Playwright Conor McPherson achieved theatrical fame in 2017 with the Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country, which premiered at The Old Vic in London before transferring into the West End’s Noël Coward Theatre for a 12-week run.
However, nearly thirty years ago, in 1997, Connor wrote The Weir and the first draft he handed to the Royal Court Theatre was accepted.
Originally a four-week run, its success turned in to nine and then subsequently transferred to the West End where it played for two years (winning the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play).
Set on a stormy night in a rural Irish town pub, The Weir tells the story of four men who welcome the arrival of a woman, Valerie, into the bar and spend the evening telling her ghost stories and folklore that locals to the town would share with visitors. But as drinks are drunk, the stories get darker – and Valerie has some haunting stories of her own to tell.
The Otherworld – where fairies and sprits can move through time has been widely accepted in Irish culture since before humanity asked us to explain what we thought and saw. It was simply enough that you did. The Weir takes this idea and creates a play that lovingly acknowledges the sense of community that can be found in small towns and the eccentricities of the characters that live in them.
The set design by Rae Smith is beautifully charming – a small town pub, where asking for ‘wine’ is unheard of and it is a sin if the Guinness tap is ever broken. The simplistic look of the set is cleverly disguising the history shown within it. The pictures on the walls, the trinkets on the shelves, everything tells a story about the people that live in the town and the people that came before them.
The Weir has an all-Irish ensemble cast (with the exception of Brit Kate Phillips as Valerie) – Brendan Gleeson (Jack), Owen McDonnell (Brendan), Seán McGinley (Jim) and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Finbar). It is hard to tell how much is being acted and how much is just a natural portrayal of Irish culture but it is a heartwarming experience that shows the simplicities of life when taken out of the cities where you only have each other for company.
Having attended a funeral this week for an Irish relative of my own, The Weir was a beautiful reminder of my own Irish heritage and the memories it has given me.
★★★★★
West End Wilma
The Weir is playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 6 December 2025
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