About the Play:

Four Plays by Conor McPherson is collection of one-act plays from Conor McPherson. Four early plays from the multi-award winning author of The Weir. The plays in this volume – three monologues and a three-hander – were all written while Conor McPherson was in his twenties.

St. Nicholas finds an aging jaded theatre critic recounting a tale beginning with his obsession for a young actress, and how that obsession leads to a journey into a macabre world of modern-day vampires who offer him eternal life – his part of the bargain is to feed their bloodlust. Is it all a drunken lie? A tantalizing fairy tale? Or is it his own version of a higher truth? This hauntingly funny one-man gothic ghost story winds its way through the fog of memory towards a supernatural and suspenseful conclusion. (Premiered in 1997 at Bush Theatre in London; Cast: 1 male)

In This Lime Tree Bower, three young men from a Dublin seaside town tell their overlapping recollections of one fateful night that included a rape, an embarrassing episode at a college lecture, and a robbery done for retribution that ties it all together. (Premiered in 1995 at Crypt Arts Centre in Dublin; Cast: 3 male)

In the sobering one-man play Rum and Vodka, a young alcoholic recounts the events that follow after he loses his job – from the feud with his wife to the bender that might finally help him realize what's important in life. (Premiered in 1992 at University College Dublin; Cast: 1 male)

The Good Thief is another one-man play wherein a small-time thug reveals the remorse and regret he feels after a seemingly routine job goes terribly wrong and leads to murder, kidnapping, and finally a desperate run across Ireland, trying to stay one step ahead of the police, that results in unfortunate casualties and imprisonment. (Premiered in 1994 at City Arts Centre in Dublin; Cast: 1 male)

What people say:

"… immensely sophisticated … a compelling and original piece of drama." — The Daily Telegraph (London)

"…already heir to the great Irish tradition of absorbing tale-telling…He has a priceless narrative gift." — The Guardian (London)

"The Good Thief has dramatic daring.... The writing is terse, lucid and admirably dispassionate." — Irish Times

"…an old-fashioned, hard-boiled yarn…another nail-biter from this award-winning young playwright." — The Sunday Times (London)

About the Playwright:

Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and co-founder of the Fly by Night Theatre Company. He has won numerous awards, including a Laurence Olivier Award for The Weir and Tony Award nominations for Shining City and The Seafarer.