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The Leenane Trilogy
Plays 1: The Beauty Queen of Leenane / A Skull in Connemara / The Lonesome West
Martin McDonagh's plays have been produced in Galway, Dublin, London and New York. They have created excitement and have won numerous awards. In individual editions the plays have been among Methuen's most popular sellers. 'Martin McDonagh's The Leenane Trilogy, one of the great events of the contemporary Irish theatre' (Irish Times). This volume contains: The Beauty Queen of Leenane - 'McDonagh's writing is pitiless but compassionate: he casts a cold, hard, but understanding eye on relationships made of mistrust, hesitation, resentment and malevolence' (Sunday Times); A Skull in Connemara - 'Here, McDonagh's gift is at its most naked and infectious . . . it leaves you giddy with gruesome exhilaration' (Financial Times); The Lonesome West: 'The play combines manic energy and physical violence in a way that is both hilarious and viscerally exciting' (Daily Telegraph)"A star is born, bright and blazing, confident, individual and shockingly accomplished" (Sunday Times)
196 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 1998
About the author
Martin McDonagh
38 books897 followersWhile still in his twenties, the Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh filled houses in New York and London, was showered with the theatre world's most prestigious accolades, and electrified audiences with his cunningly crafted and outrageous tragicomedies.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 129 reviews
October 13, 2022
I cannot wait for Banshees.
January 18, 2025
Я вже читала Мартіна МакДону і не раз. Маю особливі стосунки з ним, оскільки моє перше свідоме занурення у драму (теорію й тексти) відбулося у літо після 10-го класу й МакДона був одним із ключових відкриттів того періоду.
«Королева краси з Лінана» — про базу МакДони: Ірландію. У ній є жінка-ірландка Морін, яка хоче (і навіть порушує) моральні норми — відверта сукня, дошлюбні стосунки, жага розпусти. Але найважливіше, що бачимо ми — ірландську ідентичність. На заробітках у Англії погано, але й залишатись у Ірланідії складно. Вона зелена і красива, вона своя, але-але. «Якби англійці не відібрали в нас нашу мову, нашу землю і наше Бог-знає-що, то хіба ми мусили б їздити до них випрошувати роботу й милостиню?»
«Людина-подушка» про табу і моральні норми. Дітей кривдити не можна, але Катурян кривдить: він пише оповідання про те, як діти потрапляють у різні неприємності й помирають. Зокрема, про майже казкового персонажа «Людину-подушку», який приходить до дітей і переконуваннями позбавляє їх майбутнього приреченого не нещастя життя.
«Усікновення руки в Спокані» — про Кармайкла, який прагне понад усе повернути втранену в дитинстві кінцівку. Це його незакритий гештальт. Це його травма. Це його біль. Це його аргумент робити боляче іншим на шляху до своєї мети.
Але насправді усі три тексти про дитячі травми і батьківський вплив. Морін не може позбутися своєї матері Меґ, батьки Катуряна прагнуть виростити сина-генія й ставлять над ним психологічні експерименти, знущаючись над його братом Міхалом (у другорядних дійових осіб — поліцейських — теж індивідуальні складні історії з батьками чи батьківством: сексуальне насильство з одного боку, втрата дитини з іншого); мати не підтримала Кармайкла, коли він втратив руку. Цікаво те, що жоден з оповідачів не надійний. Ми не можемо довіритися, не знаємо, а як було насправді й що було насправді, де межа вигадки й правди, психічного розладу і відчаю, садизму і доброти.
Пʼєси МакДони — це як передача на СТБ, типу «Кохана, ми вбиваємо дітей», але СТБ прагне шоу, а МакДона усе ж любить і шкодує своїх героїв, вони обʼємні й складні. У цих пʼєсах багато гачків для режисерів і читачів — мабуть тому МакДону активно ставлять в Україні.
До речі, принагідно варто згадати про подкаст «Станція 451», у якому Сашко Михед міркує про МакДону тератрального драматурга та кінорежисера: на чому він стоїть, що для нього важить.
«Королева краси з Лінана» — про базу МакДони: Ірландію. У ній є жінка-ірландка Морін, яка хоче (і навіть порушує) моральні норми — відверта сукня, дошлюбні стосунки, жага розпусти. Але найважливіше, що бачимо ми — ірландську ідентичність. На заробітках у Англії погано, але й залишатись у Ірланідії складно. Вона зелена і красива, вона своя, але-але. «Якби англійці не відібрали в нас нашу мову, нашу землю і наше Бог-знає-що, то хіба ми мусили б їздити до них випрошувати роботу й милостиню?»
«Людина-подушка» про табу і моральні норми. Дітей кривдити не можна, але Катурян кривдить: він пише оповідання про те, як діти потрапляють у різні неприємності й помирають. Зокрема, про майже казкового персонажа «Людину-подушку», який приходить до дітей і переконуваннями позбавляє їх майбутнього приреченого не нещастя життя.
«Усікновення руки в Спокані» — про Кармайкла, який прагне понад усе повернути втранену в дитинстві кінцівку. Це його незакритий гештальт. Це його травма. Це його біль. Це його аргумент робити боляче іншим на шляху до своєї мети.
Але насправді усі три тексти про дитячі травми і батьківський вплив. Морін не може позбутися своєї матері Меґ, батьки Катуряна прагнуть виростити сина-генія й ставлять над ним психологічні експерименти, знущаючись над його братом Міхалом (у другорядних дійових осіб — поліцейських — теж індивідуальні складні історії з батьками чи батьківством: сексуальне насильство з одного боку, втрата дитини з іншого); мати не підтримала Кармайкла, коли він втратив руку. Цікаво те, що жоден з оповідачів не надійний. Ми не можемо довіритися, не знаємо, а як було насправді й що було насправді, де межа вигадки й правди, психічного розладу і відчаю, садизму і доброти.
Пʼєси МакДони — це як передача на СТБ, типу «Кохана, ми вбиваємо дітей», але СТБ прагне шоу, а МакДона усе ж любить і шкодує своїх героїв, вони обʼємні й складні. У цих пʼєсах багато гачків для режисерів і читачів — мабуть тому МакДону активно ставлять в Україні.
До речі, принагідно варто згадати про подкаст «Станція 451», у якому Сашко Михед міркує про МакДону тератрального драматурга та кінорежисера: на чому він стоїть, що для нього важить.
October 15, 2020
люблю його фільми, але виявилося, що п'єси в нього навіть цікавіші. жорстокі, але душевні, веселі, але повчальні. найбагатовимірніша - Людина-подушка - про автора і його відповідальність. усюди є проблема батьків і дітей, і всюди вона має доволі катастрофічне забарвлення. цікавим є християнський підтекст, і загалом МакДона майстерно жонглює різними культурними пластами.
