McPherson Plays: Three (Shining City, The Seafarer, The Birds, The Veil, The Dance of Death)
Author(s): Conor McPherson (Author)
Publisher: Nick Hern Books
Publication Date: 18 April 2013
Language: English
Print length: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1848422091
ISBN-13: 9781848422094
Book Description
Five plays from Ireland’s master storyteller. Conor McPherson burst onto the theatre scene with the Royal Court production of his play The Weir in 1997. This volume of work brings us up to date and includes two of his biggest successes, Shining City (2004) and The Seafarer (2006) along with The Veil, commissioned by The National Theatre in 2011. Published here for the first time are Conor’s 2009 adaptation for the Abbey Theatre of Daphne DuMaurier’s world famous thriller The Birds and an acclaimed adaptation of Strindberg’s masterpiece The Dance of Death seen in London’s West End in December 2012.
A breathtaking supernatural play, The Seafarer premiered at London’s National Theatre to huge acclaim before transferring to Broadway. Shining City was one of the Royal Court’s biggest hits, a spine tingling ghost story that chilled audiences to the bone. The Veil, commissioned by the National Theatre, thrilled audiences with its tale of Victorian séances and a ghostly legacy. Daphne DuMaurier’s classic The Birds(famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock) achieved, in Conor’s adaptation for Ireland’s renowned Abbey Theatre, a successful return to the original’s nightmarish sense of claustrophobia, while a blackly funny edge was brought to bear on Strindberg’s famous study of marital discord The Dance of Death for its West End premiere in 2012.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Conor McPherson’s play, inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s iconic short story, is deliciously chilling…McPherson’s staccato scenes have the same effect as the strings on the score of Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, which is a similar effect to that of nails being dragged across a blackboard. They are spring-loaded with tension, a tension only very rarely relieved, through comedy, in the entire two hours. The effect is exhausting, but exhilarating…The result is a combination of ‘Waiting for Godot’ and ‘Jagged Edge’: claustrophobic, questioning, frightening; and with a twist. –Irish Independent on The Birds
Conor McPherson is a master of bruising banter…The play feels lighter in his hands… the laughs come freely and it’s impossible to look away. –Time Out on The Dance of Death
About the Author
Conor McPherson is an award-winning Irish playwright. Educated at University College Dublin, he went on to found the Fly by Night Theatre Company, which produced several of his early plays. His best-known works include The Weir (Royal Court, winner of the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play), Dublin Carol (Altantic Theater Company, New York) and The Seafarer (National Theatre, also director). He has also written for film.
Wow! eBook
