Not so much a ghost story as a tale about haunted lives, the Irish classic, The Weir is given a fine outing by the Richmond Shakespeare Society. Samantha Laurie sees it at Mary Wallace Theatre, showing until Jan 28.
© Handwritten Photography: Emilio Cavaciuti and Steve Taylor
Conor McPherson’s play, which won a slew of awards when it was first produced in 1997, opens on a wild, stormy night in a rural pub in County Sligo, Ireland. Three local unmarried men – Jack the local garage mechanic, Brendan the barman and Jim, the garage assistant who cares for his infirm ‘mammy’ – warm themselves on the fire, share a bit of banter and enjoy “just another small one”.
In comes Finbar, a former local, resented by the others for his good fortune (marriage and money) who brings with him a newcomer, a “blow in” from Dublin called Valerie who has rented a home in the isolated community, for reasons as yet unknown.
Affable, roguish, curmudgeonly Jack (“sometimes I do things just to be cussed”) is played with Ricky Tomlinson-esque zeal by an outstanding Steve Taylor, and there is plenty of humour as the old-timers struggle to find a glass of white wine and a ladies toilet for their new drinking buddy.
The five pass the night spooking each other with tales of fairies, ghouls and ghostly goings-on until Valerie (a quiet and terrific performance from Mia Skytte Jensen) shares her own story, one so profound and shocking that it changes the flow of the night, and possibly the lives of those around her.
© Handwritten Photography, L to R: Matthew Flexman, Steve Taylor and Mia Skytte Jensen
The Weir is about missed connections, thwarted lives and misfortune. “Good luck!” toast the men as they raise their continually refreshed glasses, but none other than Finbar have seen much of it. And if they have, they’ve failed to cherish it. In Jack’s final monologue, he recalls with great tenderness a ham, cheese and onion sandwich, made for him by a stranger as an act of kindness when he was at a very low ebb in his life. It was the moment he realised he had let his last chance of happiness slip away.
Everyone is haunted by something in this slow burner of a play - loneliness, grief, missed opportunity, isolation. But it is also a play about community and bonding. And Twickenham’s Mary Wallace Theatre is the perfect setting – a lovely intimate riverside theatre, funded by the legacy of former Richmond Shakespeare Society secretary, Mary Wallace.
There are no scene changes (all the action takes place in the pub) and no interval, but the 90 minutes fly by. This is a top performance with immense emotional depth by one of our best amateur companies.
The Weir is at the Mary Wallace until Jan 28, for tickets visit richmondshakespeare.org.uk
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