Award winning, surprising and disturbing Martin McDonagh has an intriguing way of beginning a story without introduction, which immerses us in the story right away. There is no gentle ease in to his stories, you hit the ground running; and the stories he tells take us on a journey which includes the very unexpected. We are instantly in the beautifully authentic looking cottage kitchen when it opens, we see the ever changing sky through the windows and the skylights, watch the old fire crackling away and see the tea, porridge and Complan being made at the sink and on the stove. We even smell the peat burning when it’s put on the fire. And as always, it is what’s going on underneath the actual plot we are seeing that’s important, it’s that which keeps us awake for hours and hours long after the play ends.
This piece is held by four incredible actors, who bring the smashed dreams, the claustrophobia of living in a small place where everyone knows everyone’s business plus each their own rich back story contributing to the melting pot of repressed feelings and the last flickering glimmer of hopes and dreams. Each characterisation is fully formed and multi-layered. It would be easy and straightforward to take sides between the mother Mag and her daughter Maureen, but the truth is far more nuanced and complex.
We can see through even their discussions of porridge and Complan the years of manipulation, repression, sublimation of self that have eroded their mental health in different ways, tied to each other like a Chinese finger trap puzzle, the more they pull away, they more they stay stuck. It’s an exploration of toxicity that is both uncomfortable and compelling to watch. Debbie Creissen plays Mag honestly and with some subtlety which is super acutely observed and real. Jacqueline Jordan is simply astonishing as Maureen Folan: embodying every aspect of her incredibly varied personality; from caring to coquettish to cruel. In one scene where she sits in her mother’s chair, almost becoming her, we see all the emotions within her: so captivating to watch her simply sit that you can hear a pin drop in the theatre.
When Maureen suddenly finds a potential love in Pato we are all rooting for them. The awkwardness of them stumbling in slightly drunk together is beautifully played. Guy Steddon as Pato goes from a little drunken bravado to sweetly vulnerable and sensitive in a scene where he writes Maureen a letter in a monologue which is absolutely captivating with beautiful extraordinary delivery. Jimmy Schofield as Pato’s brother Ray brings some of the dark humour out, but also the embodiment of that lazy boredom of people with nothing to do and nowhere to go that makes them slightly crazy.
This is a melting pot boiling over, bubbling slowly to a point that nobody can stop, like watching lava move and engulf anything it touches. The feelings underneath the story are what stays with us; disturbing and burrowing, making us wonder whether there could have been any other outcome. There are some lovely moments of humour, but not played for laughs: Director Nettie Sheridan has struck exactly the right balance with a gorgeous understanding of the text and the world this is set in, and all the many facets of all the personalities within the characters. A stunning production, with some of the finest acting: if you are a fan of Martin McDonagh then this is a must see.
Barn Theatre Southwick, 10 April 2025
The Beauty Queen Of Leenane runs until 12 April 2025
Photos credit: Linsey Nicol
