In a forgotten corner of Northern Dublin on Christmas Eve, four old friends have gathered in a well-worn bungalow to face the holidays the only way they know how: with a bottle of whiskey and a deck of cards. A crusty old sot, recently blinded by dumpster diving on Halloween, is wielding a walking stick like a club while ferociously bellowing Christmas carols. His brother is on day two without a drink and his hair-trigger temper is barely in check. Neighborhood buddies join the fray, bringing a mysterious, natty stranger who wants a piece of the action. With eyebrows curling up diabolically, the newcomer's sinister behavior raises the stakes to the highest level.

Playwright CONOR MCPHERSON makes suspending skepticism about the supernatural easy and is not afraid to ask what is knowable and what is unknowable in life. His "reality" astonishes. When ghosts crash into the lives of ordinary people in The Seafarer, it's the Prince of Darkness himself who knocks on the door. As McPherson says, "If God arrives at the door, the game is over, and it's already a happy ending, isn't it? But when you play with the devil, there's more at stake. Besides, if you have the devil in the story, you automatically have God there, because you can't have one without the other."