Kirjahaku

This volume of Conor McPherson's collected plays, covering a decade of writing, celebrates a fascination with the uncanny which has led him to be described as 'quite possibly the finest playwright of his generation' (New York Times). In Shining City, a man seeks help from a counsellor, claiming to have seen the ghost of his dead wife. The play, premiered at the Royal Court, London, is 'up there with The Weir, moving, compassionate, ingenious and absolutely gripping' (Daily Telegraph). The Seafarer, premiered at the National Theatre before going on to become a Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, tells the story of an extended Christmas Eve card game, but one played for the highest stakes possible. 'McPherson proves yet again he is both a born yarn-spinner and an acute analyst of the melancholy Irish manhood' (Guardian) Set in 'the big house' in 1820s rural Ireland, The Veil is McPherson's first period play. Seventeen-year-old Hannah is to be married off in order to settle the debts of the crumbling estate. But when Reverend Berkeley arrives, determined to orchestrate a séance, chaos is unleased. 'A cracking fireside tale of haunting and decay' (The Times) The Birds, hauntingly adapted from the short story by Daphne du Maurier, is 'deliciously chilling, claustrophobic, questioning, frightening; and with a twist' (Irish Independent). It is published here for the first time, as is The Dance of Death, a new version of Strindberg's classic, which premiered at the Trafalgar Studios in London. 'A spectacularly bleak yet curiously bracing drama that often makes you laugh out loud' (Daily Telegraph). Completing the volume is a Foreword by the author.

Four early plays from the author of The Weir, with a foreword by the author. The plays in this volume – three monologues and a three-hander – were all written while Conor McPherson was in his twenties. In This Lime Tree Bower (Crypt Arts Centre, Dublin, 1995; Bush Theatre, London, 1996), three young men from a small seaside town near Dublin tell us in overlapping monologues of their inextricably linked lives and the eventful week which was to change things for good. St Nicholas (Bush Theatre, London, 1997) is an eccentric, teasing yarn in which a cynical and jaded drama critic falls for a beautiful young actress. In pursuing her, he meets a group of modern-day vampires who offer him eternal life – his part of the bargain is to feed their bloodlust. Rum and Vodka (University College Dublin, 1992; City Arts Centre, Dublin, 1994) is a short monologue play in which a young Irishman with a drink problem tells of three momentous days in his life when his drab nine-to-five existence is obliterated in an escapist binge which threatens to engulf him. The Good Thief (City Arts Centre, Dublin, 1994) is a monologue play about a petty criminal who is punished by his conscience when he becomes involved in a bungled kidnap.

The second collection of plays from the multi-award winning author. Included in this volume is Conor McPherson's The Weir, one of the most successful plays of recent years. In a bar in a remote part of Ireland, the local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress a young woman from Dublin newly moved into the area... 'A spellbinder that transfixes you... No praise in fact is too high' Guardian Dublin Carol is set on Christmas Eve, when a Dublin undertaker is visited by his estranged daughter urging him to face up to the past. 'McPherson writes like a dream.... The play works an ingenious spell' Daily Mail Port Authority tells of three interwoven lives: a boy leaves home for the first time; a man starts a job for which he is unqualified; a pensioner is sent a mysterious package... 'Overwhelmingly poignant... desolate, searing eloquence' Evening Standard And in Come on Over, published here for the first time, a Jesuit priest, sent to investigate a 'miracle' in his home town, re-encounters the woman who loved him thirty years before. 'Piercingly evocative, powerfully exploring the tension between human and divine love' Daily Telegraph The volume also contains an Afterword by the author.

The first U.S. collection of an extraordinary new voice in Irish drama. This volume includes The Weir, St. Nicholas, This Lime Tree Bower, The Good Thief, and Rum and Vodka.

"Conor McPherson, who turned] 35 in August, is one of the genuine treasures of the English-language theatre. It is absolutely intoxicating to ponder what he will give us in the future."--Irish Echo"The unique and extraordinary aspect of McPherson's writing is the way in which his characters reveal themselves in tiny details which almost imperceptibly build up an extensive picture of the past, present and future, not just of themselves but of Ireland."--The Sunday Mail (London)Conor McPherson returns to his native Dublin for the setting of his new play, which he will direct in a much-anticipated production at London's National Theatre in fall 2006. It is Christmas Eve, and James "Sharky" Harkin, erstwhile fisherman/van driver/chauffeur, gathers with friends at the dingy flat he shares with his blind brother to drink booze and play cards. As Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, the familiar-looking stranger Mr. Lockhart reminds Sharky of the bargain he made when they last met in prison--and Sharky suddenly finds himself playing a game with the stakes set at his soul. With this magnificently atmospheric new play, McPherson is once again set to entrance his audience, this time with a new take on the Faustian theme. Conor McPherson was born in Dublin, where he still lives. His plays include This Lime Tree Bower, St. Nicholas, The Weir, Port Authority, Dublin Carol, and Shining City, which premiered on Broadway in spring 2006. One of Ireland's leading playwrights, his work has been produced throughout the United Kingdom and the United States.

