The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Martin McDonagh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2001 | Series: Modern Classics

A farcical look at political violence as it's played out during The Troubles in Northern Ireland against the drab backdrop of a bare, rustic Irish cottage and unending boredom in an inhospitable environment in which a mutilated cat sets off a murderous cycle of revenge.

The second play in Martin McDonagh’s dramatic trilogy, it is a wildly funny and gruesome portrayal of an Irish terrorist who is numb to the feelings of his victims, but yet completely attached to and sentimental about his pet cat. The cat is reported dead when Padriac is away bombing civilian targets in Northern Ireland as a one-man splinter group and his family and friends in Inishmore desperately try to conceal the cat's death and what caused it before he returns.

 

 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gleeful, gruesome play about political terrorism in rural Ireland, which won the Olivier Award for best comedy...Appallingly entertaining...Enlightening..."Lieutenant" is brazenly and unapologetically a farce. But it is also a severely moral play, translating into dizzy absurdism the self-perpetuating spirals of political violence that now occur throughout the world."—The New York Times

 

"A cautionary fairy tale for our toxic times. In its horror and hilarity, it works as an act of both revenge and repair, turning the tables on grief and goonery, and forcing the audience to think about the unthinkable."—The New Yorker

"There's more than one way to skin a theatrical cat; and McDonagh's chosen weapons are laughter and gore Pushing theatre to its limits, McDonagh is making a serious point a work as subversive as those Synge and O'Casey plays that sparked Dublin riots in the last century."—Guardian

"A brave satire Swiftianly savage and parodic with explicit brutal actino and lines which sing with grace and wit."—Observer

“In the person of a man who can break off from torturing a chain-suspended victim to have a fretful mobile phone conversation about the health of his cat, McDonagh makes mock of the psychotic sentimentality of Irish nationalist terrorism.”—Independent

About the Author

Martin McDonagh's first play The Beauty Queen of Leenane was nominated for six Tony awards, of which it won four, and the Laurence Olivier Award. In 2003, his play The Pillowman had its world premiere at the Royal National Theatre and received the 2004 Olivier Award. In 2006, Martin McDonagh won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Drama (April 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0413765008
• ISBN-13: 978-0413765000
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,033,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martin McDonagh is the author of six plays, including the Tony Award-nominated The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More existentialist than Tarantino, June 5, 2006

By 

Stephen F. Davids (Elk Grove, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lieutenant of Inishmore - Acting Edition (Paperback)

With the Tony nomination for Best Play this year, there might be some renewed interest in buying this book (the most recent review on this site was in 2003). This is laugh-out-loud funny stuff, and well worth reading. While "existentialist" may be a bit pretentious, this play deals with absurdity and futility in an atmosphere of constant violence and death. That McDonagh can make this material so funny is a tribute to his gift. This play I believe is a companion piece to McDonagh's Oscar-winning short film Six Shooter (available for download on iTunes), which deals with some of the same subjects, and also reserves its only tenderness for pets. I can see why people make the Tarantino comparison, but I see Tarantino as more of a stylist who sets out intricate time sequences and is less concerned about traditional narrative structures. McDonagh, by comparison, is very much into formal plot devices and structure.

Definitely not for those who don't enjoy black humor. For those who enjoyed The Pillowman (on Broadway last year), this one is an earlier play and doesn't have nearly the creativity and ambition of Pillowman. But it is still very well worthwhile, and a lot of fun.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bloody Good Play, July 14, 2006

By 

Van D. Roth "culture vulture" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Modern Classics) (Paperback)

I saw this play at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway (7/9/06, Sunday matinee) not even a week ago as of this writing. It was nominated for several Tony awards this season and I can easily understand why. It is absolutely the most outrageous comedy I have seen in years of theatregoing. Very dark. Very well written. Very funny. Worth the trip and definitely worth the read.

McDonagh challenges us to laugh at what would be normally very tense, dramatic, serious scenes. He has created a world populated by characters that think they are smart but we can see they have solutions and ideas that are idiotic. These absurdities make scene after scene strikingly laugh out loud funny, despite their violent conclusions.

The point well made - that terrorism is a fool's paradise and is pointless, creating needless hurt and confusion - is spelled out in comedic terms so well drawn that you laugh despite your better judgment. That is, until you understand the logic of placing humor front and center, as the most integral of survival skills.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow., March 12, 2003

By 

S. A. Rader "Pop Culture Extrodinare" (Hays, KS United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Modern Classics) (Paperback)

OK. I think McDonagh is a straight genius. I read this play, because I am currently in The Cripple of Inishmaan(the tame McDonagh play), but only because out director didn't think he could get the rights to this one. But I read this play, and I almost [messed] myself almost every other line. it is just that funny. I wish that we could have gotten the rights to it. It would be great to watch our director figure out how he would pull all this crazy stuff off. Overall, this is just a really funny, violent reason as to why I love the theatre. READ THIS SCRIPT. IT IS AMAZING. It is also very, very lean. No fat at all. A very short, perfect read.