It’s rare to catch him on stage, but if you’re lucky to get tickets to his West End debut then you’re in for a treat.
Although older than the part was envisaged, Gleeson could have been born to play barfly Jack in Conor McPherson’s supernatural drama – set over one night in an Irish pub.
McPherson directs this revival nearly 30 years after it debuted in a tiny room upstairs at The Royal Court.
Designer Rae Smith is once again called upon to imagine a certain West of Ireland rural bar in the mid-1990s – last decorated in 1951.
It’s a space as yet untouched by bureaucratic rules – like smoking bans or installing a women’s toilet – before the Celtic Tiger has roared through, raising hopes and property prices.
The only food is a bag of crisps, the Guinness pump is on the blink, and all there is for entertainment is a group of (mostly) unmarried men telling ghost stories.
The catalyst is Valerie, an attractive ‘blow in’ from Dublin with an utterly devastating story of her own.
Over the course of one stormy night, McPherson’s production weaves a kind of spell. Interspersed between the banter and drinking rituals “you’ll have a small one,” are tales of fairy folklore, strange voices and knockings, an apparition in a graveyard, and a disturbing Ouija board session.
Taciturn barman Brendan (Owen McDonnell) is the drama’s calm listening ear, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor’s Finbar the done-well gobsh**e whose self-aggrandizing schtick masks deep insecurity.
Veteran actor Sean McGinley as Jim – still caring for his ancient mother – has a beautiful way of holding himself still until his turn comes around.
And Kate Phillips’ initial levity belies a deep well of sadness that connects Valerie to these men and their other-worldly stories.
Gleeson is pitch perfect as the gruff Jack, his lived-in features run the gamut from amused mockery and gruff concern with impeccable comic timing.
And when he movingly faces up to his own truth of lost love and the kindness of a stranger, he pulls together the threads of a play about the basic need for human connection – and incidentally, the hallowed role of the pub as a focus of community.
The Weir runs at The Harold Pinter Theatre, London until December 8. www.theweirplay.com
