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The Pillowman by: Martin McDonagh

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Publisher: Faber and Faber
Release date: 20th November, 2003
Media: Paperback

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Rating: - thepillowman

The Pillowman
For some reason, i've only just discovered Martin McDonagh's work. I enjoyed his films, but the written stuff i've read - 'The Pillowman', 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' and 'The Lonesome West' were terrific! Unfortunately, i've not seen them performed and imagine - particularly the Irish plays - that they would require actors with exceptional verbal rhythm skills to do the writing justice. I didn't feel they quite had it in the films.
I think in 'The Pillowman', McDonagh sets out his stall for the other plays, as it were: a deceptively non gratuitous, naive violence and humour that satirizes the glamour of pain. However, unlike many plays, this is a joy to read solely for literary purposes. There are so many short - albeit brutal in the extreme - 'fairy tales' that are included in a simple narrative: the author is interrogated and tortured by police in an unnamed country. Highly recommended!

Rating: - Hardly likely

I have to say that I read this book with great enthusiasm, desperately looking for the point of it all. Martin McDonagh has of late, started writing plays which do not centre around olde-Ireland. This can be quite a shock when one sees In Bruges and The Pillowman. Having seen this production lately by a Galway group, I can say that the play is far from overated. Far from funny and a little too close to the bone in this day and age - I refer to child abuse. Definately the poorest play I have seen staged in many many years - not because of a poor group but because of a nonsensical script.

Rating: - Are we sitting comfortably..?

In the great tradition of oral stories, Martin McDonagh breathlessly pulls his audience into a grown-up Grimm tale of murder. Within these stories runs a narrative of neglect and abuse. Of course it's dramatic, but I don't believe that the work is mawkish, gratuitous or didactic.

I saw the original theatre production starring Jim Broadbent and David Tennant, which was electrifying. The visual devices brought the play leaping from page to stage, but you can still appreciate the playscript as a stand-alone text, illuminating as it does McDonagh's skill at manipulating spare, scorching dialogue.

Rating: - Macabre horror

For innovation, this play gets top marks. But for entertainment, I give it one out of ten.

One cannot but wonder where Martin McDonagh's gradual slide into increasing violence in his plays comes from. With The Pillowman, the violence is about as horrific as you can get. Compare this with his first play, The Beauty Queen of Linane where a daughter tortures her mother during a ten-minute period of the play. In the Pillowman, the violence is all consuming throughout and I longed for some let-up, some light relief, somewhere. For those who like complete utter cruelty, read this play.

Despite my criticism, I remain in utter awe of Martin McDonagh's creative talent. Still, I would like more of a balance between the depraved side of human nature with what we all know exists as well, the noble and generous kind.

Rating: - Impossibly Funny

This play deserves a resounding cheer for managing to approach a potentially controversial and difficult subject (the massacring of tiny infants) with startling ease and intelligence. The dialogue is second to none, and the play offers excellent two and three-handers for theatre students to use for rehearsal and showcase purposes. I was lucky enough to watch the play at it's recent run at the National Theatre, and the production lived up to the writing in winning style. I was lucky enough to get my copy signed by the entire cast, and I can't stop re-reading this truly brilliant play!

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