The Weir

Synopsis

Written by Conor McPherson, The Weir will be directed by Josie Rourke at the Donmar Warehouse.

Set in a bar in a remote part of Ireland, the local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress an attractive young woman, Valerie, recently arrived from Dublin. What begins as a simple visit to the local pub soon turns out to be an evening of both funny and spellbinding stories, until the final tale takes a strange and unexpected twist...Hailed as the best new play of the nineties, when The Weir premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre, London in 1997, it won McPherson the Evening Standard ‘Most Promising Playwright Award, and in 1999 it won the prestigious Olivier Award for ‘Best New Play.

Rourke is taking on board the first major British revival of this traditional play, so make sure you book your tickets to ensure you do not miss out.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 26 April 2013

The roar of the Celtic Tiger is a long way behind us now, but the regulars in Conor McPherson's Sligo pub, who first turned up in 1997 at the Royal Court in exile in the West End (during the refurbishment) have hardly changed a jot.

Josie Rourke's keenly edged revival is a little less sombre than Ian Rickson's meticulously downbeat original, the characters less mired in the haunting, lonely atmosphere of their own conversation.

The tone is set from the minute that magnificent, craggy, great big jowly sack of a man, Brian Cox, zips up his trousers, rubs the soles of his feet on the welcome mat and calls up the first of many drinks in a long evening (though the running time is only one hour, 40 minutes) of banter and memorial yarn-spinning.

Cox is Jack the garage-owner, sometimes helped out by Ardal O'Hanlon's quietly grinning mother's boy, Jim, a furry, burr-like creature whose beard seems to be made of the same stuff as his big woolly jumper.

Latest User Review

Paul Wallis - 2 May 2013:

The brilliant set coupled with the intimate setting of the Donmar makes you feel you are in the pub with these people. The writing is rich with detail, the timing and pauses are perfect, the acting is top notch. I was sitting in the front row a few feet from the actors and I felt I was in the pub with them. It gave me goosebumps. It is brilliant in every way & one of the best things Ive seen in many visits to the Donmar...

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