‘HANGMEN’: Alfie Allen & David Threlfall. Photo: Joan Marcus.

HANGMEN
Written by Martin McDonagh
Directed by Matthew Dunster
Through June 18, 2022
John Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.HangmenBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Martin McDonagh’s new play Hangmen is like a foreign film that you have been anticipating to see for a long time, only to find out it has no subtitles or translations.

Excluding the brilliant movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which is set in America, whether writing for the screen (In Bruges ) or for the theater (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman and The Cripple of Inishmaan), there are always thick Irish accents and colloquialisms one has to navigate through in anything written by Mr. McDonagh.  After a few minutes, one gets into the swing of the rhythm of his writings and understands what is being said. Hangmen is set in Lancashire, in northwest England, and is spoken in “English” but is more incomprehensible than any of his other works. Whether it is local colloquialisms, rapid-fire delivery—necessary in some instances—or the extreme, heavily laid on accents, by intermission, one longs for subtitles.

Starting in 1963 set in a prisoner’s cell, a hanging takes place of an innocent man, Hennessey (Josh Goulding). It is presided over by Harry Wade (David Threlfall), the second-best hangman in England. So far, so good.

It is now 1965, hanging in England has been abolished, and what is a hangman to do? Set designer Anna Fleischle has figured it out.  The cell where the hanging took place miraculously elevates and the stage is transformed to a pub. Harry is married to Alice (Tracie Bennett) and they have a 15-year-old daughter, Shirley (Gaby French) and are the owners of Harry’s Pub. The pub is frequented by Harry’s chums and former colleagues. Harry, being interviewed by the Oldham Gazette for his 233 hangings, has now become a local celebrity. Different people come to the pub, among them a newcomer from London, Mooney (Alfie Allen). Mooney likes to be menacing; he flirts with Shirley to get under Harry’s skin. The next day he comes back to the pub and insinuates to Harry and Alice that he has kidnapped Shirley and killed her.

A Martin McDonagh work—whether a film or a play—is always an event, because there is a brilliant edge to his dark humor and the twists and turns he supplies are a joyous thrill ride. In Hangmen, one keeps waiting for these twists and turns, but the proceedings are so mired with the indecipherable language that even the humor gets bogged down and lost in the proceedings. This is where director Matthew Dunster should have stepped in and realized that it is harder for American audiences to comprehend all the dialogue spoken. He should have had the actors slow down the speed of delivery of the minor and some of the major characters, and simplified the heavy accents a bit to make the proceedings easier for Americans to understand.

Again, I have to mention Ms. Fleischle’s set, as being a remarkable master class for any student who has aspirations in going into that theatrical field, and Joshua Carr’s lighting gives a suspenseful and terrifying edge to the proceedings.

David Threlfall superbly plays the long-winded, pompous, self-proclaimed celebrity hangman, the diabolical Harry Wade. He enjoys hanging people just for the sport of it, regardless of being guilty or innocent. He is an innocent man’s nightmare.

The foil to the hangman is Alfie Allen’s menacing Mooney. Starting out as just being an interloper and then becoming a thorn in Wade’s side, Mr. Allen is excellent, so reminiscent of the British bad boys of the early films of the 1960s, the likes of: Albert Finney, Tom Courtney and Alan Bates.

Tracie Bennett as the put-upon wife, Alice, is touching and moving and holds her own with a stage full of men. Also, a delightful performance is given by John Hodgkinson, as Albert Pierrepoint, the number-one hangman in England.

With all the good creative elements that take place in this play, we are still left hanging.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 24, 2022
Reviewed at April 23, 2022 press performance.

‘HANGMEN’: (left to right) Jeremy Crutchley, RIchard Hollis, David Threlfall, Tracie Bennett, Ryan Pope, John Horton & Owen Campbell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘HANGMEN’: (left to right) David Threlfall, Andy Nyman, Richard Hollis, John Horton & Ryan Pope. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘HANGMEN’: Alfie Allen & Gaby French. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘HANGMEN’: Tracie Bennett & Gaby French. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Hangmen’: McDonagh leaves us hanging appeared first on StageZine.

