The Pillowman


Book Description

The Pillowman centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders. The result is an urgent work of theatrical bravura and an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art. -- Publisher's website.




In Bruges


Book Description

A jet-black comedy debut from Martin McDonagh.




Hangmen


Book Description

I'm just as good as bloody Pierrepoint. In his small pub in Oldham, Harry is something of a local celebrity. But what's the second-best hangman in England to do on the day they've abolished hanging? Amongst the cub reporters and sycophantic pub regulars, dying to hear Harry's reaction to the news, a peculiar stranger lurks, with a very different motive for his visit. Don't worry. I may have my quirks but I'm not an animal. Or am I? One for the courts to discuss. Martin McDonagh's Hangmen premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2015.




A Very Very Very Dark Matter


Book Description

In a townhouse in Copenhagen works Hans Christian Andersen, a teller of exquisite and fantastic children's tales beloved by millions. But the true source of his stories dwells in his attic upstairs, her existence a dark secret kept from the outside world.Dangerous, twisted and funny, Martin McDonagh's new play travels deep into the abysses of the imagination. A Very Very Dark Matter premiered at the Bridge Theatre, London, in October 2018.




A Skull in Connemara


Book Description

Winner 1996 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright; Winner 1996 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright For one week each autumn, Mick Dowd is hired to disinter the bones in certain sections of his local cemetery, to make way for new arrivals. As the time approaches for him to dig up those of his own late wife, strange rumours regarding his involvement in her sudden death seven years ago gradually begin to resurface.




B F E


Book Description

THE STORY: Cute blondes are disappearing from her strip mall-covered suburban town, but fourteen-year-old Panny is more concerned with surviving adolescence. Raised by an unbalanced mother who thinks the perfect birthday gift is plastic surgery, an




Martin McDonagh


Book Description

This book represents the first collection of original critical material on Martin McDonagh, one of the most celebrated young playwrights of the last decade. Credited with reinvigorating contemporary Irish drama, his dark, despairing comedies have been performed extensively both on Broadway and in the West End, culminating in an Olivier Award for the The Pillowman and an Academy Award for his short film Six Shooter. In Martin McDonagh, Richard Rankin Russell brings together a variety of theoretical perspectives – from globalization to the gothic – to survey McDonagh’s plays in unprecedented critical depth. Specially commissioned essays cover topics such as identity politics, the shadow of violence and the role of Catholicism in the work of this most precocious of contemporary dramatists. Contributors: Marion Castleberry, Brian Cliff, Joan Fitzpatrick Dean, Maria Doyle, Laura Eldred, José Lanters, Patrick Lonergan, Stephanie Pocock, Richard Rankin Russell, Karen Vandevelde




The Beauty Queen of Leenane


Book Description

The Beauty Queen of Leenane tells the darkly comic tale of Maureen Folan, a plain and lonely woman in her early forties, and Mag her manipulative ageing mother whose interference in Maureen's first and potentially last loving relationship sets in motion a train of events that is as gothically funny as it is horrific.




The Theatre of Martin McDonagh


Book Description

With such plays as The Beauty Queen (1996), The Cripple of Inishmaan (1997), The Lonesome West (1997), A Skull in Connemara (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), and The Pillowman (2003) Martin McDonagh has made a huge reputation for himself in ternationally, winning multiple awards for his work and enjoying universal critical acclaim. Most recently, he won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter (2006). This collection of essays is a vital and significant response to the many challenges set by McDonagh for those involved in the production and reception of his work. The volume brings together critics and commentators from around the world, who assess the work from a diverse range of often provocative approaches. What is not surprising is the focus and commitment of the engagement, given the controversial and st Whether for or against, this is an essential read for all who wish to enter the complex debate about the Theatre of Martin McDonagh.




The Cripple of Inishmaan


Book Description

In 1934, the people of Inishmaan learn that the Hollywood director Robert Flaherty is coming to the neighbouring island to film his documentary Man of Aran. No one is more excited than Billy, an unloved and crippled boy whose chief occupation has been gazing at cows and yearning for a girl who wants no part of him. For Billy is determined to cross the sea and audition for the Yank. As news of his audacity ripples through his rumour-starved community, The Cripple of Inishmaan becomes a merciless portrayal of a world so comically cramped and mean-spirited that hope is an affront to its order. With this bleak yet uproariously funny play, Martin McDonagh fulfilled the promise of his award-winning The Beauty Queen of Leenane while confirming his place in a tradition that extends from Synge to O'Casey and Brendan Behan.