окремий кайф - переклад Негребецького: "на фік, довбак, довбелик, прибацок, нудак, козляк і випльовок".
окремий кайф - переклад Негребецького: "на фік, довбак, довбелик, прибацок, нудак, козляк і випльовок".
December 6, 2022
Тарантіно від драматургії або щось типу того. П'єса "Людина-подушка" лишає особливо стійкі враження.
December 19, 2020
"Людина-подушка" - 5/5.
November 8, 2020
Дуже вразила п’єса «Людина-подушка», одна з найкращих п’єс прочитаних мною взагалі. Тому придбала книгу. Але «Королева краси з Лінана» хоч і важлива, певно, для ірландців, здалась надто вже «в лоб», тоді як «Усікач» надто неправдоподібним, і жаль, бо замєс там феєричний.
March 9, 2020
By turns playful, vicious, and surprising, but throughout completely absorbing.
January 20, 2021
The Pillowman, заради якого я тут, - геніальний. Але, як-то кажуть, WTF? Емоційно вразливим людям читати не раджу
June 5, 2018
Rounded down mainly because the middle play is weak, but the other two are fabulous. I've been a long-time fan of McDonagh's writing, and this book comprises the Leenane Trilogy, some of his earliest plays. I've never seen stageplays interwoven like this: they're set in the same small town, where everyone knows everyone and repercussions/characters are offhand mentioned in subsequent plays, and you really get a sense of this being a real place with real people all trapped in a claustrophobic fishbowl together. It's like an interlinked anthology, with Easter eggs scattered between the works if you've read/seen all three plays, and even recurring jokes in the first two set up for some payoff in the third. It's remarkable, and makes it a delight to read all three back-to-back.
Since this was such an early work, you can see McDonagh hammering out his craft and developing his toolkit: Chekov's guns galore; dramatic irony re: what is or isn't known; the audience's imagination filling in the blanks horrifically; unreliable characters; dark pasts and unexpected turns; long epistolary letters narrated.
The trilogy centers on toxic families, pettiness, and vengeance. As is his tradition, it's incredibly dark but also incredibly darkly funny (particularly THE LONESOME WEST); there are glimmers of occasional hope, but because this is McDonagh, they're obviously gonna be squashed.
THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE
The only one of these three that I'd seen performed beforehand, and also my favourite of the three (when I saw it, it left me feeling pretty lost and sad). It centers on the poisonous relationship between a spinster and the elderly mother she's trapped looking after: the weary abuse between them, the sense of old fights repeated over and over and looping until it hits a breaking point. It's bittersweet, melancholy, wistful. My heart aches. Plus Pato Dooley is the softest, sweetest character I've ever encountered in a McDonagh text, and I love him:
A SKULL IN CONNEMARA
The weakest. There's a couple good reveals, but the central twist/conflict is a little ham-handed compared to McDonagh's usual, and the ending just sort of peters out. I also had the trouble that, since I was reading rather than watching it performed, I couldn't tell the dialogue apart that easily since 3/4 characters' names started with M (Mick, Mairtin, Maryjohnny).
THE LONESOME WEST
The funniest. It was great finally meeting Father Welsh Walsh Welsh after so long; he was also one of my favourite characters. His horror and exasperation at his disaster of a parish, dogged by murders and suicides, and his last hope of redemption in trying to reconcile two squabbling brothers, Coleman and Valene -- whose extreme pettiness is astounding and morbidly hilarious. Poor, poor Welsh. Walsh. (It actually reminded a bit of Rickety Cricket in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in terms of the earnest priest whose life is systematically destroyed by a group of terrible people.)
Anyway, do read these plays if you're a fan of dark humour and twisted plots and seeing how toxic families combust. It's good stuff.
Since this was such an early work, you can see McDonagh hammering out his craft and developing his toolkit: Chekov's guns galore; dramatic irony re: what is or isn't known; the audience's imagination filling in the blanks horrifically; unreliable characters; dark pasts and unexpected turns; long epistolary letters narrated.
The trilogy centers on toxic families, pettiness, and vengeance. As is his tradition, it's incredibly dark but also incredibly darkly funny (particularly THE LONESOME WEST); there are glimmers of occasional hope, but because this is McDonagh, they're obviously gonna be squashed.
THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE
The only one of these three that I'd seen performed beforehand, and also my favourite of the three (when I saw it, it left me feeling pretty lost and sad). It centers on the poisonous relationship between a spinster and the elderly mother she's trapped looking after: the weary abuse between them, the sense of old fights repeated over and over and looping until it hits a breaking point. It's bittersweet, melancholy, wistful. My heart aches. Plus Pato Dooley is the softest, sweetest character I've ever encountered in a McDonagh text, and I love him:
MAUREEN (quietly): It's true I was in a home there a while, now, after a bit of a breakdown I had. Years ago this is.
PATO: What harm a breakdown, sure? Lots of people do have breakdowns.
MAUREEN: A lot of doolally people, aye.
PATO: Not doolally people at all. A lot of well-educated people have breakdowns too. In fact, if you're well-educated it's even more likely. Poor Spike Milligan, isn't he forever having breakdowns? He hardly stops. I do have trouble with me nerves every now and then, too, I don't mind admitting. There's no shame at all in that. Only means you do think about things, and take them to heart.
A SKULL IN CONNEMARA
The weakest. There's a couple good reveals, but the central twist/conflict is a little ham-handed compared to McDonagh's usual, and the ending just sort of peters out. I also had the trouble that, since I was reading rather than watching it performed, I couldn't tell the dialogue apart that easily since 3/4 characters' names started with M (Mick, Mairtin, Maryjohnny).
THE LONESOME WEST
The funniest. It was great finally meeting Father Welsh Walsh Welsh after so long; he was also one of my favourite characters. His horror and exasperation at his disaster of a parish, dogged by murders and suicides, and his last hope of redemption in trying to reconcile two squabbling brothers, Coleman and Valene -- whose extreme pettiness is astounding and morbidly hilarious. Poor, poor Welsh. Walsh. (It actually reminded a bit of Rickety Cricket in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in terms of the earnest priest whose life is systematically destroyed by a group of terrible people.)
Anyway, do read these plays if you're a fan of dark humour and twisted plots and seeing how toxic families combust. It's good stuff.
November 18, 2012
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Wow! This was a psychological thriller of a play! It reads well, with humorous interplay between the characters that has a wide, dark side to it that veers violently off course.
It would be a great night to be able to watch this on stage.
