Cast

Synopsis

In a remote cottage in Galway live spinster Maureen and her elderly mother Mag. Constantly at her mother’s beck and call Maureen takes revenge in feeding her lumpy Complan and hurling insults. Escape comes in the form of Pat Dooley, recently returned to Leenane and on his way to Boston, so when Mag interferes once too often Maureen decides to break free in a very violent way.

Directors Notes

Set in Leenane a small town in Connemara, County Galway, author Martin McDonagh lets us peek through a window into the isolated world of Mag and Maureen – a mother and daughter – and watch them as they live as though locked in mutual bondage. McDonagh presents to us a brutal picture of life where decency and familial affection are homeless. Mag watches TV as Maureen stews in her own juice of desperation ! They delight in swapping silly demands and insults. They are playing a game of one-upmanship which has gone on for years, a game fuelled by Mag’s fear of abandonment and Maureen’s dream of escape. First presented in 1966 this play certainly can be classified as being ‘new and often it is referred to as a “black comedy’. It’s certainly true that in a very modern way the play captures the gritty realism of a dismal small town which offers none of life’s social and emotional amenities to transform our characters into interesting personalities. In addition it explores Irish would-be emigrant mentality. However, in many ways this is not a modern play at all. It’s reminiscent of an old fashioned melodrama with a clear plot underpinned by a classic mother/daughter tumultuous relationship. Neither is it a ‘black comedy’ but rather a dark tale peppered with black humour. The line between comedy and tragedy is always extremely fine, and in this play it is as precarious and taut as a high wire ! In an interview about his Irish plays McDonagh said his characters come from voices he hears in his head “It’s like transcribing other people talking. In particular he was referring to voices of family and acquaintances from Ireland which inspired both the language and content of his plays. We have tried to reflect this Irish style and tradition and hope you enjoy our interpretation !