听 
There are some terrific Irish comedies coming our way this year. Brendan Gleeson is superb as a truculent TV chef who loses his memory in "Wild About Harry", while Roddy Doyle has written a sparkling script for the Dublin-set romance "When Brendan Met Trudy".
First out of the box, however, is this charming directorial debut from Conor McPherson, the award-winning author of stage hit "The Weir". Adapted from an earlier play called "This Lime Tree Bower", it is a gentle, rueful piece that combines laugh-out-loud comedy with poignant, heartfelt drama.
In an attempt to free his chip-shop-owning father (Brian Cox) from the clutches of loan shark 'Simple' Simon (Brendan Gleeson again), Frank Beneventi (Peter McDonald) plans a daring robbery. Frank's younger brother Joe (Laurence Kinlan), meanwhile, learns a bitter lesson when he becomes friendly with a reckless teen and winds up accused of date rape.
These stories are wittily juxtaposed with the plight of lecherous lecturer Ray (Conor Mullen), whose midlife crisis comes to the boil just as an eminent philosophy professor offers him the chance to break out of his hedonistic rut.
The original play comprised a trio of monologues telling separate stories, delivered by three different narrators. "Saltwater" keeps the stories separate but subtly interweaves the narratives while incorporating new characters and situations.
The result is not entirely successful - the scene where a hungover Ray vomits over his students worked much better on stage - but still shows McPherson to be a writer-director of immense grace and promise.