This play rates 5*.
The Skull in Connemara
Wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed this play. Can't say much without giving things away. Bummer!
5* rating.
The Lonesome West
Another winner of a play. Again, there's that dark humour, there's violence and petty differences that erupt into huge issues.
Another 5* rating.
Each of these plays is wonderful. They are loosely connected through the town of Leenane and some of its residents. The characters don't overlap: those we meet in TBQoL may be mentioned in the next 2 plays but aren't present; those we meet in the final 2 plays are referenced in other plays but not met. It's very well done. One feels that one knows these people and some of their characteristics without actually meeting them for awhile.
McDonagh's writing is captivating. It has an easy, dark humor, everday feel about it with some interesting twists. I highly recommend these three plays.
Wow! This was a psychological thriller of a play! It reads well, with humorous interplay between the characters that has a wide, dark side to it that veers violently off course.
It would be a great night to be able to watch this on stage.
This play rates 5*.
The Skull in Connemara
Wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed this play. Can't say much without giving things away. Bummer!
5* rating.
The Lonesome West
Another winner of a play. Again, there's that dark humour, there's violence and petty differences that erupt into huge issues.
Another 5* rating.
Each of these plays is wonderful. They are loosely connected through the town of Leenane and some of its residents. The characters don't overlap: those we meet in TBQoL may be mentioned in the next 2 plays but aren't present; those we meet in the final 2 plays are referenced in other plays but not met. It's very well done. One feels that one knows these people and some of their characteristics without actually meeting them for awhile.
McDonagh's writing is captivating. It has an easy, dark humor, everday feel about it with some interesting twists. I highly recommend these three plays.
May 18, 2020
After being a fan of some of McDonagh's movies for some time now, I was very excited when a good friend of mine sent me this collection of plays to read. After reading the book, I can happily say that my excitement was justified, and I am eager to read more of McDonagh's plays, as he is a quite talented playwright.
Each of the three plays in this collection, forming a trilogy of stories in the rural town of Leenane, touches on themes of life and death, of love and relationships, and the individual stories dive into grief and loneliness and regret. That being said, McDonagh's black comedic style keeps these stories from becoming too bleak, at least superficially. It's not often that I find myself laughing out loud while reading a book, but I was during this one. On top of that, I think these stories are written in such a way that how bleak they really are is a bit of a matter of interpretation. After finishing the book, I found myself feeling rather sad, but hopeful. I hoped that the characters in these stories had done the right thing, and would find love or redemption or acceptance or whatever they were looking for in the future. I think it's a testament to McDonagh's play-writing abilities that I was so moved by characters I had spent such a short amount of time with.
I also thought it was interesting to see how these plays, and their dialogue, would evolve into the movies that McDonagh has written and directed. I don't think I had actually read a play since high school, and so it has been a while since I've read a story in such a dialogue-focused medium. The lines were sharp, without a wasted word, and I could easily picture the back-and-forth between some characters as a scene in a movie like In Bruges or something similar. I really enjoyed seeing these earlier works and getting glimpses of what would become some of my most favorite movies.
This collection of plays manages to be funny and bleak, depressing and uplifting, and made me really feel with and for these characters. I am very much looking forward to reading more of McDonagh's plays.
Each of the three plays in this collection, forming a trilogy of stories in the rural town of Leenane, touches on themes of life and death, of love and relationships, and the individual stories dive into grief and loneliness and regret. That being said, McDonagh's black comedic style keeps these stories from becoming too bleak, at least superficially. It's not often that I find myself laughing out loud while reading a book, but I was during this one. On top of that, I think these stories are written in such a way that how bleak they really are is a bit of a matter of interpretation. After finishing the book, I found myself feeling rather sad, but hopeful. I hoped that the characters in these stories had done the right thing, and would find love or redemption or acceptance or whatever they were looking for in the future. I think it's a testament to McDonagh's play-writing abilities that I was so moved by characters I had spent such a short amount of time with.
I also thought it was interesting to see how these plays, and their dialogue, would evolve into the movies that McDonagh has written and directed. I don't think I had actually read a play since high school, and so it has been a while since I've read a story in such a dialogue-focused medium. The lines were sharp, without a wasted word, and I could easily picture the back-and-forth between some characters as a scene in a movie like In Bruges or something similar. I really enjoyed seeing these earlier works and getting glimpses of what would become some of my most favorite movies.
This collection of plays manages to be funny and bleak, depressing and uplifting, and made me really feel with and for these characters. I am very much looking forward to reading more of McDonagh's plays.
May 23, 2025
No se m'acudix cap autor viu que conceba i desenvolupe històries tan originals i no només originals sinó així de sòrdides, gracioses i ben trenades, o que cree absurds tan còmodes d'acceptar. Ni trobo ningú que jugue de manera més brillant i encertada amb totes les coses terribles del món alhora.
Segurament exagero i/o encara he de llegir molt. Buscaré millor. De moment repassaré tota la seua obra.
Segurament exagero i/o encara he de llegir molt. Buscaré millor. De moment repassaré tota la seua obra.
April 18, 2026
всі три пʼєси шикарні
October 6, 2022
Мартін МакДона — сучасний ірландський драматург і кінорежисер, п’єси якого ставлять провідні театри світу.
Ви могли впізнати його як режисера відомого і шанованого фільму "Три білборди за межами Еббінга, Міссурі”. Я ж з ним познайомилася завдяки виставі “Королева Краси” у театрі Курбаса.
У п’єсі «Королева краси з Лінана» заторкнуто проблеми нерозуміння й непорозуміння між поколіннями батьків і дітей, де стара егоїстична матір тримає при собі все життя доньку, занапащаючи її особисте щастя, що зрештою скалічує життя усім. Таокож цікава тема - меншовартності ірландців у контексті ірланців - англійців - американців. Чимось нагадало ситуацію в нас, на жаль.
Не можу не згадати про виставу - вона ідеально передала думки і настрої твору. Весь біль, ненависть і любов. Також вдало висвітлила важкість стосунків між матірю і дочкою. Однозначно рекомендую відвідати.
У п’єсі «Людина-подушка» автор вдається до метафор, щоб окреслити проблему жорстокого поводження з дітьми й зображає варіанти того, до чого призводить скалічена з малих літ дитяча психіка, в якій дійсність вже неможливо відмежувати від вигадки. Також, автор розглядає питання відповідальності автора за своє творіння. Чи несе відповідальність письменник, якщо його твір надихнув на злочин? Не менш важливим є питання поліцейської жорстокості і несправедливості.
