The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays by Martin McDonagh

The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Other Plays Reviews

• 
  R.F. Kuang

  I cannot wait for Banshees.
• 
  Dan

  By turns playful, vicious, and surprising, but throughout completely absorbing.
• 
  Julie

  Rounded down mainly because the middle play is weak, but the other two are fabulous. I've been a long-time fan of McDonagh's writing, and this book comprises the Leenane Trilogy, some of his earliest plays. I've never seen stageplays interwoven like this: they're set in the same small town, where everyone knows everyone and repercussions/characters are offhand mentioned in subsequent plays, and you really get a sense of this being a real place with real people all trapped in a claustrophobic fishbowl together. It's like an interlinked anthology, with Easter eggs scattered between the works if you've read/seen all three plays, and even recurring jokes in the first two set up for some payoff in the third. It's remarkable, and makes it a delight to read all three back-to-back.
  
  Since this was such an early work, you can see McDonagh hammering out his craft and developing his toolkit: Chekov's guns galore; dramatic irony re: what is or isn't known; the audience's imagination filling in the blanks horrifically; unreliable characters; dark pasts and unexpected turns; long epistolary letters narrated.
  
  The trilogy centers on toxic families, pettiness, and vengeance. As is his tradition, it's incredibly dark but also incredibly darkly funny (particularly THE LONESOME WEST); there are glimmers of occasional hope, but because this is McDonagh, they're obviously gonna be squashed.
  
  THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE
  The only one of these three that I'd seen performed beforehand, and also my favourite of the three (when I saw it, it left me feeling pretty lost and sad). It centers on the poisonous relationship between a spinster and the elderly mother she's trapped looking after: the weary abuse between them, the sense of old fights repeated over and over and looping until it hits a breaking point. It's bittersweet, melancholy, wistful. My heart aches. Plus Pato Dooley is the softest, sweetest character I've ever encountered in a McDonagh text, and I love him:
  

  MAUREEN (quietly): It's true I was in a home there a while, now, after a bit of a breakdown I had. Years ago this is.
  
  PATO: What harm a breakdown, sure? Lots of people do have breakdowns.
  
  MAUREEN: A lot of doolally people, aye.
  
  PATO: Not doolally people at all. A lot of well-educated people have breakdowns too. In fact, if you're well-educated it's even more likely. Poor Spike Milligan, isn't he forever having breakdowns? He hardly stops. I do have trouble with me nerves every now and then, too, I don't mind admitting. There's no shame at all in that. Only means you do think about things, and take them to heart.

  
  A SKULL IN CONNEMARA
  The weakest. There's a couple good reveals, but the central twist/conflict is a little ham-handed compared to McDonagh's usual, and the ending just sort of peters out. I also had the trouble that, since I was reading rather than watching it performed, I couldn't tell the dialogue apart that easily since 3/4 characters' names started with M (Mick, Mairtin, Maryjohnny).
  
  THE LONESOME WEST
  The funniest. It was great finally meeting Father Welsh Walsh Welsh after so long; he was also one of my favourite characters. His horror and exasperation at his disaster of a parish, dogged by murders and suicides, and his last hope of redemption in trying to reconcile two squabbling brothers, Coleman and Valene -- whose extreme pettiness is astounding and morbidly hilarious. Poor, poor Welsh. Walsh. (It actually reminded a bit of Rickety Cricket in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in terms of the earnest priest whose life is systematically destroyed by a group of terrible people.)
  
  
  Anyway, do read these plays if you're a fan of dark humour and twisted plots and seeing how toxic families combust. It's good stuff.
• 
  K.

  Read The Pillowman and went crazy for McDonagh; his work is so incredibly Irish, I have no other way to describe it. This book brings me to a total of five of his plays that I have raced through in a week's time. I have also just discovered that he is a director as well as a playwright, so this weekend will be filled with In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, where he had the good taste in casting Colin Ferrell.
  
  The Beauty Queen of Leenane
  There's a theme in his work, and the theme is elderly people who annoy the shit out of their grown children and neighbors, to the point of death threats (see: Johnnypateeenmike in Cripple of Inishmaan and Maureen & Ray here). Things to know: Kimberley biscuits are apparently the worst type of all and should only be purchased to torment your irritating housebound mother.

