CONOR MCPHERSON’S play The Weir is one of the ‘greatest plays ever written in English’ says one of the stars of a revival which got underway in Dublin this month.
Seán McGinley is among a stellar cast which has been assembled for a new run of McPherson’s 1997 piece, which is directed, for the first time, by the playwright himself.
The cast of The Weir (Pic: Rich Gilligan)Donegal born, but Dublin based, McGinley joins Kate Phillips, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Owen McDonnell and Brendan Gleeson in the production which transfers to London’s West End next month.
For Ballyshannon-raised McGinley, who has been in the business since 1977, the play is a “classic”, which he describes as “one of the greats”, that “reveals the beautiful things of what community is”.
This week he took time out to talk to the Irish Post about the production and what the audience in London can expect….
This much-anticipated production revives Conor McPherson’s 1997 play. Did you see the original?
No, I didn’t see the original, but I’d heard about it - the word at the time obviously was amazing – I also read it. I was involved in the production before myself. I was drawn to this production because it’s Conor’s play, he’s directing it himself and it’s being produced by Kate Horton Productions and Landmark Productions, so all very good reasons to do it. Plus, the fact that it’s a brilliant play and we’ve had Conor in the room directing it.
What’s the story for those who haven’t seen it?
It’s set in a pub in north Leitrim, a very rural area and isolated place.
It has a couple of regulars; the barman who’s a bachelor and two regulars who are first in.
There’s sort of news in the place that this Dublin woman has come down to move into the house just up the road.
So, the men take a bit more care with their appearance. The auctioneer who they know and don't like very much brings her into the pub.
There’s a little frizzle in in the air with this impending visit of this woman.
It starts, you know, with the usual banter in the pub, but it kind of evolves into - with drinking, the new visitor and the fact that they're sort of unconsciously performing a little bit - something more spiritual than that.
It's the storytelling that’s the heart of the play and it's what the pub is.
I was saying to somebody else it's like an intermediary step between this world and whatever the other world is.
A pub is at its best a place that allows you to commune in a way that you might be able to do in your day-to-day life.
Are there any surprises in this production?
No there are no surprises. One of the gifts of having Conor directing it is that he does hand us little presents every now and then – little phrases here and there – but essentially the play is the same.
It’s a classic. It’s one of the greats. It’s only 30 years old but it fits in the cannon of the greatest plays ever written in the English language.
Seán McGinley plays Jim in the production (Pic: Rich Gilligan)Can you tell us about your character?
I play a character called Jim, who’s a bachelor.
He lives with his mum, who is still alive, in a more isolated part of the locality. He is a good friend of Jack, the sort of lead of character.
Jack owns a garage, and Jim helps him out every now and then, and does odd jobs around for people.
He is quite shy and retiring. I suppose his only outlet for social interaction is being in the pub, telling old stories and keeping people up with the news.
He's obsessed with horse-racing and all that sort of stuff. He’s very bright but doesn’t say much.
Did you face any challenges in taking on this part?
They’re all challenging but the thing that makes you want to do it is the company you’re going to be in.
The play itself is a brilliant piece of writing with brilliantly written characters.
And then the company like Brendan Gleeson playing Jack, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor playing Finbar, Owen McDonnell playing Brendan and Kate Phillips playing Valerie - that’s incredible company to be in in terms of acting.
Then the fact that Kate Horton Productions and Landmark Productions are producing - it’s a very good place to be but it’s a challenge.
It’s not an easy play to do. We’ve been working very hard, and we will continue to do that.
This play was written in 1997, does the story still hold today?
Yes, it’s universal. We all live our day to day lives – it is set pre-mobile phone times which is unthinkable now that people wouldn’t have a phone - but that’s not very long ago.
The external accoutrements maybe be different now. I think maybe back then - maybe 30 years ago - we were a bit more alert to or wondered about what the hell is this all for? What is life about? What is out there?
And you realise the older you get, the less you know about anything.
