Play for study: The Weir

Conor McPherson's The Weir is one of the texts teachers can choose for the Eduqas A level Component 1: Theatre Workshop, a reinterpretation the text, inspired by a theatre practitioner or company. Teachers may also consider selecting the text for Component 2: Text in Action, where they perform an extract alongside a contrasting devised piece. But how does The Weir earn its place on this list of worthy recommended texts and is it worth considering?

Originally performed at the Royal Court in 1997, McPherson's text still remains hauntingly poignant over two decades later, and enjoyed successful revivals in 2016 and 2018.

Set in an isolated Irish pub one evening, four local male residents gather for their usual pint or two. The difference tonight is the presence of a stranger, Valerie, who has recently relocated to the area. Initially the men regale her with local ghost stories, but it is ultimately Valerie's own true story of the loss of her daughter – which is also tinged with an element of the supernatural – that causes the evening to take on a very different tone.