На мою думку, це була найпотужніша розповідь збірки. Тримала в напрузі до останнього рядка і весь час підкидала ідеї для роздумів. А кінець виявився кращим за мої очікування. Взагалі в автора чудово виходить з кінцівками - вміє закінчити на високій ноті.
А в п’єсі «Усікновення руки в Спокані» зображено чоловіка, який усе життя витратив на пошук того, що йому не потрібно й повернути це загалом не вдасться. Та найбільшим розчаруванням для нього стає те, що шукане завжди було з ним, а він цього не помітив.
Ніби фільм Тарантіно подивилася - кров, насильство і все на шаленій швидкості. Було цікаво і епічно.
Загалом я була приємно вражена, адже більше люблю дивитися вистави, а не читати драми. Вони були настільки добре написані, що я бачила картинку ніби перед собою і занурювалася у сцени. Якщо ви знаєте, які твори автора перекладені чи йдуть як вистави (у Львові) - залюбки послухаю.
І дякую видавництву Анетта Антоненко за чудове видання з вмілим перекладом.
Ви могли впізнати його як режисера відомого і шанованого фільму "Три білборди за межами Еббінга, Міссурі”. Я ж з ним познайомилася завдяки виставі “Королева Краси” у театрі Курбаса.
У п’єсі «Королева краси з Лінана» заторкнуто проблеми нерозуміння й непорозуміння між поколіннями батьків і дітей, де стара егоїстична матір тримає при собі все життя доньку, занапащаючи її особисте щастя, що зрештою скалічує життя усім. Таокож цікава тема - меншовартності ірландців у контексті ірланців - англійців - американців. Чимось нагадало ситуацію в нас, на жаль.
МОРІН: Це не нісенітниці. Це ірландська мова.
МЕҐ: Мені воно як нісенітниці. Чого б їм не говорити англійською, як люди?
МОРІН: А чого це їм говорити англійською?
МЕҐ: Щоб знати, що вони кажуть.
МЕҐ: В Ірландії.
МОРІН: То чого ж це в Ірландії мають говорити англійською?
МЕҐ: Я не знаю, чого.
МОРІН: В Ірландії треба розмовляти ірландською.
МЕҐ: Отож.
МОРІН: Га?
МЕҐ: Га?
МОРІН: «Говорити англійською в Ірландії».
МОРІН: Це Ірландія. Завжди хтось від’їжджає.
ПАТО: Завжди дорога.
МОРІН: Виховувати в дітей думку, що все, на що вони здатні —випрошувати милостиню в англійців і янкі. Оце і є самісінька суть і причина всього.
Не можу не згадати про виставу - вона ідеально передала думки і настрої твору. Весь біль, ненависть і любов. Також вдало висвітлила важкість стосунків між матірю і дочкою. Однозначно рекомендую відвідати.
У п’єсі «Людина-подушка» автор вдається до метафор, щоб окреслити проблему жорстокого поводження з дітьми й зображає варіанти того, до чого призводить скалічена з малих літ дитяча психіка, в якій дійсність вже неможливо відмежувати від вигадки. Також, автор розглядає питання відповідальності автора за своє творіння. Чи несе відповідальність письменник, якщо його твір надихнув на злочин? Не менш важливим є питання поліцейської жорстокості і несправедливості.
На мою думку, це була найпотужніша розповідь збірки. Тримала в напрузі до останнього рядка і весь час підкидала ідеї для роздумів. А кінець виявився кращим за мої очікування. Взагалі в автора чудово виходить з кінцівками - вміє закінчити на високій ноті.
А в п’єсі «Усікновення руки в Спокані» зображено чоловіка, який усе життя витратив на пошук того, що йому не потрібно й повернути це загалом не вдасться. Та найбільшим розчаруванням для нього стає те, що шукане завжди було з ним, а він цього не помітив.
Ніби фільм Тарантіно подивилася - кров, насильство і все на шаленій швидкості. Було цікаво і епічно.
Загалом я була приємно вражена, адже більше люблю дивитися вистави, а не читати драми. Вони були настільки добре написані, що я бачила картинку ніби перед собою і занурювалася у сцени. Якщо ви знаєте, які твори автора перекладені чи йдуть як вистави (у Львові) - залюбки послухаю.
І дякую видавництву Анетта Антоненко за чудове видання з вмілим перекладом.
March 18, 2010
I think I may have set my expectations a bit high after the genius of In Bruges, but these are well written, interesting plays. The titular piece is a surprisingly intense drama, A Skull in Connemara is probably the weakest of the three, it has intriguing characters but a weak final act, while The Lonesome West had probably the most fascinating characters of any of them and was quite powerful though a bit inconsistent.
May 13, 2016
Martin McDonagh's psychological dark comedy shines in this trilogy of interconnected stories. From a needy, naggy old woman and her psycho daughter, to a murderous gravedigger asked to dig up his wife's bones, to a pair of brothers whose tale of betrayal, violence, and blackmailed birthright evokes strong Jacob and Esau themes, these plays keep the reader (and, I assume, the audience) intrigued and hungry for more information to clarify the mysteries. McDonagh continues to impress me.
October 13, 2023
he’s obsessed with chopping bits off anything christ calm DOWN martin
April 1, 2023
The early plays with which McDonagh made his mark. 'Beauty' is certainly a stand-out, but "A Skull in Connemara" and "The Lonesome West" are worthwhile, too. The plays are connected; characters mentioned in one pop up in another, such as the harried local priest with the name no one can get right: "Welsh. Walsh. Welsh." The humor and the horror come in rapid succession, as does the head-spinning dialogue. I was sorry to leave this benighted cast of characters.
March 14, 2018
HOW DOES HE FUCKING DO IT? His plays are funny and dark and everything is there for a reason and ARG. I could read his plays all day.
January 8, 2026
4.75 🫡
Read
January 8, 2024Useful Object (April 2005)
Maureen Folan, in Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, is constantly grumbling about the daily chores she performs for a mother she is rarely shown not fighting with. She dreams of being comforted by and of going away with a man, but since these dreams arose her lack of surety concerning her actual appeal to men, they actually serve to strengthen rather than loosen her ties to her mother. However, the play argues that a man is exactly what she needs for her to leave her everyday life behind her. For though Maureen initially tries to make use of a strong, gentle man who enters her life—Pato—as if he were just another prop with which to wage her ongoing war with her mother, he is actually means for her to forget all about that, and begin a better life for herself.
