The Theatre and Films of Conor McPherson

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.