View Proposal
Production Type: Lunchtime
Show Details
Show Name: The Weir
Author: Conor McPherson
Cast Male: 4
Cast Female: 1
Approx Running Time: 90 minutes
Preferred Week: Week 10
Team
Producer: Eva Graham
Director: Paul Collins
Technical Manager: Bryn Jones
Stage Manager: Aidan Broyd
Blurbs
Publicity Blurb: A bar in a remote part of Ireland. Four men try to scare a young Dublin girl with ghost stories, but she turns the tables on them...
Proposal Blurb: The Weir is a play written by the Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set in a pub in rural Ireland in late winter, and the story's protagonists meet for a little catch-up and to welcome the new girl who has left Dublin for the quieter life. They help her settle in by telling folk tales and ghost stories, and quickly they lose all control over the evening's events and regret it, fearing that they might have scared the Dublin girl. However, the play's climax is when she surprisingly turns the tables on them and tells her own very dark and personal 'ghost' story. The play ends on a very odd note when two of the men leave and the main protagonist (who tells the first story) tells a final unexpected story which trumps all.
This is an extraordinary piece of modern drama, and we plan to have a lot of fun exploring our own interpretations. Tech is pretty straight forward, with a mix of warm lights gradually fading into colder lights to echo the unexpected arrival of the sinister atmosphere in the pub.
Sound effects are limited, with perhaps a typical Irish folk piece at the beginning and something darker at the end, and an SFX of howling wind whenever the pub door is opened.
In terms of stage-work, we will need quite a bit of help to build our pub. Essentially we will have a few wooden flats (approx 8ft high) painted and arranged to give the feel of a nice country pub. There will be a wooden bar with 3 barstools, 3 beertaps, and 2 shelves behind with some bottles and glasses stage right, with the doorway leading out back. Stage left, there is a door with doormat and coathooks, and also on the upstage wall 3 photographs. There may possibly be a mantelpiece/hearth stage left (we think the white one in Bedlam should be fine, but needs to be painted)and a table with chairs and a big green armchair.
Costumes are very simple and nothing has to be made - things like baggy jumpers, cord trousers, baggy jackets, boots, etc...
Publicitywise, we'll make posters and put them up in bookshops, cafes, in the unions and wherever else we can; flyers will be distributed around the main university areas and at the Pollock accommodation; if necessary (particulary regarding acquiring some props like beer taps), we might do a cake sale or something similar as well.
This is an awesome play and sure to have an impression on the audience.
Requires Rights: Yes
Rights Available: Yes
Time Submitted: Mon 21st Dec '09 at 14:50:44 late
Approved By: Will Green
Passed By: The Company
View Production webpage