The Pillowman

The Pillowman is not for the faint hearted: when done well it holds you in a grip and doesn’t let go until long after the play has finished. And this is done exceptionally well: this version is phenomenal, quite the finest version you are likely to see. Everything about this has been thought about in detail, considered carefully. This version doesn’t just grip, it holds you in a vice so you almost forget to breathe while watching it. At the end, the audience may be reticent in clapping – that is only a reflection of how much the audience have to sit in the shock of what they have just witnessed, still processing; it’s only afterwards that many of them admit that in their minds they were giving a standing ovation. 

The casting of Katurian as a woman is genius. It changes the dynamics of everything in the play, that those brutal and disturbing stories came from her head, and how she looks after her brother in almost a substitute maternal way; the pillow scene coming as an act of kindness. Melissa Paris devastates in this role, shining in her raw emotional arc, truly believable in all the stunts and fear throughout. Nathan Potter is transformed as her brother Michal, funny in outlook, and thankfully not manipulatively tragic as could happen in some versions. A physical and honest performance. Ariel and Tupolski as the bad cop good cop pair could not be more contrasting yet curiously also complement each other, through the performances of Frank Leon and Scott Roberts respectively. Scott Roberts has some really funny lines which he delivers so beautifully: honest, straight, and with a gorgeous subtext of contained anger. His performance as the lead detective is superb, as is Frank Leon’s Ariel: barely contained fury mixed with hidden care, his disgust at child cruelty oozing from every pore. This is quite the most exceptional cast you are likely to find in any theatre production of any play: compelling, subtle, raw, brutal, and truthful: portrayals of really hurt and fundamentally flawed people brought to life in such a shocking way. 

The set is incredible and so imaginative. Becoming both rooms at different points, having a large screen and many small screens in front of the audience in traverse: stunning. Everything in this setting is meant to be there: everything on the desk, every word scribbled on the floor, even the one blanket on a rough mattress. Even the hood that Katurian is forced to wear is designed with wording. Having Katurian in the hood on a chair while Ariel menaces around in the preshow really helped set the scene. Michal and Katurian wearing the same black clothing down to the style of trousers worked beautifully in anonymising them in the state they live in; the becoming half untucked shirts on the police summed them up as well. The makeup effects are incredibly realistic as well, especially the new mark on Katurian from being hit in the room: some people would put a bruise there, but the shock physical aspect of the mark is absolutely right. 

The films, including the one from overhead as Tupolski tells his story; are absolutely essential to this vision of the overaching story as well as all the stories contained in the whole. The different styles of film work so fantastically well: the puppet work, especially, is amazing: taking us to old style Eastern Europe in feel and texture; as does the names of the characters; which is entirely the point. The films are so disturbing, as they are meant to be. It’s beautifully lit as well, at one point the addition of red in the lights highlights the red writing on the floor and makes it practically scream, which is so interesting. And the surprise at the end is a curious mixture of equal parts disturbing and reassuring, which is a blend previously thought impossible. 

This is a piece that will haunt those who come to see it, and you can take it on many levels. On the one hand it’s a story containing many more within in it on its way to its inevitable yet surprising conclusion; on another it has so many layers you could wake in the middle of the night in two months time with the thought of another one. Are we the inevitable sum of our parts? If someone visited you and to tell you of the future, what action would you take? What would you do to protect a loved one? What would you do to protect your values? And what are the legacies we leave behind – is that more important than living a life? As well as, where is Martin McDonagh and can I find him and give him some therapy or a hug? This is a masterpiece in style, tone, vision, as well as acting: as close to absolute perfection as you are likely to get, a masterclass in directing. Stunning, incredible, phenomenal: outstanding on every level. Congratulations to Louis Craig and every single person involved in bringing this to life. 

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