By Conor O’Neill
Photography courtesy of Ciaran Bagnall
Martin McDonagh’s name has become something of a ‘high-tide’ mark in Irish theatre for the last quarter of a century. Last year’s movie The Banshees of Inisherin simply cemented that reputation further and to a bigger audience.
This, his first play, has the packed main auditorium’s audience sitting in a hushed silence as we wait for curtain up. It’s press night and the great and the good are here, many have had their photos taken by an Ulster Tatler photographer, but in the dark of the theatre we’re all equal: equally excited to see what this co-production by Prime Cut and The Lyric will bring.
The gist of the play is a simple affair: a mother and daughter at war as the daughter, fast approaching middle-age, seeks a life of freedom away from the claustrophobic weariness of a trapped life in the wilds of western Ireland. But don’t let this apparent simplicity lead you into a state of stupor. McDonagh’s skill as a writer is in the nuance of the smallest and simplest of things. From a scarred hand to the Kimberleys – the biscuits – to a once hoarded swing-ball, everything has meaning.
Set designer Ciaran Bagnall has created a small, overgrown cottage that has a certain Tim Burton feel: it’s homely and haunted at the same time. Costume by Enda Kenny set the characters in a time within living memory but one that will not age. Nor will this tale of hope, encroachment, betrayal, defiance and entrapment.
Maureen Folan (Nicky Harley) meets old friend Pato Dooley (Caolán Byrne) on one of his trips home from his work in England. The two hit it off and one thing leads to another. Pato, a simple man with a simple tongue admiringly states “I could watch you in your slip and bra till the cows come home”. Plans are made but the mother Mag (Ger Ryan) can’t face a future alone, even if it is at the expense of her own daughter’s happiness.
What’s interesting about this piece is that no more than two characters are on stage at any given time, and most scenes have confrontation and conflict at their heart. McDonagh’s pen draws the watcher in, characters and worlds collide, even the perceived simple nature of Pato’s younger brother Ray (Martin Breen) has a threatening edge to it.
Director Emma Jordan gets the most from her cast. Each one plays their character with verve. The 55 minute running time per act simply flies in. I simply didn’t want the piece to end. In the darkness the notepad was forgotten about, so immersive was the acting.
McDonagh famously doesn’t do ‘happy’ endings, and expect none here. What you can expect is two hours of pure drama, heightened senses and a disconcerting ending to a play filled with menace and intrigue.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane runs up to and including July 1st, 2023.
For booking details and times visit http://www.lyrictheatre.co.uk or simply phone the box office on 02890 381081.
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ENDS
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