Martin McDonagh

The Pillowman

A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during the Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge. Wee Thomas was a friendly cat. He would always say hello to you were you to see him sitting on a wall. (Pause.) He won't be saying hello no more, God bless him. Not with that lump of a brain gone. Who knocked Wee Thomas over on the lonely road on the island of Inishmore, and was it an accident? "Mad Padraig" will want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip shop bombing in Northern Ireland: he loves that cat more than life itself.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

While still in his twenties, the Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has filled houses in London and New York, ranked in the most prestigious drama awards.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays

In 1934, the people of Inishmaan learn that the Hollywood director Robert Flaherty is coming to the neighboring island to film a documentary. No one is more excited than Cripple Billy, an unloved boy whose chief occupation has been grazing 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. And as news of his audacity ripples through his rumor-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.

The Cripple of Inishmaan

Martin McDonagh Plays:1

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THE STORY: Set in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, 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 aging mother, whose interference in Maur

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

After months pass without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes pays for three signs challenging the authority of William Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command, Officer Dixon, a mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement threatens to engulf the town. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a darkly comedic drama from Martin McDonagh. The film won Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes 2018, and Best Film and Best Original Screenplay at 2018 BAFTAs.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

THE STORY: Valene and Coleman, two brothers living alone in their father's house after his recent death, find it impossible to exist without the most massive and violent disputes over the most mundane and innocent of topics. Only Father Welsh, the

The Lonesome West

THE STORY: Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in 1934, THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN is a strange comic tale in the great tradition of Irish storytelling. As word arrives on Inishmaan that the Hollywood director Robert Flaherty is comi

'There's more than one way to skin a theatrical cat; and McDonagh's chosen weapons are laughter and gore... Pushing theatre to its limits, McDonagh is making a serious point... a work as subversive as those Synge and O'Casey plays that sparked Dublin riots in the last century' Guardian 'A brave satire... Swiftianly savage and parodic... with explicit brutal actino and lines which sing with grace and wit' Observer Who knocked Mad Padraic's cat over on a lonely road on the island of Inishmore and was it an accident? He'll want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip-shop bombing in Northern Ireland: he loves his cat more than life itself. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a brilliant satire on terrorism, a powerful corrective to the beautification of violence in contemporary culture, and a hilarious farce. It premiered at the RSC's The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in May 2001. Commentary and notes by Patrick Lonergan

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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.

Hangmen

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THE STORY: For one week each autumn, Mick Dowd is hired to disinter the bones in certain sections of his local cemetery to make way for the new arrivals. As the time approaches for him to dig up those of his own late wife, strange rumours regarding

A Skull in Connemara

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.

You might be asking 'Where IS Bruges?' Well; it is in Belgium, and the filming of the city is absolutely breathtaking. If you enjoyed nothing else about this film, you would still really appreciate the beautiful views of the ancient buildings and canals. It follows two hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) who are forced to hideout in Bruges after Ray accidentally kills a child during a hit. Whilst they are meant to be keeping a low profile and waiting for their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to call, Ray?s tempestuous nature and a crew of bizarre misfit characters make this an impossible task. Farrell and Gleeson are comically opposed characters, offering much in the way of snappy, funny dialogue, which is only complimented by the appearence of Fiennes as their no nonsense, foul mouthed boss. The direction makes much use of the spectacular backdrop that Bruges provides, and Farrell in particular delivers an entertaining performance along with the rest of the cast.

A Screenplay

In Bruges

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.

Martin McDonagh

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