Writer: Martin McDonagh
Director: Chris Sonnex
It’s been 23 years since The Lieutenant of Inishmore was first performed in Stratford-Upon-Avon back in 2001. At the time it was seen as somewhat divisive coming in the wake of the Good Friday agreement. Critic and audience reaction was mixed to say the least. However later, off Broadway/Broadway runs , various international performances and a West End revival in 2018 has seen the play reappraised as a triumph and one of the greatest plays ever written.
Set in Ireland in the mid 1990s we meet Mad Padraic (Julian Moore-Cook), an Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) footsoldier, who when not fighting to rid the island of Ireland of the British, can be found torturing drug dealers in an attempt keep the streets clean of drugs.
However, Padraic is lured back to his home town of Inishmore, when he learns that his beloved cat, Wee Thomas is unwell. However it would appear that this Padric’s feline friend may also be his achilles heel as the cat isn’t ill, but has in fact been murdered by fellow INLA members Christy, (Cameron McKendrick) Joey, (Jason Kelly) and Brendan (Michael Tient), who aren’t happy that Padraic has formed his own splinter group from there organisation and have used the cat as bait.
Knowing what heartbreak Wee Thomas’s death would cause the mad Lieutenant, his father Donny (Alan Turkington), along with local boy Davey(Taylor McClaine) try to find a replacement cat, in the hope that Padraic won’t notice, as expected this doesn’t quite work out the way they plan.
Finally add into the mix Davey’s sister, Mairead (Katherine Devlin), a young woman, whose unrequited love for Padric is only matched by her desire to join the INLA. Eventually, all these combustible elements arrive at Donny’s home, where bullets and barbs fly, with the only guarantee being that not everyone will get out alive, not even any stray moggies!
As you would expect from Any Martin McDonagh script the dialogue is razor sharp and brutal, packed full of stinging one-liners that sometimes shock but always hit the target. The humour is as black as coal, with critiques of the British, the IRA, and the troubles all fair game.
The cast are in fine form: Julian Moore-Cook puts in a charismatic, commanding turn as Padraic, he’s as unhinged as he is hilarious. The pairing Alan Turkington and Taylor McClaine, as the hapless Donny and Davey is comedy gold, as the pair fail miserably to remedy the situation, in a hazy drunken stupor, only making matters considerably worse Whilst Katherine Devlin gives a performance brimming with menace, highlighting how dangerous people can be when they have cause they believe in wholeheartedly.
Under Chris Sonnex’s direction the action is fast-paced with very little breathing space, resembling a graphic novel, this married with the caustic dialogue is a near-perfect union.The violence is a blend of brutal and cartoonish, but still packs a punch.
Despite the play being well over 20 years old it still has a relevance today with commentary on misinformation as well, the power and mobility of young people who demand to have a voice and most important of all the senselessness of violence without dialogue are messages are lessons society still needs to learn.
It’s violent, often ridiculous, but always entertaining, and those with a twisted sense of humour will love it. This high-energy piece of the theatre that had me grinning from start to finish and judging by the reaction of tonight’s audience I wasn’t the only one.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore is at the Everyman until 12th October 2024.
The Review Hub Score:
Comedy Black As Coal!
