Brendon Gleeson's West End Debut

Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, The Banshees of Inisherin) makes his long-awaited West End debut in Conor McPherson's (The Brighening Air, the upcoming Hunger Games stage adaptation) masterpiece this autumn following a launch at Dublin's Olympia Theatre. 

Premiering in 1997 at The Royal Court, The Weir won the coveted trinity of theatre awards: the Evening Standard, Critics' Circle, and Olivier Awards for Best New Play, cementing McPherson's status as a major playwright. This compelling revival will also see him direct the work for the first time.

Described by Gleeson as 'profoundly moving, inspiring and ultimately hopeful', The Weir examines the truths hidden in tall tales and how we forge connections through storytelling, as played out in a local pub on a stormy evening.

What Is The Story Of The Weir?

A quiet country pub in Ireland sees a handful of its male regulars come in for their daily pick-me-ups. All joshing and banter, until one of them brings in a newcomer - a woman. Suspicious of her background, they ply her with drink and questions until they hear her tragic reasons for leaving her native Dublin.

As her audience grows more sympathetic and the alcohol flows freely, proceedings take a darker turn, as the men try to outdo each other with ghost stories that chill your bones, interspersed with dry humour. As Jack, the lonely mechanic, finally tells his own tale, we hear a story not of ghosts, but of lost love, which haunts him all the same.