"Conor McPherson, the Irish dramatist who gave us The Weir and Shining City, has a singular gift for making the ordinary glow with an extra dimension, like a gentle phosphorescence waiting to be coaxed into radiance."--Ben Brantley, The New York TimesIn the throes of the Great Depression, a family in Duluth, Minnesota is teetering on the edge of collapse. Each member of the family is wondering where to turn, until one finally discovers a way out. From the widely lauded Irish dramatist known for his haunting tales of working class Ireland, Girl from the North Country uses many of the most-loved songs from the repertoire of Bob Dylan, giant of American folk music (and himself a native son of Duluth). Dylan's songs weave deftly in and out of this riveting narrative, producing a uniquely crafted play with music.Featuring sixteen songs including: "Just Like a Woman," "I Want You," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Slow Train Coming," "Forever Young," "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Lovesick," "My Back Pages," "Hurricane," and others.Bob Dylan's iconic career includes more than fifty years of music, legendary in the American folk and blues genre. His most famous albums include Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blood on the Tracks. Throughout his music career, Dylan has received ten Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and most recently, he was honored with the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.Conor McPherson's best known works include The Weir (1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play), Dublin Carol, The Seafarer, Shining City, Port Authority, and The Night Alive (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play).

'You'll remember how much of living is really just forgetting.' The family home is more than a building. It's a destination of pilgrimage, an inherited investment, a repository of memory or magic. But, for brother and sister Stephen and Billie, home is all they've got. Mucking along in their decaying farmhouse, they're doing just fine. That is, until the arrival of an ex-clergyman uncle with an unscrupulous plan, a sister-in-law seeking a miracle, and a prodigal brother hell-bent on trouble… An entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland, Conor McPherson's play The Brightening Air was the winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. It was first performed at The Old Vic, London, in 2025, directed by the playwright.

Set around a haunted house hemmed in by a restive, starving populace, The Veil weaves Ireland’s troubled colonial history into a transfixing story about the search for love, the transcendental and the circularity of time. May 1822, rural Ireland. The defrocked Reverend Berkeley arrives at the crumbling former glory of Mount Prospect House to accompany seventeen year-old Hannah to England. She 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 seance, the consequences of which are catastrophic. Conor McPherson's play The Veil was first performed in the Lyttelton auditorium of the National Theatre, London, in September 2011.

An inimitably warm and stylish play that deftly mines the humanity to be found in the most unlikely of situations. 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 they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps. The Night Alive premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in June 2013, before transferring to the Atlantic Theater in New York. It was named Best New Play at the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards 2014.

In the heat of summer, Sonya and her Uncle Vanya while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally by the only local doctor Astrov. However, when Sonya's father, Professor Serebryakov, suddenly returns with his restless, alluring, new wife, declaring his intention to sell the house, the polite façades crumble and long-repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences. Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson's stunning adaptation of Anton Chekhov's masterpiece, Uncle Vanya, is a portrayal of life at the turn of the twentieth century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions. It premiered at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in January 2020, directed by Ian Rickson. A film of the production, made by Sonia Friedman Productions/Angelica Films and shot on the stage of the Harold Pinter Theatre after the West End run was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was screened on BBC Four and went on to win the Theatre Award in the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2021.

A magical, compelling play from the author of The Weir. Present day Dublin. Christmas Eve. Undertaker John Plunkett is sharing memories of funerals over the years and dispensing advice to his young assistant. But the arrival of his daughter Mary – estranged, grown-up – shows him the time has come to face up to his own disastrous past. Otherwise, he will never be able to create some kind of truce with his fear of the future. Conor McPherson's play Dublin Carol was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, London, in January 2000.

A brilliant, haunting play from the multi-award winning author of The Weir. Ian has left the priesthood to become a therapist. John is one of his first clients. John's wife has been killed in a car accident, and he keeps receiving visits from her ghost. John, with Ian's help, starts to recover. But what begins as an unusual encounter becomes a desperate struggle between the living and the dead – a struggle which will shape and define both of them for the rest of their lives. Conor McPherson's play Shining City was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in June 2004.

A wry, moving, funny tale of how modern man faces up to the responsibility of love, woven in monologues, from the multi-award winning author of The Weir. A boy leaves home for the first time. A man starts a job for which he is not qualified. A pensioner has just been sent a mysterious package. Away from bar-room bravado, three men show us the reality of big dreams and missed chances, of loves lost and trouble found, of the messiness of life and the quirkiness of fate. Conor McPherson's play Port Authority was first performed in a production by the Gate Theatre, Dublin, at the New Ambassadors Theatre, London, in February 2001. The production subsequently transferred to the Gate Theatre, Dublin, in April 2001.

A breathtaking supernatural play from the author of The Weir. It's Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, ageing brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul. Conor McPherson's play The Seafarer was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in the Cottesloe auditorium, in September 2006.