I do not mean to suggest, however, that Maureen is your typical lady-in-distress. Indeed, she is at times shown to be tyrannical; notably over her mother. However, at at least one point in the play, her domination of her mother actually serves to strengthen her desire to be united to her. In scene two, after catching her mother in lie, Maureen makes use of her mother’s “crime” to justify a commanding stance toward her. Buoyed by a sense of righteousness, she tells Mag something she “sometimes” dreams of to make herself “happy” (24). She tells Mag she dreams of being “comfort[ed]” (23) by a man while at Mag’s wake. The man in her dreams also courts her, makes her an offer to join him at his place, to which she remarks, “what’s stopping me now?” (24). We note, however, that another person needn’t be intent on stopping her, for she stops the day-dream plot before it explores what it might be like to become involved with a man. She does so because the idea troubles her, for just after describing her dream to her mother she prompts a conversation clearly designed to result in both of them repeatedly agreeing that Mag will surely “hang on forever” (24).
Maureen might in this particular instance find comfort in her mother’s taunt that she will be around forever, because unlike when Maureen summons her dream while “scraping the skitter out of them hens” (24), she cannot at this moment discuss her dream without feeling some of the trepidation from anticipating an opportunity to soon realize it. Maureen has just been invited by Pato to a party, a party which would involve “gallivanting with fellas” (22)—that is, the sort of event Maureen thinks of as having propelled her sisters into marriage. Therefore, she may sense that a man might very soon enter her life. We also know that Maureen is not entirely wed to the idea that she must wait for her mother to die before she might leave her. In conveying her dream to her mother, she works her way to proclaiming that she might leave with a man, “[a]t [her mother’s] [. . .] bloody wake, sure! Is even sooner!” (24). But leaving her mother cannot but be terrifying for Maureen: not only is she a virgin whose one experience away from home is associated with a mental collapse, she is someone who is accustomed to and finds some self-validation in taking care of her mother.
The play directs us to understand Maureen as someone whose identity is inextricably linked to routine daily chores and household rituals. More specifically, it suggests that her purpose in life has become nothing more than making use of the objects involved in these rituals to engage in an ongoing battle with her mother. Complan and porridge are their weapons of choice; they are the primary objects used by Maureen and Mag in their ongoing dispute over who is master of whom in their household, a title neither of them has clear claim to. When Maureen caught Mag in a lie, for instance, Maureen utilized the preparation of Complan to force her mother to demonstrate her acknowledgement of her guilt by drinking it, despite her ill-stomach. But earlier we observed how Mag used the preparation of Complan to force Maureen to acknowledge her being culpable of having once seared Mag’s hand (5). And given her familiarity with this way of life, and given she knows that mastering her mother offers reliable rewards (i.e., feelings of elation and self-validation), it is not surprising that Maureen seems more comfortable conceiving of a man that enters her life as an ideal object she can use to humiliate her mother than as someone who might lead her away from all that.
Maureen brings Pato back to her home, and he ends up staying overnight. Though they are shown flirting with one another, to be genuinely interested in one another, we suspect that Maureen brought him home primarily to triumphantly frustrate and humiliate her mother. Maureen knows her mother is disgusted by just the idea of her having sex: she “laugh[ed],” after her mother called her a “[w]hore” (23) for imagining herself enjoying being intimate with two men. Maureen now has the opportunity to experience how Mag would react to actually seeing her with a man she had slept with, and she will not let it slip away. She convinces Pato not to sneak out before her mother awakens, something he had intended to do, and wastes no time making use of him in the morning to antagonize her. She comes in “wearing only a bra and slip,” “goes over to Pato,” “sits across his lap,” and “kisses him at length” (39). She obviously wants her mother to believe they had had sex the night before: she says to Pato that he’ll “have to be putting that thing of [his] [. . .] in [her] [. . .] again before too long is past” (39). Maureen is of course referring to his penis here, and it is no surprise that Pato reacts to Maureen’s statement by “get[ting] up and idl[ing] around in embarrassment” (40).
Pato’s discomfort leads to his insisting he must soon be off: “I’ll have to be off now in a minute anyways. I do have packing to do I do” (40). But Mag, intent on making full use of him, persists in relating to him in ways he finds uncomfortable. She orders him into the kitchen to “[s]mell the sink” (41). He does so, and he is described as being “disgust[ed]” (41) by the smell of Mag’s urine. But though Maureen has effectively made use of him to disturb her mother, Mag is equally facile at making use of whatever is at hand to manipulate and manage her daughter. She responds by informing Pato of Maureen’s stay in a mental hospital, and this is effective in upsetting Maureen, causing her to lose her assurance and her control, and to run over, “fists clenched” (42), to assault Mag. Pato, however, prevents her from landing blows—an act which ends his stance in this scene as a passive tool/observer. He physically intercedes between the two of them (he “steps between the two” [42] of them), and, in comforting her and reassuring her that she is not abnormal, that she is sane, makes claim to all of Maureen’s attention and interest. After Pato says, “[t]hat’s all past and behind you anyways” (44), Maureen responds by “look[ing] at him awhile” (44). In her daydream she imagined being comforted by a man, a consideration scary enough to have her follow it by strengthening her attachment to her mother. Here now, likely for the first time, she actually experiences being comforted by a man she cares about, and it proves sufficiently compelling that she replies by attending more closely rather than by backing away.
True, she does make use of her renewed intimacy with him to better sell her story that she was not the one who burned Mag, but she may do so primarily now to ensure Pato continues to find her desirable—the first time that morning she shows this concern. She clearly begins to see Pato as someone who could assist her in leaving her current life. She “look[s] straight at him,” and asks, “[d]on’t I have to live with it?” (45). Much seems to depend on how he responds to this question, for her disposition changes abruptly when Pato responds simply by requesting she put some clothing on. She becomes “sombre again” (45), looks “down at herself” (45), and concludes that Pato had from the beginning not found her good-looking enough to excite him.
But though Pato failed to supply the reassurance she needed to brave the continuation of their courtship, the scene offers uninterrupted evidence of how much his interest in her has affected and changed her. Mag re-enters the room “waving papers,” she even “stopp[s] Pato’s approach” (46), but neither of them seem to notice her, something she is shown cognizant of in her asking, “Eh?” (46), after allowing sufficient time for them to respond to her discovery of the Difford Hall papers. But Pato “look[s] [only] at Maureen,” and Maureen will “look at her a moment” (47), but only after Pato has left her home. Maureen will again speak to Mag, but has lost all interest in combating her. After “linger[ing]” (47) over her dress, she says in “passing [to] her mother,” “Why? Why? Why do you . . .?” (47), but is not really interested in her response. Mag is left “holding [the] [. . .] papers rather dumbly” (47), and though she subsequently tries to make use of a more familiar object—her porridge—to engage her daughter’s attention (something she managed to do at the end of scene one), the scene ends with her all alone, speaking to no one but herself.
