The Seafarer

Plot synopsis

Having recently been let go from his job chauffeuring a wealthy developer and his wife in Lahinch, Co. Clare, Sharky returns to Dublin to look after Richard. Tension between the brothers is evident from the start and exists mostly in Richard's constant sniping and excessive demands from his younger brother. A source of early conflict stems from Richard's inviting Nicky Giblin—Sharky's love rival—to join the men, along with Ivan, for a game of poker.

Nicky Giblin unexpectedly arrives with the mysterious Mr. Lockhart, a man of refined appearance. During a tête-à-tête, Lockhart reminds Sharky of their prior meeting which occurred twenty-five years to the day previously, when the pair were remanded together in the Bridewell Garda Barracks when Sharky had been arrested over the killing of a vagrant, Lawrence Joyce. During the period of their captivity Sharky had agreed to a game of cards in which he wagered his soul in a game of poker against Lockhart in a bid to gain his freedom. Sharky won the game and with it his freedom, but with the proviso that Lockhart would at some future date have an opportunity to play him once again.

The play culminates with the poker game played between the five men. Ostensibly a harmless game of cards, it is in fact a game for Sharky's soul as Lockhart reveals himself, in a series of private disclosures to Sharky, to be a Mephistophelian entity. Sharky once again trumps his adversary when, at the climax, Ivan reveals his winning hand of four aces which he had earlier mistaken for four fours due to his myopia.

Style

Written broadly in a naturalistic style, The Seafarer also has magical realist qualities as evidenced by Lockhart's insights into Sharky's past and his monologues on the afterlife.

McPherson's dialogue is predominantly written in a working-class Dublin idiom but adopts a more self-conscious lyricism typical of the Irish theatre tradition during the Lockhart monologues.

Production history

Original production

The play premiered in September 2006 at the Cottesloe auditorium of London's Royal National Theatre. It received a 2007 Olivier Award nomination for Best Play, and Jim Norton won an Olivier for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

The cast was:

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

Broadway

The Broadway production opened December 6, 2007 at the Booth Theatre and closed on March 30, 2008.

The Broadway cast was:

Mr Lockhart: Ciarán Hinds

Ivan Curry: Conleth Hill

James 'Sharky' Harkin: David Morse

Nicky Giblin: Sean Mahon

Richard Harkin: Jim Norton

Director: Conor McPherson

Awards and nominations