“deftly humanised with well measured humour, outrage and bad language”
I have to say that on venturing out in the drizzle for this theatre visit I was anticipating something heavy and oh-so intellectual that might have proven too much for a cold Thursday evening. I mean, there is a pretty serious weight of expectation when you sit down to offerings from the man the New York Times dubbed as “possibly the finest playwright of his generation”, yet I’m happy to say that The Weir by Conor McPherson did not drag or disappoint in any way.
The single act play, set in a small bar in rural Ireland is exactly the kind of shabbily charming production that complements regional theatres so well, with gloriously stereotypical characters gently unfolding over the course of an hour or so in ways one wouldn’t have predicted from the outset. You could boil the whole thing down in summary as an entertaining five-way conversation in the pub, punctuated with stark leaps between comfortable silliness and sombre soul bearing. I found myself in giggles and shivers in equal measure.
It is an entirely captivating story about stories within stories, deftly humanised with well measured humour, outrage and bad language. If you have ever found yourself spending a lot of time either side of the bar in a small town pub then the scene and the players will feel distinctly familiar, even if the subject matter doesn’t.
The cast all do wonderfully, though the show is somewhat stolen by Sean Murray’s portrayal of cantankerous old bastard Jack, tearing constant strips off flashy Finbar, played with an affable, awkward edge by Louis Dempsey. The old goat and the young(er) pretender trade blows and showboat throughout the eighty odd minutes of action, nicely supported by the contrasting knitwear clad background shufflers, Jim and Brendan. John O’Dowd is appealing and understated as Jim and Sam O’Mahony plays a marvellous turn as the long suffering landlord Brendan who shrugs his way through the evening pouring the drinks and correcting the balance of comfort and grumpiness in his patrons. He is as much a part of the scenery as the bar set (Madeleine Girling) itself; the cosy host providing warmth but remaining a smidge too rugged to be completely cuddly. Natalie Radmall-Quirke is equally fun, strong and melancholy as new girl and gossip point, Valerie, a role that I imagine could become dull very easily with too much leaning towards classic girly sympathy bids which she has avoided quite elegantly.
The triumph of both the writing and performance of The Weir is in the contradiction; going from fairies and weddings, to horror and tragedy, without ever rocking the boat enough to realise how completely the mood is shifting until you are laughing out loud when you thought you were about to have a quiet cry. Although it is far from a simple, the base element of a need to connect with those around us and turn out our own tales is so universal that the appeal should extend to all. It is a really wonderful and easy play and I don’t hesitate to give it full marks.
Reviewed by Jenna Barton
Photography by Marc Brenner
THE WEIR
is at The Mercury Theatre, Colchester until 16th September
ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE ANNOUNCES RICHARD TWYMAN’S INAUGURAL SEASON AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Richard Twyman has announced his inaugural season as Artistic Director of English Touring Theatre which includes a series of first-time collaborations with theatres, theatre companies and artists.
In the Spring, English Touring Theatre joins forces for the first time with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory on Twyman’s production of Othello which, following a run at the Tobacco Factory Theatre, tours to venues in the UK beginning at Wilton’s Musical Hall.
This is followed by two autumn shows – firstly, ETT works with Simon Godwin, Associate Director of the National Theatre, to present the first tour of Sam Holcroft’s comedy Rules for Living which premièred at the National’s Dorfman Theatre in 2015. The show reunites ETT with co-producers Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Rose Theatre Kingston, with whom they created the critically acclaimed, award-winning revival of Peter Whelan’s The Herbal Bed in 2016. It opens in Northampton on 12 September before touring.
Secondly, the autumn sees another new partnership as ETT co-produces with Mercury Theatre Colchester on the Regional Touring Network production of Conor McPherson’s The Weir, twenty years after its world première at the Royal Court. The show, opens at Mercury Theatre Colchester on 14 September before travelling to Harrogate, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Barnstaple, Exeter, Oldham, Warwick, Poole and Huddersfield.
Richard Twyman said “I’m delighted to announce our new season of work and my first as Artistic Director. In this time of complex and extraordinary change in the country, ETT’s role as a national touring company has never felt more important. This season sees us tour to 21 theatres throughout England, bringing audiences together to explore the conventions and fears that shape our national identity and govern our experience of contemporary life.
“Othello, a co-production with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, is one of Shakespeare’s plays that speaks most directly to our world today. This production interrogates one of the burning tensions of our age, the fear of the ‘other’ and the perception that their identity may threaten our own.
“In the autumn, we tour the deliriously funny Rules For Living by Sam Holcroft with Simon Godwin making his ETT debut as director. Playful and theatrical, Rules for Living explodes the instantly recognisable dynamic of the family unit at Christmas, laying bare the conventions and anxieties of contemporary society.
“Autumn ’17 also sees year two of the Regional Touring Network, a three-year partnership with nine regional theatres to develop new audiences, it continues our commitment to tour top quality drama as widely as possible. This year we are staging a major tour of the 20th Anniversary production of The Weir by Conor McPherson. One of the great pieces of theatrical story-telling, I’m proud we can share this moving and seminal play with new audiences throughout England.”
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, Tobacco Factory Theatres and English Touring Theatre present
Othello
By William Shakespeare
16 February – 1 April at Tobacco Factory Theatres
And then English Touring Theatre co-produces the tour to Exeter Northcott Theatre (9 – 13 May) and Wilton’s Musical Hall (16 May – 3 June. Public booking opens 27 February).
English Touring Theatre, Rose Theatre Kingston and Royal & Derngate, Northampton present
Rules for Living
By Sam Holcroft
8 – 30 September at Royal & Derngate, Northampton
And then on tour (details to be announced shortly)
English Touring Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester present
The Weir
By Conor McPherson
8 – 16 September at Mercury Theatre, Colchester
TOUR DATES
Mercury Theatre Colchester
8 – 16 September
Box office: 01206 573 948
www.mercurytheatre.co.uk
Harrogate Theatres
19 – 23 September
Box Office: 01423 50116
www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk
Cheltenham Everyman
26 – 30 September
Box Office: 01242 572573
www.everymantheatre.org.uk
Cast, Doncaster
3 – 7 October
Box Office: 01302 340422
www.castindoncaster.com
The Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple
10 – 14 October
Box Office: 01271 324242
www.northdevontheatres.org.uk
Exeter Northcott Theatre
17 – 21 October
Box Office: 01392 726363
www.exeternorthcott.co.uk
Oldham Coliseum Theatre
24 – 28 October
Box Office: 0161 624 2829
www.coliseum.org.uk
Warwick Arts Centre
31 October – 4 November
Box Office: 024 7652 4524
www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
Lighthouse Poole
7 – 11 November
Box Office: 0844 406 8666
www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
14 – 18 November
Box office: 01484 430528
www.thelbt.org
ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE
English Touring Theatre is one of the UK’s most successful and influential touring companies. The company works with leading artists to stage an eclectic mix of new and classic work for audiences throughout the UK and overseas; theatre that is thrilling, popular and engaged in the contemporary world. At the heart of everything ETT does is the passionately held belief that everyone, wherever they are in the country, deserves to have access to the very best work. Upcoming tours include Sandi Toksvig’s Silver Lining which opens at Rose Theatre Kingston in February and the Olivier Award winning Shakespeare’s Globe production of Nell Gwynn, starring Laura Pitt-Pulford.
