A Dylan-inspired gem returns to the stage

26 July 2025, The Tablet

Daniel Bailey in Girl from the North Country

Manuel Harlan

Joys of Bob’s jukebox

Girl from the North Country
OLD VIC THEATRE, LONDON

Having three productions opening in the same year is a rare feat, achievable only by hugely prolific (Sir Alan Ayckbourn) or classic back-list (Harold Pinter, Sir Tom Stoppard) dramatists.

Neither of these conditions applies to the 53-year-old Irish writer Conor McPherson – but 2025 is a ripe year for him. A new play, the Gaelic-Chekhovian The Brightening Air, ran at the Old Vic earlier this year (reviewed 6 June) and Brendan Gleeson leads a revival of McPherson’s 1997 masterpiece The Weir, a ghost story contest in a remote pub, that opens in Dublin in August and London from September.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login

Article end