The Beauty Queen of Leenane: Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith
Sarah Lambie
Friday, October 1, 2021
Sarah Lambie reviews The Beauty Queen of Leenane from Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith: 'A chilling exploration of mental illness and isolation from a master of darkness'.
Helen Maybanks
Martin McDonagh's name became much more widely known outside of theatre circles after the great success of his film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but many theatregoers were already devotees: The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2001, The Pillowman in 2003 and Hangmen in 2015 were all extremely memorable nights in the theatre for me – and In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson, is an excellent film very much in McDonagh's distinctive style.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane was McDonagh's first produced play, in 1996, and has all the trademark features of his work. Set in the village of Leenane on the west coast of Ireland, it pits Maureen – the only one unmarried of three sisters – against her wily, demanding and seemingly selfish mother Meg. Trapped together in a run-down house, isolated from a nosey but largely detached community, the play raises questions about sanity and responsibility in such a way that tantalisingly never quite resolves. It's the theatrical equivalent of the novelistic trope of the unreliable narrator. Chilling, tragic, but darkly funny too.
This co-production between Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith began its run in Chichester but has now moved to London to play until 6 November. It features beautiful, nuanced and moving performances from Orla Fitzgerald as Maureen, Ingrid Craigie as Meg and Adam Best as Pato, as well as Kwaku Fortune who lends a nicely bullish naiveté to the role of Ray.
This is a play best suited to sixth-form groups: the west-coast Irish accents are broad and because of the sentence-structure of the dialect, take some tuning into for the south-east of England ear; and a certain degree of understanding of the 20th Century history of Ireland helps with context in which to fully appreciate the play too – something perhaps more easily expected of an older student group. There is also a simmering threat of violence throughout which creates brilliant tension but is worthy of consideration. All that being said, Rachel O’Riordan's production is a triumph, and should serve utterly to inspire a mature and engaged group of students.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane plays at the Lyric Hammersmith until 6 November.
