The Theatre and Films of Conor McPherson

The Theatre and Films of Conor McPherson

Author: Eamonn Jordan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1350051225

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The spellbinding premiere of The Weir at the Royal Court in 1997 was the first of many works to bring Conor McPherson to the attention of the theatre-going public. Acclaimed plays followed, including Shining City, The Seafarer, The Night Alive and Girl from the North Country, garnering international acclaim and being regularly produced around the globe. McPherson has also had significant successes as a theatre director, film director and screenwriter, most notably, with his award-winning screenplay for I Went Down. This companion offers a detailed and engaging critical analysis of the plays and films of Conor McPherson. It considers issues of gender and class disparity, violence and wealth in the cultural and political contexts in which the work is written and performed, as well as the inclusion of song, sound, the supernatural, religious and pagan festive sensibilities through which initial genre perceptions are nudged elsewhere, towards the unconscious and ineffable. Supplemented by a number of contributed critical and performance perspectives, including an interview with Conor McPherson, this is a book to be read by theatre audiences, performance-makers and students who wish to explore, contextualize and situate McPherson's provocative, exquisite and generation-defining writings and performances.


The Theatre and Films of Conor McPherson

The Theatre and Films of Conor McPherson

Author: Eamonn Jordan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1350051233

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The spellbinding premiere of The Weir at the Royal Court in 1997 was the first of many works to bring Conor McPherson to the attention of the theatre-going public. Acclaimed plays followed, including Shining City, The Seafarer, The Night Alive and Girl from the North Country, garnering international acclaim and being regularly produced around the globe. McPherson has also had significant successes as a theatre director, film director and screenwriter, most notably, with his award-winning screenplay for I Went Down. This companion offers a detailed and engaging critical analysis of the plays and films of Conor McPherson. It considers issues of gender and class disparity, violence and wealth in the cultural and political contexts in which the work is written and performed, as well as the inclusion of song, sound, the supernatural, religious and pagan festive sensibilities through which initial genre perceptions are nudged elsewhere, towards the unconscious and ineffable. Supplemented by a number of contributed critical and performance perspectives, including an interview with Conor McPherson, this is a book to be read by theatre audiences, performance-makers and students who wish to explore, contextualize and situate McPherson's provocative, exquisite and generation-defining writings and performances.


The Birds

The Birds

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Published: 2016-05-13

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 0822233126

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Daphne du Maurier’s short story, also the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, is boldly adapted by Conor McPherson—a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse. In an isolated house, strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from relentless masses of attacking birds. They find relative sanctuary but not comfort or peace; there’s no electricity, little food, and a nearby neighbor may still be alive and watching them. Another refugee, the young and attractive Julia, arrives with some news of the outside world, but her presence also brings discord. Their survival becomes even more doubtful when paranoia takes hold of the makeshift fortress—an internal threat to match that of the birds outside.


The Weir

The Weir

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9780822217060

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THE STORY: In a bar in rural Ireland, the local men swap spooky stories in an attempt to impress a young woman from Dublin who recently moved into a nearby haunted house. However, the tables are soon turned when she spins a yarn of her own.


The Weir, and Other Plays

The Weir, and Other Plays

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13:

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Set in a rural pub in western Ireland, "The weir" is a drama of interwoven stories as told by the locals about how they comfort and distract one another in the midst of desolation and grief.


The Night Alive

The Night Alive

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 0822230860

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Tommy's not a bad man; he's getting by. Renting a run-down room in his Uncle Maurice's house, just about keeping his ex-wife and kids at arm's length, and rolling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the other with his pal Doc. Then one day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself, struggling through life the only way she knows how. Their past won't let go easily, but together there's a glimmer of hope that they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps. With inimitable warmth, style and craft, Conor McPherson's THE NIGHT ALIVE deftly mines the humanity to be found in the most unlikely of situations.


Girl from the North Country

Girl from the North Country

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Theatre Communications Group

Published: 2017-11-20

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 1559368829

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“The idea is inspired and the treatment piercingly beautiful . . . Two formidable artists have shown respect for the integrity of each other’s work here and the result is magnificent.” —Independent “Bob Dylan’s back catalogue is used to glorious effect in Conor McPherson’s astonishing cross-section of hope and stoic suffering . . . It is the constant dialogue between the drama and the songs that makes this show exceptional.” —Guardian “Beguiling and soulful and quietly, exquisitely, heartbreaking. A very special piece of theatre.” —Evening Standard “A populous, otherworldly play that combines the hard grit of the Great Depression with something numinous and mysterious.” —Telegraph Duluth, Minnesota. 1934. A community living on a knife-edge. Lost and lonely people huddle together in the local guesthouse. The owner, Nick, owes more money than he can ever repay, his wife Elizabeth is losing her mind, and their daughter Marianne is carrying a child no one will account for. So when a preacher selling bibles and a boxer looking for a comeback turn up in the middle of the night, things spiral beyond the point of no return . . . In Girl from the North Country, Conor McPherson beautifully weaves the iconic songbook of Bob Dylan into a show full of hope, heartbreak and soul. It premiered at the Old Vic, London, in July 2017, in a production directed by the author. Conor McPherson is an award-winning Irish playwright. His best-known works include The Weir (Royal Court; winner of the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play), Dublin Carol (Atlantic Theater Company) and The Seafarer (National Theatre). Bob Dylan, born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941, is one of the most important songwriters of our time. Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. He released his thirty-ninth studio album, Triplicate, in April 2017, and continues to tour worldwide.


Dublin Carol

Dublin Carol

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780822219507

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THE STORY: DUBLIN CAROL centers around John Plunkett, an undertaker in his late fifties. The play is divided into three scenes, all of which take place in his office in Dublin on Christmas Eve. In the morning we see John interacting with Mark, a tw


The Veil

The Veil

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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May 1822, rural Ireland. The defrocked Reverend Berkeley arrives at the crumbling former glory of Mount Prospect House to accompany a young woman to England. Seventeen-year-old Hannah is to be married off to a marquis in order to resolve the debts of her mother's estate. However, compelled by the strange voices that haunt his beautiful young charge and a fascination with the psychic current that pervades the house, Berkeley proposes a séance, the consequences of which are catastrophic.


The Seafarer

The Seafarer

Author: Conor McPherson

Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Inc

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9780822222842

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THE STORY: THE SEAFARER is a chilling new play about the sea, Ireland, and the power of myth. It's Christmas Eve, and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, aging brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and