Ahead of his forthcoming revival of Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, director Andrew Flynn explores the enduring appeal of the acclaimed playwright and filmmaker...
It's twenty-six years since Martin McDonagh was first produced, announcing a fresh new voice in Irish Theatre. The Beauty Queen of Leenane received its world premiere by Druid Theatre in February 1996. The play and production signalled the arrival of a unique talent - but few could have foreseen that the young London-Irish writer would have a further seven internationally acclaimed plays produced (alongside an Oscar win) within ten years.
To say Martin McDonagh exploded onto the theatrical world is not an understatement. The Leenane Trilogy was produced and subsequently was followed by The Beauty Queen of Leenane being staged in Galway, Dublin and London in 1997. Simultaneously, the National Theatre of London produced The Cripple of Inishmeain. These four plays toured internationally, with three of them reaching Broadway and The Beauty Queen of Leenane claiming four Tony awards.
In 2001, the Royal Shakespeare Company produced The Lieutenant of Inishmore and this was followed in 2003 with the National Theatre production of The Pillowman. In 2004, Martin directed and produced his first short film, Six Shooter which claimed an Academy Award in 2006. McDonagh had achieved what felt like a life time’s work in just ten years.
There will be comedy, tragedy and lots of dark dark humour. There will be twists and turns that you won't see coming and lots of subtle observations on relationships and life.
His creativity didn’t slow down or stop there. Over the next ten years he was just as productive. Films such as In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri cemented McDonough’s reputation as a great screenwriter and director. It seemed that the world of theatre had lost this great talent to the film industry, but no… McDonagh returned, with three new plays since 2010: A Behanding in Spokane, Hangmen and A Very Very Very Dark Matter.
Martin McDonough’s success is both earned and warranted. His plays are highly crafted works with brilliantly drawn characters that audiences really care about. McDonough’s language is both rhythmic and beautiful which helps to bring an audience into the landscape of the play. Once in that world, you move with the play at pace. There will be comedy, tragedy and lots of dark dark humour. There will be twists and turns that you won’t see coming and lots of subtle observations on relationships and life.
Zara Devlin, Denis Conway, Frankie Mc Cafferty & Art Campion (Pic: Mark Stedman)
I have been fortunate to work both with and on Martin’s plays. I have directed the Irish Premieres of The Pillowman and The Lieutenant of Inishmore alongside fresh interpretations of A Skull in Connemara and The Cripple of Inishmeain. It’s a joy to be working with a brilliant team of talented people helping to realise this new production of The Lonesome West for Gaiety Productions. It’s exactly 25 years since this play was first staged and despite being a quarter of a century old, The Lonesome West is more relevant than ever. The play is epic – a great story with amazing characters – and a dark humour that is very very funny. To quote Coleman Connor, a character from the play, "We shouldn’t laugh." But given McDonough’s talent, it’s hard not to.
The Lonesome West is at The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, from 26 Feb – 19 March 2022 - find out more here.
