Food for Thought: Conor McPherson

The Irish dramatist and director's play 'The Weir' moves to the West End in January, and his adaptations of the Dublin-based crime noir Quirke stories are due to be screened by BBC. Here he shares with Charlotte Cripps his recent reading, watching and surfing …

Sunday My guilty pleasure is progressive rock and Yes are my favourite prog band. Late at night, I listen to "Heart of the Sunrise" convinced that Chris Squire's bass is one of greatest sounds in the history of recorded music.

Monday To the Abbey Theatre Dublin, to see George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara. Annabelle Comyn is the most exciting Irish director of the past few years. Shaw hardly lets his characters pause for breath in this head-spinning investigation of principle versus pragmatism.

Tuesday Always enjoy watching RTE's The Hardy Bucks for its reassuring truthfulness.

Wednesday Reading Phineas Finn (1869) by Anthony Trollope, the story of a young Irish MP struggling in the face of political expediency. Trollope is brilliant on how people convince themselves of their moral standing , while not minding if the rules get bent in their favour.

Thursday Online, old footage of Stephen Stills playing with his band Manassas in 1972. Irresistible.

Friday Stay up too late for the documentary, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. Has any other film-maker or artist ever approached his philosophical rigour?

Saturday For housework, I blast out Indian music from the Sixties, Psychedelic Bollywood. We know about the influence of Indian music on groups like The Beatles, but forget that India was being influenced by Western music, too. And boy, could they write hooky melodies.