| The Seafarer | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Conor McPherson |
| Characters | Sharky Richard Ivan Mr Lockhart Nicky |
| Date premiered | September 2006 |
| Place premiered | National Theatre, London |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Black comedy |
| Setting | A house in Baldoyle, Dublin |
The Seafarer is a 2006 play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set on Christmas Eve in Baldoyle, a coastal suburb north of Dublin city. The play centers on James "Sharky" Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin. As Sharky attempts to stay off the bottle during the holidays, he contends with the hard-drinking, irascible Richard and his own haunted conscience. It was nominated for multiple Tony Awards as well as the Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award for Best Play.
The name of the play links it to the Anglo-Saxon poem The Seafarer.[1]