Ghostly Tragedies - THE WEIR Review

This production of THE WEIR, directed by producing director Ciarán O’Reilly, marks the Irish Repertory Theatre’s fourth staging of Conor McPherson’s atmospheric drama. First produced in London in 1997, followed by a Broadway production in 1999, McPherson’s play takes place over the course of one windy night in the Irish countryside as four men gather at the local watering hole and regale newcomer Valerie with tales bordering on the supernatural. When Valerie, marked by a traumatic past, shares her own horrific but ghostly tale, the men around her begin to soften and reveal a truer nature.

McPherson’s play is quiet and slightly inert, with most of the drama told to us via the stories his characters tell, rather than unfolding before us on the stage. Still, it has moments of touching pathos as it asks us to consider how sadness and trauma can haunt us just as much as the supernatural. 

The cast, which includes Dan Butler as Jack, an aging bachelor mechanic; John Keating as Jim, Jack’s assistant; Sean Gormley as Finbar, a wealthy business owner; Johnny Hopkins as Brendan, the proprietor of the bar; and Sarah Street as the newcomer Valerie, feel like old friends reminiscing at the local watering hole, whose stories are steeped in old folklore. They are all adept at the comedy. Sarah Street and Dan Butler rise to the occasion when called upon to deliver the play’s most affecting monologues about personal loss.

Drew Levy’s sound design transports us to the windswept countryside—the wind underscoring  the more chilling moments. Along with Charlie Corcoran’s realist set design, the audience is immersed in this world. As the stories grow scarier and the tragedies of real life creep in, the lighting design, by Michael Gottlieb, turns the cozy bar into something more sinister. 

While there are no jump scares or physical ghosts on the stage, THE WEIR still manages to make us ponder what keeps us up at night while still leaving the door open to hope and possibility.

THE WEIR runs through August 31 at the Irish Repertory Theatre.