So, this play talks about a time where we were maybe more in touch with that sort of thing.
Storytelling was a more regular occurrence than it is now. Ironically, we're maybe less connected in a way than we were then.
This play kind of really reveals the beautiful things of what community is and the simplicity of the way people relate to each other. In a way that few other plays do.
And it’s very funny as well of course.
You are part of a stellar Irish cast for this production. Did you know everyone?
Well, I've worked with Brendan - I’ve never worked on stage with him, but I’ve worked with him.
I know Tom. I worked briefly with him on a TV thing - he's brilliant.
Owen, I've known for years but never worked with him.
Kate was new to me - her reputation preceded her and she's absolutely brilliant, she's beautiful in every way, a lovely person and she's an extraordinary actor.
There’s a good vibe in the room and that’s created by Conor as well, and we all get on very well.
You were recently in McPherson’s The Brightening Air. How do the two productions compare for you?
It's two in a row - we just finished The Brightening Air three weeks before we started rehearsal with this. So it was a seamless transition.
Working on a new play is always a very exciting thing as The Brightening Air was also directed by Conor.
We had an amazing cast and Conor in the room giving us these little beautiful presents every now and then.
With new bits from his observation of what we were doing, he was feeding back and giving notes related to that. There was a lovely feeling in the room.
When did you realise you wanted to pursue acting as a career and where did you train?
I didn't train, we didn't have training in Ireland at the time I started.
I was in college in Galway. I'd just done a degree, and I was doing my teaching diploma.
I got involved in a one act play with the drama group in college and Druid Theatre Company had just started the year before.
Two of the people from Druid happened to see one of the performances and they made contact with me shortly afterwards and asked me to audition for Druid, so I auditioned, and I got the part in a production of The Playboy of the Western World, that was 1977.
I thought I’d still end up being a teacher. The fact that I'm not a teacher is a bullet missed by the young people of Ireland.
I don't think I would’ve been a good teacher. A lot of people in my year when you didn't know what you wanted to do, you'd say teacher.
I know enough about teaching because my mother was a teacher and she was very good one, my grandmother was a teacher and my grandfather was a teacher and they were really good and really dedicated.
I wasn't in that ballpark myself. I never decided to become an actor. It just happened. And you know when you're 21, you don't think too far ahead and you're immortal at that time! So, 47 years later I've never decided to become an actor but apparently, I am, so here we are.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
I've been lucky to have been involved with great directors, you know, like Garry Hines, Howard Davis, Conor McPherson and loads of others.
I have been lucky enough to be around great writers like Tom Murphy, Brian Friel, Frank McGuinness, Sam Shepard and now Conor.
Also great TV writers like Roddy Doyle and directors like John Berman and Neil Jordan. I'm a very lucky man. Maybe I was around at the right time in the right place. I don't know what it is, but I am always aware of how lucky I am.
The Weir transfers to London next month, how are you feeling about it?
Oh, you always get a bit nervous about opening – you know that's normal.
So, we run until September 6 in Dublin and then we start not long after that in the Harold Pinter in the West End from September 12 to December 6.
I've never been to the Harold Pinter, but everybody says it's a lovely theatre.
I'm looking forward to that and I've always liked London. I've worked there before. I worked in the National and Royal Court.
A lot of my first cousins were there so they would come and visit us, and we used to go and visit them.
I've always found London a happy place. I've always liked it.
What can the audience expect from the show?
I think there’s a great cast and it's going to be a great production because we have a great director.
It's the quality of the writing and the storytelling in it, and it's about storytelling and it reveals things about what’s important in the simple things in life and how people look after each other and regard each other and relate to each other on a daily basis.
It reveals more than you might you know, it's heightened and laid bare, and it's very funny.
It's a perfect evening in the theatre.
The Weir runs at the 3Olympia Theatre until September 6. It transfers to London’s Harold Pinter Theatre from September 12 to December 6. Tickets for the West End run are on sale here
