The Beauty Queen of Leenane: by Martin Mcdonagh

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE
By Martin McDonagh
EDUCATION NOTES
www.pilot-theatre.com
Martin McDonagh
BIOGRAPHY
Martin McDonagh is something o a mar!e" in
contem#orary theatre$ A"tho%gh his &or' is
concerne( &ith )oth %nthin'ing an( more ca"c%"ating
!io"ence o o%r times* his &or' has )een recogni+e(
&ith n%mero%s critica" a&ar(s an( achie!e(
#o#%"arity &ith the theatre,going #%)"ic$
-e.ecting tra(itiona" e(%cation* McDonagh "et
schoo" at the age o si/teen an( s#ent 0!e years
&riting ra(io scri#ts an( co""ecting re.ection notices
%nti" t&o scri#ts &ere ta'en )y stations in A%stra"ia$
B%t it &as not %nti" he t%rne( his han( to #"ay&riting
&hich &as )y his o&n a(mission the on"y me(i%m
"et* that he o%n( s%ccess$ He s#ent eight (ays
&riting his 0rst #"ay* The Beauty Queen of Leenane
123345$ By the time that #"ay &as 0rst #ro(%ce( in
Lon(on in 2336* McDonagh &as t&enty,se!en an(
ha( o%r #"ays sho&ing sim%"taneo%s"y in Lon(on$
This is something e&* i any* &riters his age ha!e
e!er accom#"ishe($ Moreo!er* &hi"e near"y a"" his
#"ays ha!e )een set in the &est o Ire"an(* he has
s#ent s%mmers )%t ne!er "i!e( there$ He an( his
)rother &ere )orn in Cam)er&e""* Lon(on* )%t his
#arents* &ho are rom 7a"&ay* ret%rne( to Ire"an(
an( "et Martin an( his )rother to "i!e in the Lon(on
8at$
McDonagh &atche( a great (ea" o te"e!ision an(
mo!ies &hi"e he &as )eginning to &rite$ He o%n(
himse" essentia""y )ore( )y theater in Lon(on9
ca""ing it :(%""$: His a!orite #"ay is sai( to )e Da!i(
Mamet;s short e/c%rsion into the &or"( o #etty
thie!es ca""e( American Bufalo$ Ater that* he c"aims
to ha!e )een in8%ence( )y the 0"ms o Da!i( Lynch*
Martin Scorsese* Terence Ma"ic'* an( Q%entin
Tarentino$
<%(ging rom the #"ays he has &ritten* this training
&as e/act"y right or him$ Ater the h%ge s%ccess o
his 0rst #"ays* Martin McDonagh &as imme(iate"y
cast a"ongsi(e British &riters s%ch as Sarah =ane or
Mar' -a!enhi""* )eca%se his #"ays ta##e( into a
sensi)i"ity oten reerre( to as :In,Yer,Face Theatre:* a
sty"e &hich is aggressi!e"y !io"ent an(
%ncom#romising in its e/#"oration o the h%man
con(ition$ B%t his &or' (i>ers rom s%ch #"ays in that
it a"so reers to a !ery s#eci0c Irish tra(ition$
McDonagh himse" c"aims to ha!e "itt"e 'no&"e(ge o
c"assic Eng"ish or Irish #"ays* a"tho%gh he has )een
re?%ent"y com#are( &ith <ohn Mi""ington Synge an(
Sean O;Casey* t&o o the most reno&ne( Irish
#"ay&rights o the t&entieth cent%ry$ His %se o
"ang%age in Beauty Queen an( re"ate( #"ays is !ery
m%ch in the same !ein as the "ang%age that Synge
create( or The Playboy of the Western World an( his
other :#easant (ramas$: McDonagh a"so em#"oys the
theme o e/i"e rom Ire"an(* moti!es constant"y %se(
)y Synge or Brian Frie"$ Li'e Synge* McDonagh (i(
not "i!e in the &est )%t as a !isitor "istene( to the
(ai"y s#eech o #eo#"e remote rom the city$ From his
Ang"o,Irish #osition* McDonagh is a)"e to &or' &ithin
the genre o r%ra" Irish (rama &hi"e in%sing it &ith
ne& aggression an( !ita"ity$
Once me(ia,hy#e( an( amo%s in the ta)"oi( #ress
or ins%"ting Sean Connery at an a&ar(s ceremony*
Martin McDonagh is no& a more e"%si!e character*
re%sing re?%ests or inter!ie&s$ His #re!io%s"y )rash
me(ia #ersona , he once remar'e( o his &or' :It;s
)ri""iant an( i yo% (on;t "i'e it* yo%;re &rong: , mar's
him o%t as a ce"e)rity,sa!!y character* %""y
conscio%s o me(ia mani#%"ation an( &e"" a)"e to
s%)!ert or his o&n en(s$ It is sai( that his
%ncom#romising sty"e an( re%sa" to )ac' a&ay rom
harsh or )r%ta" s%).ects has in!igorate( Irish theatre
tra(itions an( cha""enge( British a%(iences$
HIS PLAYS

