The Weir
Encyclopedia
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 first appeared on Broadway
at the Walter Kerr Theatre
on 1 April 1999. It has since been performed in Toronto
, Dublin, Belfast
, Boston
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles
, Chicago
, Buffalo
, Washington, D.C.
and San Jose
.
Finbar, a businessman, arrives with Valerie, and the play revolves around reminiscence and the kind of banter which only comes about amongst men who have a shared upbringing. 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.
Though the imputation from each is that their tale is 'true', there is enough latitude in the storytelling, and sufficient reference to the conventions of a supernatural tales, for the audience to draw their own conclusions as to whether drinkers' yarns are being spun.
After each man (with the exception of 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 outdoes the earlier tales, and the men become softer, kinder, and more real.
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).
The play is typically Irish, sad and sweet, and is as much about lack of close relationships and missed connections as it is about anything else. The weir of the title is a hydroelectric dam on a nearby waterway that is mentioned only in passing as Finbar describes the local attractions to Valerie.
Palace Theatre, Prague
, Czech Republic:
Garza Theatre, Post, Texas
Cast includes: Todd Eldridge, Dan Donahue, John Davis, Patrick Jones and Lara Brier
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.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written by Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and director.-Life and career:McPherson was born in Dublin, . He was educated at University College Dublin, McPherson began writing his first plays there as a member of UCD Dramsoc, the college's dramatic society, and went on to found Fly By Night Theatre...
in 1997. It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London, England, on 4 July 1997. It first appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
on 1 April 1999. It has since been performed in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Dublin, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.
Plot summary
The play opens in a rural Irish 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 reminiscence and the kind of banter which only comes about amongst men who have a shared upbringing. 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.
Though the imputation from each is that their tale is 'true', there is enough latitude in the storytelling, and sufficient reference to the conventions of a supernatural tales, for the audience to draw their own conclusions as to whether drinkers' yarns are being spun.
After each man (with the exception of 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 outdoes the earlier tales, and the men become softer, kinder, and more real.
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).
The play is typically Irish, sad and sweet, and is as much about lack of close relationships and missed connections as it is about anything else. The weir of the title is a hydroelectric dam on a nearby waterway that is mentioned only in passing as Finbar describes the local attractions to Valerie.
Characters
- Jack, a mechanicMechanicA mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
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.
Cast
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, UK (Original cast)- Finbar, Dermot Crowley
- Jim, Kieran Ahern
- Jack, Jim Norton
- Brendan, Brendan Coyle
- Valerie, Michelle Fairley
Palace Theatre, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic:
- Finbar, Václav Postránecký
- Jim, Jan HartlJan HartlJan Hartl 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. Hartl is a member of the National Theatre in Prague.-External links:*...
- Jack, Alois ŠvehlíkAlois ŠvehlíkAlois Švehlík is a Czech actor.After graduation from a technical secondary school he joined theatre in Kladno. Later he moved to Most, Olomouc and Liberec. Currently he is member of National Theatre in Prague...
- Brendan, Alexej Pyško
- Valerie, Miluše Šplechtová
Garza Theatre, Post, Texas
Cast includes: Todd Eldridge, Dan Donahue, John Davis, Patrick Jones and Lara Brier
Critical response
Reviews of The Weir have been positive. It won the Lawrence Olivier BBC Award as the Best New Play of 1997–98. 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," "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, 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.