Port Authority - Paperback

by Conor McPherson (Author)

Like so many of the great Irish authors, McPherson's writing has a beautiful, lyrical quality and the characters he creates are not easily forgotten. Once again, he explores the heart and psyche of the common man in these three interconnected monologues. The young man who is desperate to move out of his parent's house once and for all; the middle-aged man, a borderline alcoholic and serial loser who has landed a job he's not qualified for; and the old man, a sprightly widower who tries to make the most of his mundane retirement home existence. Set against a backdrop of contemporary Dublin--these three different generations are vastly different yet all three share a common concern about lost love--and their own part in losing it. The power of these three interlocking stories grows gradually into one incisive portrait of Dublin life, in a play that is hilarious in its detail and moving in its portrait of ordinary lives.

Conor McPherson was born in 1971 in Dublin. He is best known for The Weir which ran in London's West End for 18 months as well as a lengthy Broadway run. He has won the Laurence Olivier, Critics Circle, Evening Standard, Meyer-Whitworth, Stewart Parker and George Devine awards. Following I Went Down (1998), his second film, Saltwater, which he directed himself, recently opened in London.

Also available by Conor McPherson:

The Weir and Other Plays

PB $15.95 1-55936-167-0 - USA

Dublin Carol

PB $11.95 1-55936-185-9 - USA

Author Biography

Conor McPherson is a playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays include: The Weir (Royal Court, London, Duke of York's, West End and Walter Kerr Theatre, New York; Laurence Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle, George Devine Awards); Dublin Carol (Royal Court and Atlantic Theater, New York); Port Authority (Ambassadors Theatre, West End, Gate Theatre, Dublin and Atlantic Theater, New York); Shining City (Royal Court, Gate Theatre, Dublin and Manhattan Theatre Club, New York; Tony Award nomination for Best Play); The Seafarer (National Theatre, London, Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Booth Theater, New York; Laurence Olivier, Evening Standard, Tony Award nominations for Best Play); The Night Alive (Donmar Warehouse, London and Atlantic Theater, New York); Girl from the North Country (Old Vic, London); and The Brightening Air (Old Vic, London, 2025). Theatre adaptations Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (West End, 2020) and Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War (Almeida Theatre, 2023), among others. His work for television and cinema includes the films I Went Down, Saltwater, Samuel Beckett's Endgame, The Actors, The Eclipse, and Strangers, as well as an adaptation of John Banville's Elegy for April for the BBC, and the original television drama Paula for BBC2.