The Galway Trilogy
The Beauty Queen of Leenane is the 0rst #"ay in The
Galway Trilogy, &hich is set in a remote sma"" to&n in
Connemara* Co%nty 7a"&ay* north o the Aran
Is"an(s* &here some o the #eo#"e sti"" s#ea' Irish$
The secon( #"ay is A Sull in !onnemara 123365* a
(ar' #"ay a)o%t (eath an( g%i"t$ The "ast #"ay in the
tri"ogy* The Lonesome West 123365* a"so set in
Leenane* e/amines the emotion )et&een t&o
)rothers* Co"eman an( @a"ene$ These three #"ays are
set in a to&n so )"ighte( )y rancor* ignorance* an(
s#ite that* as the "oca" #riest com#"ains* 7o( Himse"
seems to ha!e no .%ris(iction there$
The Beauty Queen of Leenane #ortrays ancient*
mani#%"ati!e Mag an( her !irgina" (a%ghter*
Ma%reen* &ho are )o%n( together in #ain%""y mean
#atterns o attac' an( co%nterattac'* each act o
meanness e"iciting e!en greater meanness in
res#onse$ The cyc"e o (omestic a)%se is )ro'en
)rie8y &hen )y the arri!a" o Aato Doo"ey &ho
inten(s to emigrate to America an( ta'ing Ma%reen
&ith him$ The #"ay c"ima/es &hen the message Aato
"ea!es or Ma%reen thro%gh his )rother -ay Is )%rne(
)y Mag an( Ma%reen )e"ie!es he ne!er &rote to her$
Bhen she (isco!ers the tr%th* she m%r(ers her
mother &ith a #o'er$ In The Beauty Queen of
Leenane* McDonagh mi/es o"( #atterns o the so,
ca""e( :'itchen,sin' (rama: &ith ne& in8%ences$
Bhat is ne& a)o%t it is his a)i"ity to ca#t%re the tr%e
nat%re o a (isma" !i""age &hich o>ers none o "ie;s
socia" an( emotiona" amenities$ It is a st%(y #eo#"e
&ho are (is"ocate( rom themse"!es an( their
society$ Ma%reen* or e/am#"e* is (es#erate"y eager
to esca#e* (reaming o :anything other than this:$
Her mother has "ong since "ost any meaning%"
connection &ith the o%tsi(e &or"(* constant"y staring
at the te"e!ision* immerse( in oreign soa#s$ The
characters ha!e no rea" connection &ith the "oca"
comm%nity* their o&n co%ntry an( or c%"t%ra" #ast
an( no rea" o%t"et or their ho#es or the %t%re$
Moreo!er* they e/#ress no a)i"ity to artic%"ate their
sit%ation* or the inte""igence or h%mi"ity to esca#e it$
In this c"a%stro#ho)ic en!ironment* McDonagh
s'i""%""y sho&s that !io"ence is the norm* an( that
)r%ta"ity is the on"y &ay the characters can e/#ress
themse"!es$ Thereore* )"oo(y conc"%sion is the on"y
#ossi)"e o%tcome or characters so iso"ate(*
emotiona""y* inte""ect%a""y an( mora""y$ B%t not
%nim#ortant"y* McDonagh a((s to this other&ise
com#"ete"y (e#ressing en!ironment eno%gh )"ac'
h%mor$
In A Sull in !onnemara* Mic' Do&( is hire( to (ig
%# the )ones in the to&n ch%rchyar(* some o &hich
)e"ong to his "ate an( o(("y %n"amente( &ie$ An(
the )rothers o The Lonesome West ha!e no sooner
)%rie( their ather than they are res%ming the
!icio%s an( %tter"y tri!ia" ?%arre" that has )een the
chie acti!ity o their "i!es$
McDonagh has (e!e"o#e( yet another tri"ogy* this
time set on the Aran Is"an(s$ In the 0rst #"ay* The
!ri""le of #nishmaan 123345* Cri##"e Bi""y c"aims he
has t%)erc%"osis to meet -o)ert F"aherty* the
0"mma'er &ho is ma'ing the (oc%mentary 0"m $an
of Aran 123CD5$ Cri##"e Bi""y goes to Ho""y&oo( )%t
ret%rns to Inishmaan )eca%se he cannot to"erate the
st%#i( "ines he is gi!en to say in American 0"ms$ At
that #oint he "earns he rea""y (oes ha!e t%)erc%"osis
an( contem#"ates an ear"y (eath$ The other t&o
#"ays in this tri"ogy are The Lieutenant of #nishmore
an( The Banshees of #nisheer$