After she concludes that Pato is not interested in her, Maureen returns to her habitual means of engaging with her mother, but Mag knows her daughter would be doing otherwise had she not intercepted Pato’s letter to her. Though Maureen tries to persuade herself that she and Pato are incompatible, Mag remarks that she knows her daughter attends to her now only because he did “not invit[e] [her] [. . .] to his oul going-away do” (61). And, indeed, whereas it was once the only relationship Maureen was comfortable being involved in, their relationship now serves as compensation for the one Maureen failed to secure with him. Maureen has proven herself to be just like her sisters in that she too can lose herself in a man, and she will once again show how quickly she can forget about Mag upon learning that Pato had not in fact rejected her but actually had invited her “to go to America with him” (68). After hearing this, Maureen is described as “in a daze,” as “barely noticing her” mother (even though her mother lies on the floor, “convulsing” and “screaming” [68]). And we note this scene is also one that ends with Maureen talking only to herself.
Pato ends up marrying someone else, and once Maureen is made aware of this, her fate is sealed: she will forever after be “a dried up oul” (23) bitty. While she still believed it possible she would join him in America, she aggressively removed from her kitchen shelves those objects—Complan and porridge—most clearly associated with her life with her mother. But without a man to lead her out of her previous existence, she even more closely fuses herself to her, and all promise of her having her own life is over.
Work Cited
McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.
Maureen Folan, in Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, is constantly grumbling about the daily chores she performs for a mother she is rarely shown not fighting with. She dreams of being comforted by and of going away with a man, but since these dreams arose her lack of surety concerning her actual appeal to men, they actually serve to strengthen rather than loosen her ties to her mother. However, the play argues that a man is exactly what she needs for her to leave her everyday life behind her. For though Maureen initially tries to make use of a strong, gentle man who enters her life—Pato—as if he were just another prop with which to wage her ongoing war with her mother, he is actually means for her to forget all about that, and begin a better life for herself.
I do not mean to suggest, however, that Maureen is your typical lady-in-distress. Indeed, she is at times shown to be tyrannical; notably over her mother. However, at at least one point in the play, her domination of her mother actually serves to strengthen her desire to be united to her. In scene two, after catching her mother in lie, Maureen makes use of her mother’s “crime” to justify a commanding stance toward her. Buoyed by a sense of righteousness, she tells Mag something she “sometimes” dreams of to make herself “happy” (24). She tells Mag she dreams of being “comfort[ed]” (23) by a man while at Mag’s wake. The man in her dreams also courts her, makes her an offer to join him at his place, to which she remarks, “what’s stopping me now?” (24). We note, however, that another person needn’t be intent on stopping her, for she stops the day-dream plot before it explores what it might be like to become involved with a man. She does so because the idea troubles her, for just after describing her dream to her mother she prompts a conversation clearly designed to result in both of them repeatedly agreeing that Mag will surely “hang on forever” (24).
Maureen might in this particular instance find comfort in her mother’s taunt that she will be around forever, because unlike when Maureen summons her dream while “scraping the skitter out of them hens” (24), she cannot at this moment discuss her dream without feeling some of the trepidation from anticipating an opportunity to soon realize it. Maureen has just been invited by Pato to a party, a party which would involve “gallivanting with fellas” (22)—that is, the sort of event Maureen thinks of as having propelled her sisters into marriage. Therefore, she may sense that a man might very soon enter her life. We also know that Maureen is not entirely wed to the idea that she must wait for her mother to die before she might leave her. In conveying her dream to her mother, she works her way to proclaiming that she might leave with a man, “[a]t [her mother’s] [. . .] bloody wake, sure! Is even sooner!” (24). But leaving her mother cannot but be terrifying for Maureen: not only is she a virgin whose one experience away from home is associated with a mental collapse, she is someone who is accustomed to and finds some self-validation in taking care of her mother.
The play directs us to understand Maureen as someone whose identity is inextricably linked to routine daily chores and household rituals. More specifically, it suggests that her purpose in life has become nothing more than making use of the objects involved in these rituals to engage in an ongoing battle with her mother. Complan and porridge are their weapons of choice; they are the primary objects used by Maureen and Mag in their ongoing dispute over who is master of whom in their household, a title neither of them has clear claim to. When Maureen caught Mag in a lie, for instance, Maureen utilized the preparation of Complan to force her mother to demonstrate her acknowledgement of her guilt by drinking it, despite her ill-stomach. But earlier we observed how Mag used the preparation of Complan to force Maureen to acknowledge her being culpable of having once seared Mag’s hand (5). And given her familiarity with this way of life, and given she knows that mastering her mother offers reliable rewards (i.e., feelings of elation and self-validation), it is not surprising that Maureen seems more comfortable conceiving of a man that enters her life as an ideal object she can use to humiliate her mother than as someone who might lead her away from all that.
Maureen brings Pato back to her home, and he ends up staying overnight. Though they are shown flirting with one another, to be genuinely interested in one another, we suspect that Maureen brought him home primarily to triumphantly frustrate and humiliate her mother. Maureen knows her mother is disgusted by just the idea of her having sex: she “laugh[ed],” after her mother called her a “[w]hore” (23) for imagining herself enjoying being intimate with two men. Maureen now has the opportunity to experience how Mag would react to actually seeing her with a man she had slept with, and she will not let it slip away. She convinces Pato not to sneak out before her mother awakens, something he had intended to do, and wastes no time making use of him in the morning to antagonize her. She comes in “wearing only a bra and slip,” “goes over to Pato,” “sits across his lap,” and “kisses him at length” (39). She obviously wants her mother to believe they had had sex the night before: she says to Pato that he’ll “have to be putting that thing of [his] [. . .] in [her] [. . .] again before too long is past” (39). Maureen is of course referring to his penis here, and it is no surprise that Pato reacts to Maureen’s statement by “get[ting] up and idl[ing] around in embarrassment” (40).
Pato’s discomfort leads to his insisting he must soon be off: “I’ll have to be off now in a minute anyways. I do have packing to do I do” (40). But Mag, intent on making full use of him, persists in relating to him in ways he finds uncomfortable. She orders him into the kitchen to “[s]mell the sink” (41). He does so, and he is described as being “disgust[ed]” (41) by the smell of Mag’s urine. But though Maureen has effectively made use of him to disturb her mother, Mag is equally facile at making use of whatever is at hand to manipulate and manage her daughter. She responds by informing Pato of Maureen’s stay in a mental hospital, and this is effective in upsetting Maureen, causing her to lose her assurance and her control, and to run over, “fists clenched” (42), to assault Mag. Pato, however, prevents her from landing blows—an act which ends his stance in this scene as a passive tool/observer. He physically intercedes between the two of them (he “steps between the two” [42] of them), and, in comforting her and reassuring her that she is not abnormal, that she is sane, makes claim to all of Maureen’s attention and interest. After Pato says, “[t]hat’s all past and behind you anyways” (44), Maureen responds by “look[ing] at him awhile” (44). In her daydream she imagined being comforted by a man, a consideration scary enough to have her follow it by strengthening her attachment to her mother. Here now, likely for the first time, she actually experiences being comforted by a man she cares about, and it proves sufficiently compelling that she replies by attending more closely rather than by backing away.
