CHESTER Live Rooms is set to play host to an award-winning play centred on a small, rural Irish village where everything is not quite as it first seems.

Theatre company Against The Grain will stage The Weir by Conor McPherson at The Live Rooms in Chester from Tuesday 9th August to Thursday 11th August at 7.30pm. The play marks a welcome return to the popular city centre venue for the company, which previously staged of co-founder Mark Newman's twisted comedy Mr Dumpling at The Live Rooms last year.

A shadowy tale delving into the dark corner of human lives, The Weir draws on tales from Irish folklore and the supernatural as its inspiration and is set in a small pub in a remote part of rural Ireland where, over the course of an evening, locals gather to sit, drink and tell tall tales.

As the beer and whisky flows, the arrival of a young stranger, haunted by a secret from her past turns tales of folklore into something more unsettling. One story however is more chilling and real than any of them could have imagined. The play tells the story of the villagers and the local myths and legends in their tightknit community with typical Irish warmth, wit and a good measure of dark humour.

Written in 1997, the play was first staged at London's Royal Court Theatre before transferring to Broadway. It won an Olivier award for best new play in 1997 and was voted one of the most influential plays of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by The National Theatre. The Weir will be directed for Against The Grain by company co-founder Marian Newman.

Speaking about staging the play, Director Marian Newman said: "The Weir has been a joy to direct, the cast and I have learned a lot about Irish Folklore and this has brought to life the characters and their lives in this little rural village.

"Make no mistake, these lovely characters created by McPherson are delightful, interesting and very human and in no way mundane. The audience, I hope, will be moved by their stories and relationships and just a little spooked.

"The Live Rooms venue is ideal for us to create an intimate acting space, where the audience can sit and feel like they’re in the pub, or just sit back in their seats and enjoy the stories."

Following on from the success of their previous production, Mr Dumpling, members of Against The Grain were most recently seen on stage in Chester Little Theatre's production of Glut! a brand-new play by local writer Jan Bengree and prior to lockdown, several members of the company also appeared in the Little Theatre's acclaimed production of The Ladykillers.

Full details of "The Weir" can be found at www.theliverooms.com where tickets can be booked online.