His most recent #"ay* The Pillowman* o#ene( at the
Nationa" Theatre In No!em)er EFFC an( imme(iate"y
anno%nce( itse" as a )rea' rom McDonagh;s
tra(itionG Instea( o Ire"an(* it is set in Eastern
E%ro#e$ The #"ay e/#"ores the im#ortance o
storyte""ing* something McDonagh arg%es is the most
im#ortant as#ect o &riting$ B%t The Pillowman
e/#"ores many o his ear"ier themes s%ch as the
corr%#ting in8%ence o a !io"ent society an( o
(ys%nctiona" ami"y re"ationshi#s$ Bhen as'e(
&hether he &i"" a"&ays e/#"ore (es#air an( !io"ence
in his #"ays* McDonagh has sai( that some(ay :I;""
&rite a romantic come(y &here har("y anyone gets
m%r(ere( at a""$:
Some information about the New York
ro!uction
"he Beaut# $ueen of Leenane
Ba"ter =err Theatre% &'()*(+,,- . *(+'(+,,,/
Pre0iew1
A#r 2D* 233H

"ota2 Pre0iew31
23
Oening1
A#r EC* 233H

42o3ing1
Mar 2D* 2333

"ota2 Performance31
C4I
4ategor#1 A"ay* Drama* Origina"* Broa(&ay
Setting1 Leenane* a sma"" to&n in Connemara* Co%nty 7a"&ay$
A&ar(s an( nominations
Oening Night Pro!uction 4re!it3
Theatre O&ne( J O#erate( )y <%.amcyn Theaters 1<ames H$ BingerG
ChairmanK -occo Lan(esmanG Aresi(entK Aa%" Li)inG Aro(%cing DirectorK
<ac' @ierte"G Creati!e Director5
Aro(%ce( )y At"antic Theater Com#any* -an(a"" L$ Breghitt* Chase
Mish'in* Ste!en M$ Le!y an( Leonar( So"o&ayK Aro(%ce( in association
&ith <%"ian Sch"oss)erg an( Norma Lang&orthyK Associate Aro(%cerG
Char"es Bhitehea(
A #ro(%ction )y The Dr%i( Theatre Com#any an( The -oya" Co%rt
Theatre
Britten )y Martin McDonaghK Inci(enta" m%sic )y Aa((y C%nneen
Directe( )y 7arry Hynes
Scenic Design )y Francis O;ConnorK Cost%me Design )y Francis
O;ConnorK Lighting Design )y Ben Ormero(K So%n( Design )y Da!i(
M%r#hy an( Aeter <$ Fit+gera"(K Associate Lighting DesignG Nei" A%stin
7enera" ManagerG So"o&ay J Le!y an( Ste!en M$ Le!yK Com#any
ManagerG @ictoria Ste!enson
Aro(%ction ManagerG Arth%r Siccar(iK Aro(%ction Stage ManagerG
Matthe& Si"!erK Stage ManagerG Darcy Ste#hens
S#ecia" E>ects )y 7regory Meeh
Aress -e#resentati!eG Bonea% J Bryan,Bro&nK Mar'etingG Aro,Mar'etingK
U$S$ Casting )y Bernar( Te"sey Casting* Inc$K A(!ertisingG 7rey
A(!ertising
Oening Night 4a3t
Anna Manahan
Mag 5o2an

Marie Mu22en
Maureen 5o2an

"om Murh#
Ra# Doo2e#

Br6an 57 O8B#rne
Pato Doo2e#
SOME VIEWS HERE ABOUT MARTIN McDONAGH
"[McDonagh is] the most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist on either
side of the rish !ea.... "e is a born storyteller."--#ew $ork %imes
have &ust seen the 'eauty (ueen of )eenane by McDonagh. t took a few viewings to
actually understand the piece. 'ut i wanted to know what other people*s views were on
this writer. "is work seems very understated and subtle. rish %arantino+++

%opic Martin McDonagh - Overrated or Geniu
,osted by %rev on !"-Oct-#$ !!%&'
"ow about in between+ - very good playwright who has written some very good plays -
"'eauty (ueen of )eenane", ",illow Man" but who has also written some crap -
".ripple of nishmasn". and some average ")t of nishmore" etc.

,osted by &itters on !"-Oct-#$ !!%(&
perhaps. was the leiutenant of inishmore the latest one at the national+
i kind of got the impression that the beauty /ueen was a cross between, say 0en )oach
and %arantino. subtle kitchen sink drama mi1ed with high octane violence on an e1treme
level.
the scenes did drag on a bit. it was hit and miss with a lot of the audience. some said he
was brilliant. others said he was crap. love him or hate him, i suppose.

