| The Seafarer | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 79025
Category: Book
Author: Conor Mcpherson
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Studio: Theatre Communications Group
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
Label: Theatre Communications Group
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4
ISBN: 1559363126
Dewey Decimal Number: 822.914
EAN: 9781559363129
ASIN: 1559363126
Publication Date: August 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-7 of 7 | | « PREV | | |
 Beautiful Ensemble Piece March 4, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
The living rooms in "The Homecoming" by Harold Pinter, "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" by Martin McDonagh, and in this play, "The Seafarer" by Conor McPherson are as scroungy, grotty, and disreputable as the males who inhabit these dumpy premises. The house is north of Dublin. Some plays can be read and enjoyed as a partial substitute for seeing a live performance, but after reading this one, I realize it is essential to see a live presentation to get the full import of this play. It is an actor's dream for the current five man ensemble on Broadway because the stage business is as powerful as the lines.
There is a Faustian pact element to the story. The central focus is on Sharky, a loser, who lives with his blind brother. Two visitors and a mysterious fifth man, Mr. Lockhart, gather together Christmas Eve day and night and get extremely drunk. They play cards, money is lost, and the story opens up to the audience. Some of this is familiar territory, and the plot is not too complicated. Lockhart probably has the best lines, but the other characters would be a joy to watch. There is great comedy here along with the more serious stuff. The characters are beautifully crafted, and they are a decidedly odd bunch. Each one a piece of work in his own peculiar way.
As in most plays, secrets from the past are unearthed and become grist for the dramatist's mill. When Lockhart and Sharky are alone, Lockhart reminds him of a card game they had in the past. For these two and the audience the game of cards becomes a transforming experience. The play is well worth a read but try to see it on stage if at all possible. It would make a great movie or television play, but, I think, the audience would be limited.
 Beat the Devil February 24, 2008
6 out of 20 found this review helpful
Sharky lives with his older brother Richard and a crony named Ivan in a coastal village north of Dublin. Richard and Ivan are constantly drunk; Sharky is uneasily sober. On Christmas Eve, they are visited by beer-swilling Nicky and his guest, Mr. Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart is the Devil. We know he is the Devil because he tells us so. ("I'm the Son of the Morning. I'm the Snake in the Garden."). Twenty-five years ago he helped Sharky escape a manslaughter charge. He has now come to collect his payment: Sharky's soul. Sharky can avoid damnation only by beating Mr. Lockhart in a poker game.
If you thought that Ingmar Bergman's conceit of a Man Playing Chess with Death was self-conscious, portentous and middlebrow (and you were right), you may not be much more receptive to a Man Playing Poker with Satan. This marriage of Faust and Friel doesn't work, not least because the author is more interested in the crapulous antics of Richard, Nicky and Ivan than in the state of Sharky's soul. Sharky's character and history are so sketchy that one wonders why the Devil should covet such a nebulous figure, or why we in the audience should care about his fate. As for the supposedly hilarious drunkards, they become tiresome after three minutes.
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