The Weir : Conor McPherson’s superb writing given an acceptable production at the Shenkman Centre.

Photo:Peter Juranka  Cast of The Weir

Irish playwright Conor McPherson has given us a superb piece of writing in this apparently simple play set in a rural pub, and Tara has for the most part given McPherson’s story its rightful due.

The plot is straightforward: four locals and one newcomer spend an evening knocking back a few drinks and trading ghost stories, a couple of them truly chilling. What these folks, all lonely and disappointed to varying degrees, are actually talking about is their own regrets over what might have been and how a community gathering spot like a pub and the sheer grace that we humans sometimes show to each other can make the journey through a dark and sad world a little easier.

Director Margaret Harvey-O’Kelly has made the pub and the collective and individual lives of these five people real – so much so that, as my guest said after the show, you feel almost like a fly on the wall of this cozy watering hole.

Among the actors, Cristina Kindl as the uncertain newcomer, Lawrence Evenchick as the wealthy and self-important Finbar, and Michael Guest as the combative Jack deserve special mention for their strong performances. However, director Harvey-O’Kelly should have realized that Guest’s poor enunciation is a serious enough problem, at least for those of us on the audience’s outer edges on Friday night, that some part of the narrative is incomprehensible.

The Weir’s other two characters, the lost but kindly Jim who still lives with his aging mother and the accommodating barkeep Brendan, are played by Mike Heffernan and Bryan Morris respectively. More assured definition of both characters would give the show the balance it doesn’t always achieve.

The audience sits in a cabaret style setting, with drinks if they choose. Friday night’s audience was full, proof that Ottawa theatre goers are willing to make the short trek to Orleans where the lovely Shenkman Arts Centre is slowly building a reputation as a good venue (the drive back into town also gives audience members a chance to talk over the show)

The Weir

Tara Players

Shenkman Arts Centre