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The Weir

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 5 Published: 26 Sep 2025 Harold Pinter Theatre Show Dates: 12 Sep 2025-6 Dec 2025

Beneath the rustic facade of The Weir lie themes that resonate with personal experience, adding a depth that will be different for each audience member, bearing out the idea that “the tallest tales reveal the deepest truths”.

A snapshot of common interactions and testament to the power of simplicity

Written and directed by Conor McPherson at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Rae Smith’s costume and set design roots us in the realism that pervades the play. We are immediately at home in a rural Irish pub, with shelves of whiskey bottles and beer taps that will dispense a good many pints during the next hour and three-quarters. The dark woodwork of the walls, bar top and occasional tables, dining chairs and stools dominate the room, while a couple of upholstered armchairs provide more comfortable seating. With the bar set to one side, the stage is open with plenty of room for movement and changes of position. This is important for a play that consists largely of each character, in turn, telling a story while the others listen. In between their tales there is lively banter and plenty of classic Irish humour. Mark Henderson’s subdued amber lighting, which dims so warmly, completes the moody scene against the background of a windy night, subtly created by sound designer Gregory Clarke.

Undeterred by the weather, four local men gather for yet another night in the pub. Owen McDonnell awaits them as Brendan, the barman, who is part of the furniture. Humble yet convivial, he knows his customers well, meets their needs, listens to their words and conveys a welcoming charm. With him is his long-standing handyman Jim. Seán McGinley is many years older than the suggested age in the original script, but his wealth of years is ideally suited to the slightly cynical local whose spontaneous quips show that he misses nothing.

There is much that is very ordinary in what they say, as is the norm in bar-room chat, and with lyrical Irish voices the joy is as much in the sounds as the content. Brendan Gleeson dominates as soon as he enters, with his hulking figure and wry smile. He is Jack, the man around whom the evening seems to revolve, though all the characters have their turn. He soon turns the everyday into a personal revelation of Jack’s lost love – a melancholy reminiscence of what might have been that has haunted him for decades.

In contrast, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is every bit the showman as Finbar, a spiv who behaves as though he might break into a song-and-dance routine while selling you a dodgy second-hand car. He has actually left the village for Dublin and a real estate agency, and he has brought his outside influences home with him. He has also brought Valerie. Kate Phillips plays the only non-Irish character, who shows the unease of being an outsider but ends up having the most tragic story of them all, and gains their sympathies.

The Weir is a snapshot of common interactions and testament to the power of simplicity. Nothing much happens, but all stands witness to the emotional strength of storytelling, the joys of camaraderie and how much we need the things we so often take for granted.

Amir Nisi

Richard Beck

A graduate in theology and education, Richard acted and contributed to dance, drama and music productions throughout his teaching career. He joined Broadway Baby in 2014 and is now our Editor-in-Chief. He usually disappears to warmer climes for the winter to pursue his passion for travel.

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The Blurb:

The tallest tales reveal the deepest truths.

Conor McPherson (Girl from the North Country, The Brightening Air, The Hunger Games) directs his spellbinding masterpiece THE WEIR for the first time.

Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin, Harry Potter, Paddington 2) stars as Jack in what promises to be a definitive production of the celebrated modern classic. The Oscar, Bafta, Golden Globe-nominated, Emmy-winning Gleeson makes a long-awaited return to the stage in his native Dublin, as well as his much-anticipated West End stage debut.

THE WEIR is the play that brought McPherson (‘one of the finest writers of his generation’ - New York Times) to the world’s attention as a truly great writer, winning the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and Olivier awards for Best New Play when it premiered at the Royal Court.

On a stormy night, four local men gather in an isolated pub in rural Ireland. Their usual banter and everyday lives are disrupted by the arrival of a woman called Valerie. The stories they weave to impress her are gripping, haunting and deeply unsettling. Little do they know that she has a profoundly personal story of her own, the sharing of which will leave them all shaken.

THE WEIR is a testament to the need for human connection, the possibility of hope, and the enduring power of storytelling.

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