  MAG (pause): Do me a mug of tea, Ray. (Pause.) Or a mug of Complan do me, even. (Pause.) And give it a good stir to get rid of the oul lumps.
  
  RAY: If it was getting rid of oul lumps I was to be, it wouldn't be with Complan I'd be starting. It would be much closer to home, boy. Oh aye, much closer. A big lump sitting in an oul fecking rocking-chair it would be. I'll tell you that!

  A Skull in Connemara
  When Mairtin showed up in a Manchester United shirt, I knew I wouldn't like him. Then we find out he would like to beat women (exceptin' of course, for his bad leg getting in the way) and was expelled from school for cooking a hamster alive, so my dislike was extremely justified. Also, he's a fucking idiot. At least now I know why Ray mentioned the priest slapping him in The Beauty Queen of Leenane "for no reason" - he asked about the church cutting "the willies off [of corpses they bury] and give them to the tinkers [to eat]".
  
  The Lonesome West
  Father Welsh-Walsh-Welsh has lost control of his parish. Or never, even once, had control of it to begin with.

  GIRLEEN: Father Walsh Welsh has no sense of humour. I'll walk him the road home for himself, and see he doesn't get hit by a cow like the last time.

  Overall: don't live in this fecking town, because you're likely to get offed by someone you're related to.
• 
  Petra

  The Beauty Queen of Leenane
  Wow! This was a psychological thriller of a play! It reads well, with humorous interplay between the characters that has a wide, dark side to it that veers violently off course.
  It would be a great night to be able to watch this on stage.
  This play rates 5*.
  
  The Skull in Connemara
  Wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed this play. Can't say much without giving things away. Bummer!
  5* rating.
  
  The Lonesome West
  Another winner of a play. Again, there's that dark humour, there's violence and petty differences that erupt into huge issues.
  Another 5* rating.
  
  Each of these plays is wonderful. They are loosely connected through the town of Leenane and some of its residents. The characters don't overlap: those we meet in TBQoL may be mentioned in the next 2 plays but aren't present; those we meet in the final 2 plays are referenced in other plays but not met. It's very well done. One feels that one knows these people and some of their characteristics without actually meeting them for awhile.
  McDonagh's writing is captivating. It has an easy, dark humor, everday feel about it with some interesting twists. I highly recommend these three plays.
• 
  Adam Breckenridge

  I think I may have set my expectations a bit high after the genius of In Bruges, but these are well written, interesting plays. The titular piece is a surprisingly intense drama, A Skull in Connemara is probably the weakest of the three, it has intriguing characters but a weak final act, while The Lonesome West had probably the most fascinating characters of any of them and was quite powerful though a bit inconsistent.
• 
  Angelique

  HOW DOES HE FUCKING DO IT? His plays are funny and dark and everything is there for a reason and ARG. I could read his plays all day.
• 
  Kurt Kalbfleisch

  These were a great read. I'd like to say they were fun, but they're just brutal and twisted enough that the word "fun" seems inappropriate. They are wickedly funny, to be sure, enough so that I laughed out loud more than once.
  
  The denouement of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" left me wondering what had just happened, though not in a bad way; I won't say why, but it's a play I'll be going back to again for the fun of deconstructing it.
  
  "A Skull in Connemara" conjures up both the gravediggers in "Hamlet" and the Melancholy Dane himself, for me. Mick, the main character, seems to find that revenge is indeed sweet, but not in any way that could be expected. In fact, there's a part of his revenge that he doesn't get until the third play, "The Lonesome West," in which he's only mentioned tangentially.
  
  That third play was the most enjoyable, as McDonagh shows us not just the murderous lengths one can take a trivial argument, but the bitterness on both sides of its origins. The two brothers at the center of the play have abandoned every positive and potentially rewarding aspect of their lives in favor of their relentless torment of each other.
  
  The dialogue is beautifully written in that Irish country accent you'll be familiar with if you've ever seen "The Quiet Man." I can even now be hearing it in me head, so.
  
