The Pillowman
by Martin McDonagh
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Read in May, 2008
As an occasional theatre snob, I know that many plays are better seen than read. The Pillowman was not one of these, and had such an impact on me when I read it, that it stands alone as a piece of literature. (I hope to see it on stage soon)
I was so horrified and delighted by the events. The words toy with the reader's emotions, and made me feel terrible that I was enjoying it. The dark, twisted tales were varied, and well spaced throughout the play. My favorite being the sad tal...more
I was so horrified and delighted by the events. The words toy with the reader's emotions, and made me feel terrible that I was enjoying it. The dark, twisted tales were varied, and well spaced throughout the play. My favorite being the sad tal...more
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I just re-read this, in preparation for teaching it, and--damn--it's good. I first read the play upon its initial run in England, and yet I find now--with the subsequent foreground of torture into our political discussions--the play engages on even more cylinders.
A key thing--to toss to Gio?--is that McDonagh, here and in most of his work, resists or confounds identification. The poles of this play's conflict are between totalitarian interrogators and a writer of repugnant, vicious materia...more
A key thing--to toss to Gio?--is that McDonagh, here and in most of his work, resists or confounds identification. The poles of this play's conflict are between totalitarian interrogators and a writer of repugnant, vicious materia...more
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7 comments
Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
I'm glad to see so many people appreciate this play. It's the only truly amazing work I read in 2007. The whole time I was reading it, I just didn't know whether to laugh or cry. (I don't agree with the person who said there is no humor; there is humor, it's just very very dark humor.) I love what it has to say about storytelling and writing and of course, the tension between brothers.
My professor taught this play (to a class I was not in) shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings. It w...more
My professor taught this play (to a class I was not in) shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings. It w...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
pillowmen, pillowwomen
Roommate found this in the free box at Green Apple, and this definitely has the apple free box magic we all know and love. Probably the most recently written piece of fiction I've read for a while, this is really really good stuff. Plus it's a play so it's even shorter than a real book. I tend to avoid art about art, but this guy is seriously funny (the cop's story is straight laughs business) and there's a depth to this that something like Adaptation totally lacks. And as much as it deals with ...more
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this was a good play, a very talking heads ordeal which makes for some very interesting characters and the stories within the story (especially the one which gives this play its title) are very well conceived.
not sure about the ending. perhaps it's just the "reading the play" instead of "seeing the play", but the stakes didn't seem as high as the outcome provoked (he says, without giving anything away)
not sure about the ending. perhaps it's just the "reading the play" instead of "seeing the play", but the stakes didn't seem as high as the outcome provoked (he says, without giving anything away)
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Read in January, 2006
A truly scary play, a rarity in the theater.
A play centered around a writer who is being interrogated about murders that are taking place that replicate his short stories. It has a lot to say about censorship, the price of being an artist and the lengths to which we will go to protect our creations.
Martin McDonough is wonderfully sick sick playwright.
A play centered around a writer who is being interrogated about murders that are taking place that replicate his short stories. It has a lot to say about censorship, the price of being an artist and the lengths to which we will go to protect our creations.
Martin McDonough is wonderfully sick sick playwright.
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
Everyone
So good I had to direct it. A brilliant play set in a totalitarian state: An author who writes disturbing short stories about kids who die horrible deaths is arrested and isn't told why. He's interrogated by two aggressive, suspicious detectives. They've also brought his mentally challenged brother in for questioning. But nothing is what it seems…
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Again, I saw this play in 2005 in New York and then read it. It's very dark--I couldn't stop thinking about it for days, but only at night as I was trying to sleep. The play is very much about storytelling, and the responsibilities of the storyteller and memory and childhood and... gah! It's terrifying and firing on multiple cylinders.
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I cannot remember the last time I was shocked while reading something. "The Pillowman" is a magnificent accomplishment -- compelling, stageworthy, funny, dark, horrific, and absolutely shocking. I'm still agog (my mouth open like a cod) thinking about the climax and denouement of this amazing play.
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Incredibly disturbing, but even more enrapturing. It's about a man who's arrested because there have been a series of murders that bear enormous similarity with stories he's written. Don't worry, it's not at all on the "art imitates life/life imitates art" debate. It's more about storytelling.
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Read in January, 2005
i haven't read many plays (not counting shakespeare), but i will say that this one was absolutely stunning. the story is creative and baffling. it was thought provoking and emotion evoking. i cried, screamed, laughed (although not often...).
read it.
now, i really want to see it.
read it.
now, i really want to see it.
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys great story telling
first play i've ever read that made me scared to turn the page.
a man is being interrogated for the murder of several children based on similarities between his stories and how the children were tortured and killed. his Lenny-like brother is also involved. chilling.
a man is being interrogated for the murder of several children based on similarities between his stories and how the children were tortured and killed. his Lenny-like brother is also involved. chilling.
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the only play i'm going to include on this list, it is easily my favorite. Mcdonaugh is astoundingly good. it is dark, it is twisted, it is funny, it is sad, it is complex from an actor's standpoint...i mean, it's modern-day Shakespeare, if you ask me.
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Read in March, 2008
A terrific play. Martin McDonagh masters the use of metaphors in telling this deep dark tale of a writer being interrogated in a totalitarian state. The dialogue is profound, terrorizing and soul searching. The impact is well conceived.
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
book lovers and writers
This is phenomenal. A fantastic story, with several other stories within that story. All of them are excellent. Anyone interested in the preservation of books and the crafts of writing and storytelling should read this.
Very quick read.
Very quick read.
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mcdonagh is truly one of the most talented playwrights writing today. pillowman has something for everyone; it's a darkly comic, thought-provoking, character-driven, disturbing show that is equally good on stage and on paper.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in June, 2008
This play loses a star for having cast Jeff Goldblum as Tupolski in the American premiere.
Otherwise, it's pretty brilliant stuff. Katurian Katurian Katurian's short stories are worth the price of admission alone.
Otherwise, it's pretty brilliant stuff. Katurian Katurian Katurian's short stories are worth the price of admission alone.
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Read in December, 2007
I picked this up and immediately read it again as soon as I finished, which pretty much says everything. I haven't been this affected by a play since I reread Lear after my daughter was born.
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Read in January, 2007
Saw the play, helped stage it and then went on to read it. Gruesome and ugly, and yet reinforces my belief that even in the worst of situations humane nature bears a dignity that conquers all...
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Read in May, 2006
recommends it for:
not the faint of heart
the best play written in english in at least ten years. intensely original and ballsy as hell. the kind of play that you reread immediately because you just can't believe your mind.
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