"The Weir"
By Elyse Trevers
"The Weir" at The Walter Kerr Theatre is a small play with a quaint and quiet charm. Unlike other recent Irish plays, namely "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" and "The Lonesome West," this play has no violence and rage. Instead it is deals with the human need for companionship.
Set in the desolate western part of Ireland, "The Weir" is the story of four men who tell supernatural stories to entertain a young woman from Dublin. Upon hearing their stories, the newcomer Valerie (Michelle Fairley) is moved to share her own.
As in "The Iceman Cometh" (a smash on Broadway this season) the action in the story focuses around the bar. The bar is an equalizer and characters find a meeting ground. Jack, an older single fellow who runs a garage, is the most voluble of the characters. He is the first performer onstage and is present throughout the entire play. He tells some of the tales but is also suitably touched by Valeriešs tale to actually share some of his personal history. He shares his past with Brendan and Valerie, perhaps as a way of telling them to seize the moment and make the most of their opportunities. A "weir" is a dam built across a river to raise the level of water across a river or to regulate its flow. Some of these characters have their own dams keeping them emotionally in control.
Although hešs onstage most of the time, the barkeep, Brendan (Brendan Coyle), doesnšt speak much. He doesnšt tell an eerie tale but somehow says a lot with his pauses and his glances. There appears to be a strength about him and an immediate intimacy between Valerie and him.
There is Finbar, the relatively well-to-do landlord, who has rented Valerie a house and is showing her around the area. Finbar and Jim, the fourth characters, are secondary but they are important to provide more supernatural stories. The stories they tell deal with ghosts and spirits. In fact, one story suggests that the house that Valerie has rented is on Fairy Road where fairies come to bathe.
The characters are pleasant and likeable. Even when they bicker, it is amiable. When Finbar (Dermot Crowley) and Jack (Jim Norton) quarrel, they argue over who will buy the other a drink.
Therešs a quiet simplicity to "The Weir." Therešs little action and only some straightforward storytelling. Even the spirits are unpretentious with little extravagance. They make their presence known and then slip away. Therešs warmth amongst the characters which is inviting to Valerie. Valerie has fled from Dublin seeking peace and tranquility and the men assure her that she is "going to have a peace and quiet overload."
The play won Englandšs Olivier Award for best play, yet it wasnšt nominated for a Tony. Lonely characters come to a bar and pass the time sharing stories. Through monologues they connect to a stranger in their midst. Doesnšt sound like the most riveting of plays. Yet the further away I got and the more I thought about it, the more I found I like "The Weir." It is simple and straightforward with little pretense. It lacks violence and has hardly any four-letter words. It wouldnšt survive on prime time television-not violent and sexy enough. After seeing "The Weir" you leave the theater feeling kind of good. Who can ask for much more than that?
Elyse Trevers is a theater critic from Long Island, New York
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