Four generations of a more-than-typically mixed up family act out their stories in this grim, traditional domestic melodrama written in 1994. Heavily influenced by Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams, McCarthy examines a young man, Ben Telfair's, powerful love for his grandfather, the mythic, inspirational figure who has always meant far more to him than his ruthless, detached father. The old man symbolises the now dying family tradition of craftsmanship which his son abandoned in favour of more commercial building-work. Meanwhile Papaw appears to endure while various human tragedies break out around him culminating in his death and its impact on his clan.
Set in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1970s, the work is hampered by weighty, near-biblical language and McCarthy's fledgling stagecraft. Any cast would find it a challenge to bring to life. Still, admirers of McCarthy's lyric, profound fiction will be interested in his only play to date.
