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  • 麦科菲森: 港务局
    MCPHERSON: Port Authority
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• • 麦科菲森: 港务局 / MCPHERSON: Port Authority
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  • Conor McPhersonPort AuthorityJim Norotn and the Plays of Conor McPhersonInterview by Nicolas Soames Having premiered three key roles, Jack in The Weir, Joe inPort Authority and Father Matthew in Come On Over, Jim Norton has anestablished relationship with the work of Conor McPherson. ‘I knew about hiswork before, of course, because I saw Brian Cox in the one-man play St.Nicholas – I went back to see it three times,’ explained Norton. ‘I was blownaway by it – here was a really original voice able to raise everyday speech topoetry. ‘And when my agent sent me The Weir, I knew I had to do it.I felt instinctively that everything I knew about acting, and the little I knewabout life, was encapsulated in the part of Jack. ‘Conor has a great ability to write about loneliness and thehuman condition. Not just about loneliness in a small village in Ireland, butwith a universality that covers people in small communities everywhere. Theloneliness that we all suffer from.’ The Royal Court had commissioned The Weir and, in early 1997Norton went to see Ian Rickson, who was directing. ‘We talked, and I wasn’texpected to read, but I said I wanted to – I insisted. I really wanted todemonstrate that I could hear Jack. I read his closing story, and we were all intears.’ By the time he arrived home, there was a message offering him the part. The Weir went on to be one of the most successful new playsof the closing years of the 1990s, with runs in London, Dublin, Belgium,Toronto, London again, and then Broadway. ‘It was my life for two years,’explained Jim. He then went back to Broadway for a production of Juno and thePaycock. Such an intense period of theater is exhausting, and Nortonwas determined to go back to television and film for a while. But then Port Authoritylanded on his doorstep. ‘I read it, and I could not believe that he had done itagain. I was hooked.’ Joe, in Port Authority, has similarities to Jack in TheWeir, Norton admits. ‘It is a variation on a theme, the theme of lonely, lostmen. Conor has a particular ability to highlight this; but in his confessionaltheater, he is saying: we all die alone, but let’s get together and make it amore bearable process.’ Port Authority is very different to The Weir, not leastbecause its three characters never interact. Their stories are interlinked but,as Norton put it, ‘they are in a bubble of their own.’ He continues, ‘It is adream play. Are they really live characters, or are they in a kind of limbobetween life and death? ‘Conor once said to us that three men are summoned to thestage by God to give an account of their emotional lives. That is PortAuthority. He also said to me in rehearsal: “You are here to tell the truth,and you cannot leave until your character has told the truth.” He goes on a veryconvoluted journey, telling other stories, but in the end he has to say thetruth – that here was someone with enormous potential and he let the moment goby.’ Port Authority, commissioned by the Gate Theatre, Dublin wasa hit in both London and Dublin. It was rehearsed over four weeks in Dublin –it was a Gate Theatre Production – the Gate’s director, Michael Colgan, hadasked the playwright himself to direct. Unusually, for the first three weeks,the actors rehearsed individually with McPherson; only in the last week didthey come together.‘Conor sat quietly, smiling beatifically, doing good bystealth. He is the kind of director who waits and watches and gives actorstheir head. But the text is king. One of the greatest compliments I had wassomeone who commented on the effectiveness of ‘improvised’ bits. But nothingwas improvised. Every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed.’Port Authority opened in the New Ambassadors Theatre inLondon and then opened at the Gate in Dublin. It was an instant hit and playedto full houses, and only organizational complications prevented an immediatereturn to London’s West End and its transfer to Broadway. ‘In a way it was amore intense and demanding experience than The Weir,’ declared Norton. ‘Youhave to keep totally concentrated by yourself, because you cannot rely on theinteraction with the other actors.’Norton went on to premiere a third play by McPherson, ComeOn Over. He finds it particularly rewarding to work with playwrights – he hasalso premiered plays by Frank McGuinness, Sebastian Barry and David Storey.‘With the writers sitting in on the rehearsals, you can ask them directly whatthey mean.’But, for Jim Norton, working with McPherson has now becomean unforgettable part of what was already a rich and varied career – four busydecades in radio, television, film and on stage. ‘Someone once remarked thatConor writes like an Irish Recording Angel,’ smiled Norton. ‘One of his specialgifts is that he leaves space for audiences to bring their ownexperiences into play. He seems to be able to give people a license to revealtheir most intimate thoughts and to talk about experiences, which have deeplyaffected them. I have lost count of the number of times people have come upto me, after The Weir or Port Authority, and said, ”Well, what happened to mewas.”’ Conor McPherson - Writer/Director Born in Dublin in 1971, Conor attended UCD where he began towrite and direct. He co-founded Fly by Night Theatre Company to produce newplays, which included The Good Thief, for which he won the Stewart ParkerAward. He became writer in residence at the Bush Theatre, London, where hedirected This Lime Tree Bower and St. Nicholas, which transferred to New York.The Weir was written for the Royal Court in 1997, transferred to the West Endand ran for over two and a half years, winning numerous awards including theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Play. It then played in Dublin at the GateTheatre before transferring to Broadway where it ran for nine months. Dublin Carol opened the newly rebuilt Royal Court inFebruary 2000. The Gate Theatre’s production of the play premiered during the2000 Dublin Theatre Festival. Conor McPherson’s film work includes the screenplay for IWent Down, for which he won the IFTA Award for Best Screenplay and the BestScreenplay Award and Jury Prize at San Sebastian. He wrote and directedSaltwater, which has also received numerous awards. He directed Beckett’sEndgame starring Michael Gambon and David Thewlis. In 2002, he wrote anddirected the film The Actors for Company of Wolves/Miramax/Film Four. It starsMichael Caine and Dylan Moran. About the Readers Jim Norton, one of Ireland’s leading actors, workedextensively in Irish theater, television and radio before coming to London. Hismany West End credits include Comedians, The Changing Room, Bedroom Farce andChorus of Disapproval. Active on both sides of the Atlantic, he has become particularlyassociated with the plays of Conor McPherson, playing a leading role in theworld premieres of many plays, including The Weir and Port Authority. Éanna MacLiam’s stage work includes The Shadow of a Gunman,Stella By Starlight and A Tale of Two Cities for the Gate Theatre; Covey in SamMendes’ production of The Plough and the Stars at the Young Vic. His film workincludes My Left Foot, Angela’s Ashes, The General and The Commitments.Television credits include The Bill, The Ambassador, Amongst Women and FairCity. Stephen Brennan has worked almost exclusively at the GateTheatre since 1988. His appearances there include An Ideal Husband, PrivateLives, Waiting for Godot (which toured to Seville, Chicago, New York andLondon) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His film work includes Eat the Peach,Stolen Minds and The General; his television credits include Ballykissangel,Father Ted and Mystic Knights.
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      • 作品编号：32450  Port Authority

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      • Dermot

      • Joe

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      • Dermot

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      • Dermot

      • Joe

      • CD02
      • 作品编号：32450  Port Authority

      • Kevin

      • Dermot

      • Joe

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      • Dermot

      • Joe