True, she does make use of her renewed intimacy with him to better sell her story that she was not the one who burned Mag, but she may do so primarily now to ensure Pato continues to find her desirable—the first time that morning she shows this concern. She clearly begins to see Pato as someone who could assist her in leaving her current life. She “look[s] straight at him,” and asks, “[d]on’t I have to live with it?” (45). Much seems to depend on how he responds to this question, for her disposition changes abruptly when Pato responds simply by requesting she put some clothing on. She becomes “sombre again” (45), looks “down at herself” (45), and concludes that Pato had from the beginning not found her good-looking enough to excite him.
But though Pato failed to supply the reassurance she needed to brave the continuation of their courtship, the scene offers uninterrupted evidence of how much his interest in her has affected and changed her. Mag re-enters the room “waving papers,” she even “stopp[s] Pato’s approach” (46), but neither of them seem to notice her, something she is shown cognizant of in her asking, “Eh?” (46), after allowing sufficient time for them to respond to her discovery of the Difford Hall papers. But Pato “look[s] [only] at Maureen,” and Maureen will “look at her a moment” (47), but only after Pato has left her home. Maureen will again speak to Mag, but has lost all interest in combating her. After “linger[ing]” (47) over her dress, she says in “passing [to] her mother,” “Why? Why? Why do you . . .?” (47), but is not really interested in her response. Mag is left “holding [the] [. . .] papers rather dumbly” (47), and though she subsequently tries to make use of a more familiar object—her porridge—to engage her daughter’s attention (something she managed to do at the end of scene one), the scene ends with her all alone, speaking to no one but herself.
After she concludes that Pato is not interested in her, Maureen returns to her habitual means of engaging with her mother, but Mag knows her daughter would be doing otherwise had she not intercepted Pato’s letter to her. Though Maureen tries to persuade herself that she and Pato are incompatible, Mag remarks that she knows her daughter attends to her now only because he did “not invit[e] [her] [. . .] to his oul going-away do” (61). And, indeed, whereas it was once the only relationship Maureen was comfortable being involved in, their relationship now serves as compensation for the one Maureen failed to secure with him. Maureen has proven herself to be just like her sisters in that she too can lose herself in a man, and she will once again show how quickly she can forget about Mag upon learning that Pato had not in fact rejected her but actually had invited her “to go to America with him” (68). After hearing this, Maureen is described as “in a daze,” as “barely noticing her” mother (even though her mother lies on the floor, “convulsing” and “screaming” [68]). And we note this scene is also one that ends with Maureen talking only to herself.
Pato ends up marrying someone else, and once Maureen is made aware of this, her fate is sealed: she will forever after be “a dried up oul” (23) bitty. While she still believed it possible she would join him in America, she aggressively removed from her kitchen shelves those objects—Complan and porridge—most clearly associated with her life with her mother. But without a man to lead her out of her previous existence, she even more closely fuses herself to her, and all promise of her having her own life is over.
Work Cited
McDonagh, Martin. The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.
April 4, 2024
A must read for fans of McDonaghs movies
October 3, 2025
bonkers and terrifying
September 19, 2016
These were a great read. I'd like to say they were fun, but they're just brutal and twisted enough that the word "fun" seems inappropriate. They are wickedly funny, to be sure, enough so that I laughed out loud more than once.
The denouement of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" left me wondering what had just happened, though not in a bad way; I won't say why, but it's a play I'll be going back to again for the fun of deconstructing it.
"A Skull in Connemara" conjures up both the gravediggers in "Hamlet" and the Melancholy Dane himself, for me. Mick, the main character, seems to find that revenge is indeed sweet, but not in any way that could be expected. In fact, there's a part of his revenge that he doesn't get until the third play, "The Lonesome West," in which he's only mentioned tangentially.
That third play was the most enjoyable, as McDonagh shows us not just the murderous lengths one can take a trivial argument, but the bitterness on both sides of its origins. The two brothers at the center of the play have abandoned every positive and potentially rewarding aspect of their lives in favor of their relentless torment of each other.
The dialogue is beautifully written in that Irish country accent you'll be familiar with if you've ever seen "The Quiet Man." I can even now be hearing it in me head, so.
One of the most immersive aspects of these three 4-character plays is that they're so neatly tied together. Since all are set in the same small Irish village, it adds to the sense of realism that all twelve of the characters know each other well, and refer to each other in their respective stories. There are a couple running gags that span the three plays, with setups in the first two, and payoffs in the third.
It's well worth a read.
The denouement of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" left me wondering what had just happened, though not in a bad way; I won't say why, but it's a play I'll be going back to again for the fun of deconstructing it.
"A Skull in Connemara" conjures up both the gravediggers in "Hamlet" and the Melancholy Dane himself, for me. Mick, the main character, seems to find that revenge is indeed sweet, but not in any way that could be expected. In fact, there's a part of his revenge that he doesn't get until the third play, "The Lonesome West," in which he's only mentioned tangentially.
That third play was the most enjoyable, as McDonagh shows us not just the murderous lengths one can take a trivial argument, but the bitterness on both sides of its origins. The two brothers at the center of the play have abandoned every positive and potentially rewarding aspect of their lives in favor of their relentless torment of each other.
The dialogue is beautifully written in that Irish country accent you'll be familiar with if you've ever seen "The Quiet Man." I can even now be hearing it in me head, so.
One of the most immersive aspects of these three 4-character plays is that they're so neatly tied together. Since all are set in the same small Irish village, it adds to the sense of realism that all twelve of the characters know each other well, and refer to each other in their respective stories. There are a couple running gags that span the three plays, with setups in the first two, and payoffs in the third.
It's well worth a read.
May 17, 2022
Неймовірно приємне враження від електронної книги Видавництва Анетти Антоненко: акуратно зверстана книга, є заголовки, зноски. Краса! Тепер хочеться придбати собі паперову книгу і роздавати її декому з друзів, щоб прочитали.