‘HARRY POTTER’ STAR AS BILLY THE CRIPPLE: Daniel Radcliffe in ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan.’ Photo: Johann Persson

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN
Written by Martin McDonagh
Directed by Michael Grandage
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street, (212-239-6200), www.crippleofinishmaan.com

By Scott Harrah

Daniel Radcliffe has more than put the Harry Potter days behind him with his prolific body of stage work on both sides of the Atlantic. From Equus to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to starring in this Martin McDonagh import from London, Mr. Radcliffe has shed the famous film franchise and reinvented himself as a headliner on Broadway and the West End. So it might seem odd that, although he’s the star here, his is the least interesting character. In this dark comedy set on the rustic island of Inishmaan, in the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland, the rural townsfolk have all the great lines, much of which are about Mr. Radcliffe’s Billy the Cripple, an orphan born with a disfigured left side, including a mangled leg and shriveled-up hand.  The play, thin on plot, seems more like a character study of rural Irish life in 1934 than anything else. If you can overlook the thick brogues and some uneven twists, much of what’s here is “fecking” hilarious (to borrow from the crazy vernacular of the island). If you’ve ever lived in a small town anywhere, know how gossipy rural people can be and have even a drop of Irish blood (or can appreciate the quirky charms of the Irish), the characters are especially familiar and raucously funny.

When news breaks that a Hollywood crew is shooting a film on a neighboring island, Billy hopes they will discover him, offering a chance to escape the island and go to America.

In Act One, we meet the many eccentric residents of the island, their off-the-wall slang and love of repeating things just for the hell of it. There are Billy’s “aunties”, sisters Eileen (Gillian Hanna) and Kate (Ingrid Craigie) Osbourne, both of whom raise him and also run the local grocery. They never have much available besides canned peas. Bartley McCormick (Conor MacNeill) likes to torment one of the sisters by asking if he can buy “sweeties” like “Minty-Os,” but her reply is always that she only has for sale that which he can see (canned peas). This repetitive, sing-song humor runs throughout the show, and the dialogue is often crisp and hilarious.

Billy secretly fancies Helen McCormick (Sarah Greene), the mean, red-headed sister of Bartley.  Her job is delivering eggs, but she spends most of her time in the Osbourne’s shop taunting Billy or her brother (and cracking eggs on people’s heads).

There is the town gossip Johnnypateenmike (Pat Shortt), who is eager to spread any tale, true or not, and is especially interested in prattle about Billy. He likes to keep his 90-year-old Mammy (June Watson) drunk, while she can’t wait to see him dead.  Others in the town include Babbybobby (Padraic Delaney), who rows people to nearby islands in a boat, and Doctor (Gary Lilburn).

The character of Billy is essentially a foil to everyone in Inishmaan. In Act One, Mr. Radcliffe gets few chances to show off his acting chops, but everyone else certainly does, as this is an ensemble piece. (Yes, listing Daniel Radcliffe as the headliner might be misleading, but big names sell tickets.) Tension mounts when we learn how Billy plans to leave the island, and whether he will ever return.

Playwright Martin McDonagh has a rare gift for black comedy and depicting reality with a twisted, farcical sensibility. He was at his most effective in this genre on Broadway in 2006’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore , a play about IRA terrorists on the island adjacent to Inishmaan.  This is actually the first in a series by Mr. McDonagh set in the Aran Islands (Inishmore was the second), first produced in London in 1996.

The humor in Inishmaan lies primarily in the exaggerated ways everyone reacts to Billy. We actually get to know just as much (if not more) about the supposed supporting characters than Billy himself, and things start making very little sense as Billy’s story unravels in Act Two.

Mr. McDonagh has penned better plays (The Pillowman and The Beauty Queen of Leenanne, for example). However, although this is far from a flawless work, the overall tale is wryly amusing and the characters unusually whimsical.

Director Michael Grandage does an amazing job of getting such distinct performances from everyone, and each is equally memorable and superb. Mr. Radcliffe, of course, is magnificent as always. Just don’t come to Inishmaan expecting it to all be about him. Do come, however, if you want to laugh for two and a half hours at crisp dialogue and some of the funniest, most unconventional characters on Broadway this season.

HOLLYWOOD DREAMS: In ‘Cripple of Inishmaan,’ Daniel Radcliffe dreams of being discovered by a film crew on a neighboring island. Photo: Johann Persson

The Cripple of Inishmann – 6 Tony Nominations, including: Best Drama Revival, Best Dramatic Supporting Actress – Sarah Greene, Best Director – Michael Grandage, Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design, & Best Sound Design.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2014
Reviewed at press performance April 24, 2014

The post Irish townsfolk the real stars of ‘Inishmaan’ appeared first on StageZine.