Live Theater: The Weir

The Varsity is producing an award-winning Irish drama. “The Weir” will be presented at the downtown Carbondale venue on Aug. 28, 29 and 30. Mickey Soltys, Mike Shanahan and Friends will be performing Irish music in the hour before the show on opening night.

The 1997 play was a winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play. Playwright Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. He has won numerous awards, as have many of his plays. His latest acclaimed work, “Girl from the North Country,” opened on Broadway to critical acclaim. The new show features the music of Bob Dylan.

Kevin Purcell of Cobden is directing. Actors in the production are some of the best in the region, and each has appeared in numerous productions in Carbondale and beyond. They are Kim Curlee, Sarah Dubach, Jim Busch, Eric Billingsley and Dan Hill.

The setting for “The Weir” is a rural Irish pub, where three local men are enjoying good beer and company. Their normal routine is shaken up when their friend, Finbar, enters and introduces them to Valerie, an attractive woman from Dublin who has just moved into an old haunted house in the town. As the night (and the amount of liquor) progresses, each man tells a tale of ghostly happenings in the town. Examining chances of missed opportunity and the loneliness that results in it, “The Weir” is a haunting play with its roots in Irish folklore.

Note: This play is not suitable for children.

“The Weir” will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. Tickets are $12 for adults or $8 for students with ID. Tickets are available in advance online at www.thevarsitycenter.eventbrite.com. They aren’t available in advance at the venue but can be purchased one hour before each performance time, when doors and the Varsity Bar open.

Host or Publisher The Varsity Center