The Night Alive

by Conor McPherson

An inimitably warm and stylish play that deftly mines the humanity to be found in the most unlikely of situations. Tommy's not a bad man, he's getting by. Renting a run-down room in his uncle Maurice's house, just about keeping his ex-wife and kids at arm's length and rolling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the other with his pal Doc. Then one day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself, struggling through life the only way she knows how. Their past won't let go easily. But together there's a glimmer of hope they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps. The Night Alive premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London in June 2013, directed by Conor McPherson.

Genres: Plays, Irish Literature, Drama

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2013

About the author

Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and director.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of McPherson's customary Irish charm, humor and a bit of sadness.

[Tom Romig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw an excellent performance of this a week or so ago at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda and wanted to relive it, at least in shadow, by reading the script. What a great experience playing it again in my mind.

The last scene is remarkably reminiscent of the last scene in Shining City, except here it's hopeful.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as thrilling as his previous work, McPherson still writes about lonely people in Ireland- which he does very well. However, for someone who fell in love with his writing for the supernatural as much as the humanism, this was a little disappointing.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memorable characters, but an awfully bleak story.

[Fionn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A text that yearns to be performed

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of hope and the search for something better in otherwise hopeless circumstances. The characters should have given up, but they don't.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was published in the December 2013 issue of "American Theatre Magazine". It's set in Dublin and some of the intrigue for me came from little bits of life (coin operated lights, bedsits...) unfamiliar to me.

It is a heavily male cast (4M, 1F) with the men ranging in age from 30's-70's and the lone female in her 20's and working as a prostitute. I found the lead character, Tommy to be sympathetic but the other characters around him didn't seem nearly as fully realized.

In an interview about the play, McPherson says at one point, "It's almost like a nativity play for me, where the human beings are really yearning for the transcendent. And that seems to come for them in the shape of the idealized feminine, which comes into their world, and she sort of shakes everything up."

So I think the play is successful in terms of the author's stated intent, but as an actor, looking for juicy roles for women, there's nothing to hold on to here. I am wishing for less "idealized feminine" and more "fully realized feminine" where women are agents in their own stories and allowed to have arcs and a range of ages and occupations.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. There's a weird little diversion about two-thirds of the way through were it suddenly becomes a Martin McDonagh play; but, happily, only for a few pages. (Nothing against McDonagh, but if I want McDonagh I'll read McDonagh.) I'd be curious to see a production. After reading it, I wasn't left with very strong sense of why the thing was written - a competent staging would probably clear that up for me.

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conor McPherson is one of my favorite playwrights.
I have read all of his plays.
'The Night Alive' is a little too much like 'The Seafarer' for my taste.
But then again I wasn't a big fan of 'The Seafarer' when I read it either.
Then last year I saw a wonderful production at 'The Alley" and it changed my mind about the play.
That said...maybe I need to see 'The Night Alive' to see what I'm missing.

[Livinginthecastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed with this one and I'm not sure why. The dialogue is very realistic, the characters who are barely clinging on are well realised and the scene where a violent thug preys on a vulnerable man is very upsetting, but I suppose overall it didn't resonant with me as much as his other plays.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of Marvin Gaye’s song reverberates throughout. What is going on? “Marvin, you said it there, man,” Tommy says, high on adrenaline after dancing. “That is the question. The man who answers that one will ...” He doesn’t finish the sentence. After all, we can’t ever fully explain a world that often seems cruel and arbitrary.

[Chuck O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting characters and a simple but profound structure, one I think I might use for my current piece of writing. This makes me want to read more of McPherson's work.

[Tom Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this made me want to see the performances of Ciaran Hinds and Michael McElhatton.

[Jillyn]

Review to come.

[Adela63 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gaiety Theatre

Directed by
Conor McPherson

Cast
Adrian Dunbar
Frank Grimes
Laurence Kinlan
Ian Lloyd-Anderson
Kate Stanley Brennan

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great character studies. Dark but complex.