  One of the most immersive aspects of these three 4-character plays is that they're so neatly tied together. Since all are set in the same small Irish village, it adds to the sense of realism that all twelve of the characters know each other well, and refer to each other in their respective stories. There are a couple running gags that span the three plays, with setups in the first two, and payoffs in the third.
  
  It's well worth a read.
  
  
• 
  Chris

  The Beauty Queen of Leenane: The horrifying and mesmerizing tale of a mother and daughter hellbent on destroying, one for fear of losing the other and the other so that she can get lost. I finished this in a heavily over-chlorinated hot tub that may or may not have gone straight to my head. I had to keep rereading sections just to be sure that it was as cruel and twisted as I believed it to be. With McDonagh, I should know better than to doubt it by now.
  
  Skull in Connemara: It's hard, when reading McDonagh, to remember that all of this startling violence is to be performed on a stage...in front of people. As such, I imagine this skull-bashing feck of a play hits like a mallet to the head in performance, but on the page it's not quite there. It's full of old grudges and secrets and the bitter solitude at the core of even communal life, but it doesn't ring out like the better pieces on the McDonagh set.
  
  The Lonesome West: A ludicrously funny tale of failed brotherly love, of the need to possess outright, and the inability to control and hold those things we most desperately want. Perhaps the most explicitly funny of the McDonagh plays I have read.
• 
  Adam Lauver

  Three intense, gripping, and tragically funny plays about the devastating nature of resentment, secrecy, and deceit, as seen through the tales of the pitiful inhabitants of a small town in Ireland. Each of the three stories has a unique sadness to offer, often by way of revelations that alternate between subtly suggestive and downright stunning. McDonagh's consistently provocative plot twists almost become caricatures of themselves after a point, but they're ultimately more than earned by the fascinating characters and their dull, throbbing sense of desperation in the face of their less-than-desirable circumstances. I wish I had a better Irish accent--I would love to inhabit Leenane on the stage someday. But, like Welsh (or is it Walsh?), I probably wouldn't want to stay there for long.
• 
  Kellie

  I read ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ about a year or so ago and loved it, so I was very excited to read more Martin McDonagh. He has a real talent for writing a story that’s dark and depressing but also makes you laugh. ‘The Lonesome West’ is a really good example of that—every scene between Valene and Coleman is simultaneously messed up and hilarious, even when they’re trying to kill each other.
  
  It was a nice surprise to figure out that these plays are actually a trilogy that go together. They all take place in the same little town in Ireland and characters are mentioned outside of the plays they’re in. It’s satisfying to read all three together, but I imagine you could just as easily read just one without getting confused.
• 
  Eric

  Martin McDonagh is a genius. These three plays comprise the Leenane trilogy and though each story stands alone, the characters and events recounted in each are loosely interwoven. McDonagh's Ireland is definitely not the romanticized one of The Quiet Man. The stories are dark as night and funnier than they have any right to be. The dialogue is brilliant. And yet there is an underlying sadness as well as a humanity that gives the plays a soul and a depth.
• 
  Philip Bunn

  Martin McDonagh's psychological dark comedy shines in this trilogy of interconnected stories. From a needy, naggy old woman and her psycho daughter, to a murderous gravedigger asked to dig up his wife's bones, to a pair of brothers whose tale of betrayal, violence, and blackmailed birthright evokes strong Jacob and Esau themes, these plays keep the reader (and, I assume, the audience) intrigued and hungry for more information to clarify the mysteries. McDonagh continues to impress me.
• 
  Allison

  Disturbing, dark, cruel, and unusual, these plays are not in the least bit cuddly, but they are definitely funny. McDonagh is one of the most original and clever playwrights today, and this trilogy about the miserable and bitter residents of Leenane make him the Tarantino of the theater world--well, an IRISH Tarantino. I bet they'd make good friends.
• 
  Elizabeth

  The Beauty Queen of Leenane is my favorite Martin McDonagh play because I saw it in previews at the Atlantic Theater Co. before it moved to Broadway to eventually win the Tony Award for Best play in 1998. McDonagh is a natural playwright who brings out dark deep secrets of the characters to life on the page and on stage. His dialogue chisels away the outer layers down to the bones.
• 
  Rosaleen Lynch

  A humorous play-script examining the mother-daughter relationship and the behaviours we adopt and pass on, in that downward spiral of destruction which at one end of the scale can inhibit our ability to develop positive relationships in the future and at the other end eventually lead to destroying lives.
• 
  Clark

  It's hard to critique shit written for stage just by reading it 'cause like, what if it turns out that your brain is just a shitty director & cast? How embarrassing would that be?!
  