,osted by )ee 2 on !"-Oct-#$ !)%#*
love his work... a great mi1ture of the brutally horrific and brutally funny.

,osted by 3ob on !"-Oct-#$ !)%!"
"e*s neither a genius nor overrated, but he has simply, as the old clich4 goes, caught the
theatrical 5eitgeist of our time. "e*s far from being my own favourite contemporary
playwright, but don*t half admire his ability to reclaim non-musical, non-avant-garde
drama for the theatre. McDonagh makes David "are and "oward 'renton look like
%erence 6attigan and 3 M 'arrie.
3ob

,osted by theatres/uirrel on !"-Oct-#$ !)%&"
thought ,illowman was bordering on genius - the stories within it certainly were.

,osted by )ynette on !'-Oct-#$ !(%)"
thought ,illowman was over rated and over long. 'ut his other stuff is very, very good.
- strong body of work indeed. ,illowman has inspired ,aula 6ego*s new work, soon to
be seen at %ate 'ritain believe. nteresting cross fertilisation.

,osted by &itters on )!-Oct-#$ !$%&#
&udging by the lack of responses on this forum, is it safe to say that most people couldn*t
really care less about martin mcdonut+

,osted by betty boo on ))-Oct-#$ !(%!+
%he ,illowman 7the last one he did at the #ational8 was simply fantastic9 loved it9
have to agree though that others 7)ieu of nnishmore being one8 are some of the rare
plays that *ve fallen asleep at9

,osted by &itters on ))-Oct-#$ !(%(#
when i first read:saw the 'eauty (ueen i was so bored. but after a few viewings i really
liked it. 7 staged managed a production once and was forced to watch it a thousand
times8 i could probably recite the whole play if i wanted to.

,osted by !teve' on )&-Oct-#$ !'%#"
saw )ieutenant.. at the 'arbican and thoroughly en&oyed it.

,osted by )eighton on )&-Oct-#$ )&%&+
saw #ot %he #ational %heatre tour 'eauty (ueen a year or so ago and really liked it -
was a bit difficult going to start, but when it got going it was really wonderful. *m afraid
*m not familiar with his other work.

,osted by 3ames on )$-Oct-#$ !(%#*
;enius - <ull !top.

,osted by Malcolm on )(-Oct-#$ !#%#&
did see ,illowman at the #ational, an e1ceptional play with an ama5ing cast. =very play
however must stand on its own merit and only time will tell if McDonagh &oins the list of
playwrites reccognised for a complete body of work, maybe9

,osted by &itters on )(-Oct-#$ !#%$&
which venue did you see it at )eighton+ that*s the producion i worked on.

,osted by )eighton on )(-Oct-#$ ))%#&
%he 'orough %heatre, -bergavenny. really en&oyed it, but true, the scenes did drag
sometimes. %hought the mother and daughter were e1cellent, however.
"t*s awful lumpy, Maureen" has become a catchphrase with the few mates of mine who
saw the show.

,osted by &itters on )+-Oct-#$ !#%$!
yes. i remember abergavenny. the very last show we did and may i add the best show as
far as lighting went. the staff were on top form and there were no glitches which was
more than i could say than some of the theatres. one lighting board op didn*t even know
how to program the board so we had to ditch all lighting cues and &ust go manual with
washes. glad you en&oyed it.

,osted by )eighton on )+-Oct-#$ !&%$#
Did you meet oan that night then+ "e*s the %echnical Manager for the 'orough, and a
good mate of mine.

,osted by &itters on )+-Oct-#$ !&%("
2hich one was he+ i remember talking to the kid about snooker a lot and then there was a
younger kid about nineteen. i was the guy who told him that if you believed you were
&esus then you were &esus.

,osted by )eighton on )+-Oct-#$ !'%&'
oan is mid-thirties, very tall - sounds slightly scouseish. "e*s in charge of all the
'orough technical shtick. Might have had the night off when you were in, though
was actually seeing it with a friend and an older couple know - .harles 2ay 7a
scritpwriter8 and his wife, an actress. remember she loved it, and think .harlie did,
too.

,osted by &itters on )*-Oct-#$ !#%!)
i really don*t remember. i &ust remember the young lads who were very helpful. they even
provided us with sandwiches and drinks which no other theatre did. the only hassle was
getting the huge set from the van through the busy market, into the lift and up to the
theatre.

,osted by +++++ on )*-Oct-#$ !)%)#
2hat do you think of Martin McDonagh - >verrated or ;enius+
think he is brilliant. t*s about time we had a great new talent to write about.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane: by Martin Mcdonagh

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

The Beauty Queen of Leenane: by Martin Mcdonagh

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE

Вам также может понравиться