Chat Ed : Welcome Conor !
Notata Dignum : ello0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Conor
irish fan : lovely of you to be here

Conor McPherson : It's really nice to be here too.

irish fan : Hello - what was the reception to Endgame at the Barbican like?

Conor McPherson : It was really great, the best reception I've seen. Better than Venice and Toronto. It was very, very warm.

Iain L : Was Beckett your choice of a film to direct, or were you offered it?

Conor McPherson : I was one of the first directors to be approached. I had a choice of all 19. I had worked as a stage manager a few years ago on a production of Endgame so it was quite close to my heart and I felt lucky to be able to do that.

Notata Dignum : ooooo : Have you always been a fan of Sanuel Beckett....what is it about his works that you appreciate most as a director?

Conor McPherson : I've been a fan since about 1988. I appreciate the wonderful way that he takes quite complicated themes and strips them right down to their essentials. So what we are left with is almost pure form. So what apparently little content there is, stands out as being very rich.

Pen : How accessable will your film be to people who have never read any beckett?

Conor McPherson : Well, I feel that Endgame is the closest play that Beckett wrote to a so-called 'traditional' play, so I think as a text it's quite accessible for starters. My production is quite simple and very faithful to the text.

rob : How honoured did you feel to be working with Michael Gambon on Endgame?

Conor McPherson : Like all great actors, Michael Gambon is remarkably easy to work with. And although I may have been daunted at the beginning, his own humility is quite disarming. It was an absolute pleasure.

smiley : You said that Port Authority was the most accomplished work of yours so far. Do you still believe this, especially after the short run it had.

Conor McPherson : From its inception to its production, every step of the play is one I understood. There are plans for it to return to the West End and to play in New York. The first run was always going to be limited to those 6 weeks; that was the plan.

smiley : excellent - when?

Conor McPherson : Late 2002, early 2003.

James S : Where did you get the ideas for the charactes from Port Authority from. Was the young guy you?

Conor McPherson : I shared many of the sensibilities of all the characters and their perception of the world is very close to mine. Having said that, the play is 90% fiction.

irish fan : Were you surprised by the success of The Weir. Do you know where we can see it again soon. Will it be coming back to the West End?

Conor McPherson : I was pleasantly surprised by the success. I'm not sure if it will return to the West End, although there is a production planned for the summer of 2002 in Dublin.

smiley : Do you consider yourself a playwrite or a film writer/maker?

Conor McPherson : Both. I enjoy writing in either medium. They both offer unique opportunities. Some stories simply suit a more intimate format which I would write as plays and some seem to fit the bigger visual sweep that cinema offers.

Glittery : Is Waiting for Godot really the great masterpiece that it is claimed to be? All seemed a bit dull to me!
Notata Dignum : why do you think beckett enjoyed never quite getting to the point of his plays, as seen both in waiting for Godot, and endgame

Conor McPherson : Waiting for Godot, I would agree is a bit long. I'm not sure that Beckett enjoyed not getting to the point, I'm just not sure if he thought there was actually a point to anything. Perhaps he enjoys pointlessness for itself.

Peter : Is it true you had an acting part in I Went Down?

Conor McPherson : Yes. There is a scene in the nightclub and I play a guy in a red jacket who is walking around asking different girls to dance, all of whom say no. It's about an hour or so into the film.

irish fan : What is the worst/best performance of one of your plays that you have witnessed/heard about?

Conor McPherson : I'm usually very closely involved with the first production of my plays, to the point where I have directed most of the premieres and I don't think I have ever been disappointed with the working experiences that I have had in that context. However I have seen some productions of my plays in different countries which I was very embarrassed to be at.

smiley : Which of the films is your personal favourite? Any that you think missed the point completely?

Conor McPherson : My favourite films in the series are Catastrophe directed by David Mamet and Play directed by Anthony Minghella. I'm not sure I understand the plays completely myself so cannot say if any missed the point.

Gavpowell : It has been said of Beckett that he conducted a 'war on words' in an attempt to escape the significance of the words he used, trying to create the 'unword' as it were. To what extent do you feel this shows up in his work?

Conor McPherson : I think he was a ground-breaking artist who gave his whole life to his work and if he was trying to achieve anything, I think he did. Having said that I'm not sure I entirely understand the question.

Chat Ed chuckles

Derek and Clive : What you got planned for the future Conor?
John : So what are you working on now?

Conor McPherson : I am directing a one act play which I have written for the Gate Theatre in Dublin which is part of this year's theatre festival. It will play alongside new plays by Neil Jordan and Brian Friel. I also start shooting a new film which is a comedy about actors in a production of Richard III in January.

Chat Ed : Our half hour with Conor is up now, so last two questions now, thanks....

smiley : Was the w****** comment in Port Authority based on real life by any chance *grin*

Conor McPherson : Which w****** comment?
Conor McPherson laughs
Conor McPherson : All I can say is I don't think I've ever done it.

Chat Ed : And finally...
rob : Do you feel constrained by the Irish literary tradition

Conor McPherson : I think it's unfortunate that Irish writers are pressurised to be the next big thing. Everybody is an individual and I can't say that I consciously write from any tradition, but inevitably I must share some of the same concerns of those writers who grew up in the same country that I did.

Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for that Conor.
Board-Treader : you're very sexy. give us a wink
Cyndi Lauper Tea Bag : Thanks for joining us tonight.... thanks for the very intresting chat :)
John : thanks very much Conor

Conor McPherson : Thanks very much. I'm very flattered that you are all here. They were great questions.

smiley : that was great - I cna't believe you can't remember the twisting
Cyndi Lauper Tea Bag : come back sooooon!

Conor McPherson : Hopefully I'll meet you all in person at some point.

Notata Dignum : bye conor
Conor McPherson : Goodbye.
Cyndi Lauper Tea Bag : oooh yay

Conor McPherson leaves the room