Дуже хороший переклад Олекси Негребецького, специфічний. Там де потрібно, в мовленні чутно "сільські нотки", десь "з району", десь витримані. Звучить все дуже живо, ніби вистава перед очима.
Три твори у книзі. Всі різні, але по-своєму чимось схожі. Дуже хитро завернуті сюжети. Читайте, насолоджуйтеся. Я лише кілька цікавих фактів насиплю для того щоб підживити апетит.
Кілька слів про Мартіна Макдону, це автор “Six Shooter”, “Залягти на дно в Брюге”, “Сім психопатів”, “Три білборди…”. Тобто, якщо вам ці фільми сподобалися, будьте певні, і його п’єси теж сподобаються. Це дуже тонкий чорний гумор. Коли мене запитують приклад чорного гумору я рекомендую переглянути саме короткометражку Мартіна Макдони “Six Shooter”.
До речі, як я дізнався, по всім цим творам в Україні вже ставили вистави:
- “Людину-подушку” ставив центр сучасного мистецтва “ДАХ” та Київська академічна майстерня театрального мистецтва “Сузір'я”;
- “Однорукого” (він же, той кому зробили усікновення руки в Спокані) – Київський академічний молодий театр;
- “Королевy краси” ставили Театр «Золоті ворота», Аматорський театр «БУ!», і персонально улюблений Львівський академічний театр імені Леся Курбаса.
Тому, ця книга – це прекрасна можливість підготуватися до театральної постановки. Або якщо не вдасться потрапити в театр на виставу – до фільмів Макдони.
Дуже хороший переклад Олекси Негребецького, специфічний. Там де потрібно, в мовленні чутно "сільські нотки", десь "з району", десь витримані. Звучить все дуже живо, ніби вистава перед очима.
До речі, зараз офіційний сайт Видавництва Анетти Антоненко продає електронні книги за ціною 1 грн кожна і передає кошти на допомогу армії.
Три твори у книзі. Всі різні, але по-своєму чимось схожі. Дуже хитро завернуті сюжети. Читайте, насолоджуйтеся. Я лише кілька цікавих фактів насиплю для того щоб підживити апетит.
Кілька слів про Мартіна Макдону, це автор “Six Shooter”, “Залягти на дно в Брюге”, “Сім психопатів”, “Три білборди…”. Тобто, якщо вам ці фільми сподобалися, будьте певні, і його п’єси теж сподобаються. Це дуже тонкий чорний гумор. Коли мене запитують приклад чорного гумору я рекомендую переглянути саме короткометражку Мартіна Макдони “Six Shooter”.
До речі, як я дізнався, по всім цим творам в Україні вже ставили вистави:
- “Людину-подушку” ставив центр сучасного мистецтва “ДАХ” та Київська академічна майстерня театрального мистецтва “Сузір'я”;
- “Однорукого” (він же, той кому зробили усікновення руки в Спокані) – Київський академічний молодий театр;
- “Королевy краси” ставили Театр «Золоті ворота», Аматорський театр «БУ!», і персонально улюблений Львівський академічний театр імені Леся Курбаса.
Тому, ця книга – це прекрасна можливість підготуватися до театральної постановки. Або якщо не вдасться потрапити в театр на виставу – до фільмів Макдони.
November 19, 2012
The Beauty Queen of Leenane: The horrifying and mesmerizing tale of a mother and daughter hellbent on destroying, one for fear of losing the other and the other so that she can get lost. I finished this in a heavily over-chlorinated hot tub that may or may not have gone straight to my head. I had to keep rereading sections just to be sure that it was as cruel and twisted as I believed it to be. With McDonagh, I should know better than to doubt it by now.
Skull in Connemara : It's hard, when reading McDonagh, to remember that all of this startling violence is to be performed on a stage...in front of people. As such, I imagine this skull-bashing feck of a play hits like a mallet to the head in performance, but on the page it's not quite there. It's full of old grudges and secrets and the bitter solitude at the core of even communal life, but it doesn't ring out like the better pieces on the McDonagh set.
The Lonesome West : A ludicrously funny tale of failed brotherly love, of the need to possess outright, and the inability to control and hold those things we most desperately want. Perhaps the most explicitly funny of the McDonagh plays I have read.
Skull in Connemara : It's hard, when reading McDonagh, to remember that all of this startling violence is to be performed on a stage...in front of people. As such, I imagine this skull-bashing feck of a play hits like a mallet to the head in performance, but on the page it's not quite there. It's full of old grudges and secrets and the bitter solitude at the core of even communal life, but it doesn't ring out like the better pieces on the McDonagh set.
The Lonesome West : A ludicrously funny tale of failed brotherly love, of the need to possess outright, and the inability to control and hold those things we most desperately want. Perhaps the most explicitly funny of the McDonagh plays I have read.
February 21, 2012
Three intense, gripping, and tragically funny plays about the devastating nature of resentment, secrecy, and deceit, as seen through the tales of the pitiful inhabitants of a small town in Ireland. Each of the three stories has a unique sadness to offer, often by way of revelations that alternate between subtly suggestive and downright stunning. McDonagh's consistently provocative plot twists almost become caricatures of themselves after a point, but they're ultimately more than earned by the fascinating characters and their dull, throbbing sense of desperation in the face of their less-than-desirable circumstances. I wish I had a better Irish accent--I would love to inhabit Leenane on the stage someday. But, like Welsh (or is it Walsh?), I probably wouldn't want to stay there for long.
November 11, 2020
I read ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ about a year or so ago and loved it, so I was very excited to read more Martin McDonagh. He has a real talent for writing a story that’s dark and depressing but also makes you laugh. ‘The Lonesome West’ is a really good example of that—every scene between Valene and Coleman is simultaneously messed up and hilarious, even when they’re trying to kill each other.
It was a nice surprise to figure out that these plays are actually a trilogy that go together. They all take place in the same little town in Ireland and characters are mentioned outside of the plays they’re in. It’s satisfying to read all three together, but I imagine you could just as easily read just one without getting confused.
It was a nice surprise to figure out that these plays are actually a trilogy that go together. They all take place in the same little town in Ireland and characters are mentioned outside of the plays they’re in. It’s satisfying to read all three together, but I imagine you could just as easily read just one without getting confused.
November 13, 2009
Martin McDonagh is a genius. These three plays comprise the Leenane trilogy and though each story stands alone, the characters and events recounted in each are loosely interwoven. McDonagh's Ireland is definitely not the romanticized one of The Quiet Man. The stories are dark as night and funnier than they have any right to be. The dialogue is brilliant. And yet there is an underlying sadness as well as a humanity that gives the plays a soul and a depth.
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