The Weir and Other Plays

This collection of plays by Conor McPherson is not my usual type of read. I wanted to read The Weir because I was going to see a production of it in San Francisco. Wow! There are layers and layers of meaning in this one and all the other plays in this book. Conor McPherson is a genius at choosing words and phrases to pack deep wells of meaning into a short read.

Sit down next to a peet fire. Pour a glass of Guiness. As it waits to set, pour a glass of a preferred whiskey. Eat some good Irish Cheddar. Turn down the lights and immerse oneself in the dark, shadowy, sinewy wetness of Connor McPherson's world of ghosts, rogues (both enlightened and not), and gangsters. A great series of plays incorperating style, scope and most of all, MAGIC. Enjoy.

saw St. Nicholas (with brendan coyle as the sole actor) and wanted to read more from this playwright - nice collection.

Quietly disconcerting ghostly encounters. The Weir is a brilliant play to see and reads equally as well! A must read.

Arrived early and perfect

I haven't seen any of Conor McPherson's plays, but the five dramatic texts here--this a term more associated with Beckett, but I think applies here--work well enough on the page. Others have remarked here how "Weir" does or does not come alive in such a format; relying solely on the text, I think that it greatly depends on the non-verbal cues entirely absent from any of McPherson's work, that under direction (his?) would expand the potential locked into the words themselves. "Weir" takes its time starting and finishing, and the narrative arc that the various spooky stories create comes down well before the play's curtain. It'd take a nimble set of actors for this play to work, with so many set-speeches, but I've heard it's been done! The other plays here, of which little has been said, are all monologues. In the prefatory notes to "St Nicholas," the playwright directly confronts the problem of and the childlike fun with sitting down in a theatre and being told a long tale by one actor, not two, and so lacking the creation of make-believe action that could ensue. With only one figure up there, it's totally up to that person's conjuring power to bring the words into a shared reality with the listeners. A scary story about a theatre critic who leaves his family and serves as a procurer for vampires sounds as outrageous as the story sounds, yet in the hands of McPherson, it's plausible and even, after a time, mundane. We start to believe the teller, and keep going no matter where his convoluted but orderly narrative takes us. Similarly, "The Lime Tree Bower" tells an even longer story but with three narrators, who only once engage in a very brief dialogue. The rest of the performance, they are only "aware" of the other two--I wonder what looks they keep on their faces as number three tells his installment? This story of a "perfect crime" attempted mingles (as McPhersons's former English Lit professor at University College Dublin, Anthony Roche, explains in an essay on the playwright in a recent collection "The UCD Aesthetic," that McPherson also took a BA + MA in Philosophy) the figure of Ray with many references to utilitarianism and more current theories, by the way. If this does not sound like dramatic fodder, it's mixed with lots of chases and romances... The next play--for one actor--also looks at a criminal action and its aftermath in a violent and poignant manner. "The Good Thief" provides thrills, chills, and thoughtful consideration added to an exciting storyline. The last one, "Rum + Vodka," details the downward spiral of a man about town--also solo on stage. I have to admit I enjoyed all five plays, but the last three the best, for these focus more on urban Dublin life where McPherson lives, and capture the 1990s restlessness with sustained jitters of growing up, or not, that his characters must confront after evading punishment and retribution for so long. Lots of hangovers and lots of vows to do better next time. The notes added to this volume comment on each play from McPherson's rather scattered commentary on the making and staging of the five plays. You can hear the author in his prose voice, and I find that it differs little from his dramatic tone. After this, I'll seek out the film "I Went Down," for which he wrote the screenplay. While Martin McDonagh's more Synge-meets-Beckett--meets Pinter plays have grabbed more attention, the more circumspect McPherson may well have the stamina to go on creating even better work; that one of these five was written when he was twenty or so astonished me. Four stars only because I hold that the best work of McPherson is yet to come. Meanwhile, this volume's a bargain. It's a valuable collection that entertains but also has you stop and ponder, while never falling into preachiness or the easy pose of moral indignation or holier-than-thou self-righteousness--no mean feat.

i feel that your comments on the master that is conor mcpherson are very unjustified. one of you talked of the lack of dialogue and over use of monologue; in response to that i would just like to say that you dont have to have dialogue to be powerful and obviously you haven't seen it performed on stage to see its power and humour. as for its constant referencing to alcohol and puke well what else do you expect from a recovering alcholic and im sorry but again if you were to see this performed you would see that this referencing brings humour to his plays but also makes you think afterwards and feel sorry for the characters. it also touchs a nerve as near enough everyone knows someone with a drink problem. im sorry if i seen harsh by defending him but your comments are unjustified and im sorry if the world isnt the perfect place you see it to be but playwrights dont want to write about buttercups and how everything is fine and dandy in the world because it isnt and if it was the world would be a pretty boring place. you know what drink happens, puke happens and its interesting so why not write about it? this man is a master he uses the ordinary and gives you insight into peoples lives and this is what makes him a great playwright not his use of dialogue!

It takes a while to get into "The Weir". McPherson takes his own sweet time setting up setting, characterization and atmosphere. Not knowing where it was all going my attitude was one of well I guess it's a "local color" play with some flashes of wit. Then once all the characters onstage and the stories begin, it turns into a page-turner. Then the stories get progressively spookier and sadder and more poignant. The grave-digging story actually did give me the heebie-jeebies for quite a while just reading it. Then of course there's Valerie's story and you get an entierly new persepective on what being "haunted" means. St Nicholas, the play I read last of the collection is probably the next best play in the book. As I was reading it I was thinking that it was just another "Rum and Voldka" only with an older protagonist. The twist which comes in at the end of part one sounds so off the wall, but is handled so believably, that I found myself scratching my head at the end of it wondering how he managed it. My two favorite plays in the collection are both the "supernatural" ones, yet I don't consider McPherson a supernatural writer in the vein of a Stephen King or a Peter Straub. Because despite the supernatural occurences in these two plays, what the plays are really about is what it means to be human.