The Seafarer (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Conor McPherson

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A breathtaking supernatural play from the author of The Weir. It's Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, ageing brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul. 'a blistering emotional punch... The Seafarer first ambushes you and then haunts you for days afterwards' - Time Out 'sparkling and suspenseful... McPherson is a born yarn-spinner' - Guardian 'McPherson's new play is one of his most succinct and startling, and the funniest to date... what he creates is apparently simple, but daring and memorable. He sends his characters off on benders, and they bump into the infinite' - Observer 'a realistic fantasy, a wide-awake nightmare. The writing is poetic, brutal, athletic, hilarious' - Sunday Times

Leseprobe

Conor McPherson

THE SEAFARER

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Epigraph

Original Production

Characters and Setting

Act One

Act Two

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

                                     He knows notWho lives most easily on land, how IHave spent my winter on the ice-cold seaWretched and anxious, in the paths of exileLacking dear friends, hung round by iciclesWhile hail flew past in showers…

Anonymous. The Seafarer, c.755 AD,translated from Anglo-Saxon by Richard Hamer

The Seafarer was first performed in the Cottesloe auditorium of the National Theatre, London, on 28 September 2006 (previews from 20 September), with the following cast:

MR LOCKHART

Ron Cook

IVAN CURRY

Conleth Hill

JAMES ‘SHARKY’ HARKIN

Karl Johnson

NICKY GIBLIN

Michael McElhatton

RICHARD HARKIN

Jim Norton

Director

Conor McPherson

Designer

Rae Smith

Lighting Designer

Neil Austin

Sound Designer

Mathew Smethurst-Evans

The play received its American premiere at the Booth Theater, New York, on 31 October 2007, with the same artistic team. The cast was as follows:

IVAN CURRY

Conleth Hill

MR LOCKHART

Ciarán Hinds

NICKY GIBLIN

Sean Mahon

JAMES ‘SHARKY’ HARKIN

David Morse

RICHARD HARKIN

Jim Norton

Characters

JAMES ‘SHARKY’ HARKIN, erstwhile fisherman/van driver/chauffeur, fifties

RICHARD HARKIN, his older brother, recently gone blind, late fifties/sixties

IVAN CURRY, old friend of the Harkins, late forties

NICKY GIBLIN, a friend of Richard’s, late forties/fifties

MR LOCKHART, an acquaintance of Nicky’s, fifties

Dialogue in square brackets [ ] is unspoken.

Setting

The action takes place in a house in Baldoyle, a coastal settlement north of Dublin City. It is an old area which could hardly be called a town these days. It is rather a suburb of the city with a church and a few pubs and shops at its heart. From the coast one is looking at the north side of the Howth peninsula. Howth Head (Binn Eadair) is a hill on the peninsula which marks the northern arm of Dublin Bay. Due to its prominence it has long been the focus of myths and legends.

Act One takes place on Christmas Eve morning and late afternoon.

Act Two takes place late on Christmas Eve night.

ACT ONE: THE DEVIL AT BINN EADAIR

Scene One

The grim living area of a house in Baldoyle in Dublin. The house seems to be built into a hill. The main entrance is down a flight of stairs from the ground floor, giving a basement feel to the room. There is a window with a net curtain and threadbare heavier curtains drawn over it. At the back wall is an opening to a passageway giving access to a yard. Off the passageway are a mostly unseen kitchen and a toilet.

The place lacks a woman’s touch. It has morphed into a kind of a bar in its appearance. Those who live or pass through here are so immersed in pub culture that many artefacts in the room are originally from bars: a big mirror advertising whiskey, ashtrays, beer mats, a bar stool or two somewhere. There is a cold stove. The furniture is old and worn. An armchair, a couch, mismatched chairs, a dresser with very old mugs, cups and various chipped plates, a little table more suited for playing cards than for eating at…