  (these are pretty decent plays btw)
• 
  Sarah

  That was one of the most brilliant, disturbing things I have ever read in my entire life. I absolutely loved it and hate myself for loving it so much. Already requested another McDonagh play (or two) from the library.
• 
  Jane

  So damn good, you can't put the book down. His plays characters are riveting, the dialogue suspenseful, and the endings clever and creepy. He's like a male Flannery O'Connor only without the religion or Southern charm. Chilling. Loved every one!
• 
  Fran

  Three different plays, all good, all highlighting the dark - even mean - side of Irish life and culture. "Beauty Queen" is excruciatingly harsh.
• 
  Brian

  Re-read Beauty Queen in mid-September for class. Originally read Skull ten years ago? Read the other two for the first time a few years back, I think.
• 
  Michele

  Witty, irreverent. Just what I expected from the writer of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths. I found myself laughing out loud.
• 
  Kevin

  I liked it. But, it is depressing. It reveals a slice of life that I hope I never experience or encounter! Think I'll switch to a murder mystery or spy thriller to cheer myself up.
• 
  devin

  Stand alone all the plays are about a 3/5. Together they do bump up to 4/5. Had me saying feck in me head after the third play.
• 
  Dillon Harris

  An absolutely beautiful collection of plays, Martin NcDonagh’s style & ability for telling stories reels you in, constantly keeps you at the edge of your seat and finds you identifying and relating to flawed characters in ways you never thought you would.
  
  ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ is the most grounded of this trilogy, really capturing the isolation and loneliness that we experience in feeling stuck in our hometown, convinced we aren’t destined for anything else. Explores love, mental health & family relationships with pure honesty.
  
  ‘The Skull of Connemara’ is like a cup & saucer thriller, managing to combine mundanity with violence in a combination that should not work but blends together beautifully. With twists & turns throughout and clever dialogue that makes it impossible to tell when a character is lying or telling the truth, this is certainly my favourite in the Leenane trilogy.
  
  Lastly, ‘The Lonesome West’ thrives on the intense & unpredictable relationship of brothers Coleman & Valene. As we find out through the eyes of Father Welsh (or is it Walsh?) what this dysfunctional duo have done to each other; we cringe, get frustrated & also feel for them immensely throughout.
  
  McDonagh’s plays always take my breath away, leaving me laughing, crying & widening my eyes in shock. As a fellow Irish man; I think he gets the atmosphere & dialogue bang on, his love for the country is always apparent, as well as his fearlessness in addressing its flaws.
  
  Could not recommend these plays enough to theatre fans. A wonderful showcase of what you can do on stage with basically nothing other than a great script & actors.
• 
  Mahla Golmakani

  ملکه‌ی زیبایی لی‌نین با ترجمه ی حمید احیا، دومین نمایشنامه ای بود که از مارتین مک‌دونا میخوندم و می‌تونم بگم که مشتاقم سایر آثارش رو هم بخونم.
  
  ——-
  شخصیت مورین و یه سری از حس‌هاش، منو یاد کتاب دختر کشیش مینداخت، با انتخاب های متفاوت البته
  ——-
  
  
  در مورد انتشارات نیلا اضافه کنم که نمایشنامه قبلی (مرد بالشی) پر از غلط و غلوط بود ولی این یکی تقریبا مشکلی به چشمم نیومد.
  
  ——
  تو هر دو نمایشنامه یه تم جنایی هم وجود داشت و اگه به این فضا علاقه مندین، خوندنش توصیه میشه