The Lieutenant of Inishmore

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Written by Martin McDonagh

Performed by Exeter Drama Company

At Longdown Village Hall, Exeter

On Friday 26th September 2025

Directed by Ranulf Oliver

 

Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a brutally funny and disturbingly violent satire that exposes the absurdity of political extremism, the futility of revenge, and the fragility of human compassion. Set on the remote island of Inishmore, off the west coast of Ireland during the ‘troubles’ in the nineties the play follows Padraic, a psychotic Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) member, thrown out of the cause due to being too violent, whose only true affection seems reserved for his beloved cat, Wee Thomas. Whilst torturing some poor drug pusher he learns that the cat has been taken ill but, on his return home Padraic’s thirst for vengeance spirals into a grotesque bloodbath.

I take my hat off to Exeter Drama Company for conjuring up this production which needed to balance horrifying violence with razor-sharp humour. A farce with edge is the best way to describe it, with mistaken identities, absurd coincidences, and over-the-top reactions—but its content is as macabre as anything found in tragedy. The result being both unsettling and exhilarating. The audience found themselves laughing at scenes such as the torture of a young man and then, moments later, recoiling with discomfort. Plenty of fake blood being partly the cause. This talented cast of actors, to my amazement and awe, created superb Irish accents, allowing them to speak every line realistically and with authenticity. Bravo!  They also kept up the pace which was relentless as the tension increased until Wee Thomas, like Lazurus, rises from the dead and Mairead’s ginger cat ‘Sir Roger’ is painted black by Donny and Davy as a substitute. N.B. No cats were harmed in this play. 

This was a play directed with precision and clear attention to detail with the dialogue in particular, being sharp and concise. An ensemble piece if ever there was one. Padraic, the unstable and violent ex IRA member was played with huge confidence by this actor who produced a believable performance whereby he appeared crazed and then sentimental in one breath. Donny, the father of Padraic, gave this actor a plum of a role to get his teeth into and he relished it. The script provided laugh out loud hilarity between him and his neighbour, Davy, as they dealt with the unfolding chaos. This would have fallen flat if they had not both had superb comic timing and on-stage chemistry.  Davy, a naïve young Irish lad was portrayed wonderfully well by this actor and it is not easy to act scared yet make the audience roar with laughter.  The actor playing Mairead, sister of Davy, and a tomboy, hit the stage like a whirlwind and was just great to watch. She loves violence and is therefore attracted to Padraic. The scene where she tried to flirt with him but in a macho way, was exceptionally farcical and hysterical, as he acts oblivious and just does not get the concept of attraction. James, a  drug dealer, tortured by Padriac for being just that, strung up by the wrists throughout the whole scene, cries and pleads for mercy, having had ‘only two toenails pulled’. This was a short yet memorable portrayal which was very funny, even though he was covered in blood!  Christy, leader of the local IRA, dressed in a patched black leather jacket, along with Joey and Brendan, having lured Padraic back to Inishmore, turns up to kill him.  Joey the dippy one with pigtails, Brendan contradicting Christie constantly ’it’s not Marx who said that’ are delightfully funny, whilst Christy tries to remain in charge. All three worked well together, all with super Irish accents as they pretend to be tough but were petrified of ‘mad Padriac’.

The staging was perfect, based mostly in the living room of Donny’s isolated cottage. Created using three flats, the rear flat with a door and a window used to show the comings and goings of the cast.  A second exit/entrance (stage left flat) was used to show the direction to the unseen rest of the cottage. Painted with browns, black and greys and looking desolate it gave a real sense of bleakness to the production. A fireplace in stage left flat and stage props of a crummy settee with an old kitchen table and chair was all that was needed. The clever and  simple use of a rope hung from a stage bar ( I assume ) was used to show the torture scene but again, very effective. Also, use of camouflage material to cover a corner unit to give the impression of a change of scene to a dark lane, once again simple but worked. As was the use of minimal lighting of subdued yellow in the emotionally darker scenes. 

Costumes looked authentically 1990’s with leather jackets, shell suit tops and army fatigues worn which suited the storyline. The audience loved the absurdity of the piece which mixed utter violence with comedy.  It started off strongly and just hurtled on for nine scenes, keeping up its intensity for the audience from beginning to end.  A wonderfully acted and directed piece of theatre. 

Lyn Burgoyne   Noda Representative, South West District 5 ( Mid and East Devon)

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