, is the national theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, best known for its conservative repertoire, ...

, Slovenia - performing continuously since April 2001. * Finbar, Aleš Valič * Jim, Igor Samobor * Jack, Ivo Ban * Brendan, Branko Šturbej * Valerie, Saša Pavček

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

, Dublin 2022–23 * Finbar,

Peter Coonan Peter Coonan (born 1984) is an Irish actor, known for his role as Fran Cooney in the RTÉ One series '' Love/Hate'', for which he won Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Television at the 11th Irish Film & Television Awards. In 2011, he played D ...

* Jim, Marty Rea * Jack,

* Brendan, Sean Fox * Valerie, Jolly Abraham

Critical response

Reviews of ''The Weir'' have been positive. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play of 1997–98. In addition, McPherson won the

Critics' Circle Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...

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," "gentle, soft-spoken, delicately crafted work," and "this is my play of the decade...a modern masterpiece." ''The Weir'' was voted one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, London. It tied at 40th place with

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

's ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'',

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

's '' Endgame'' and

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''

A View From The Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

.'' The

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

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'Michael Billington: ''From Oedipus to The History Boys: Michael Billington's 101 greatest plays'' 2 September 2015 at The Guardian
Accessed 15 October 2017

Awards and nominations

* 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, The 1997 plays Broadway plays Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays Plays by Conor McPherson West End plays Plays set in Ireland