When The Beauty Queen of Leenane first premiered with Galway’s Druid Theatre in 1996, it marked its author, Martin McDonagh (then just shy of age 26) as an exhilarating new voice in Celtic drama. The story of lonely 40-year-old spinster Maureen Folan and her hypochondriacal and controlling mother, Mag, cut like a chainsaw through any […]
Tag: Martin McDonagh
Posted inArts & Culture
Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman is Gorey-meets-Kafka
Gift Theatre brings a dark fable to life.
Posted inArts & Culture
Two make an angry mob in The Lonesome West
Martin McDonagh’s characters are awful people, but they’re always fascinating.
Posted inFilm
The Oscar-nominated live-action shorts offer a first look at up-and-coming talents
Reed Van Dyk leads the pack with his tense school-shooter drama DeKalb Elementary.
Posted inFilm
Frances McDormand channels God’s wrath in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Irish playwright Martin McDonagh wrote and directed this parable of vengeance in a small town.
Posted inArts & Culture
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Gender Breakdown, and nine more stage shows to see now
A black Irish comedy and a look at inequity in the local theater scene are among this week’s best bets.
Posted inArts & Culture
Strandline: A play maybe too Irish for its own good
A Red Orchid Theatre’s Strandline may be too Irish for its own good.
Posted inFilm
In Calvary, an Irish Catholic priest is marked for death
Brendan Gleeson plays a holy man with one week to live in Calvary.
Posted inBlogs
The Motel Life: New adventures in literary adaptation
The film adaptation of Willy Vlautin’s 2006 novel, opening tomorrow at the Film Center, captures the music as well as the language of contemporary fiction.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago International Film Festival, and the rest of this week’s movies
New reviews and notable screenings in this week’s issue
Posted inArts & Culture
Playwright Martin McDonagh’s severed hand
Profiles Theatre gets to the heart of the violence in A Behanding in Spokane