The Beauty Queen of Leenane Archives

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Theatre by the Lake

27Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Theatre by the Lake

The wind and rain of an autumn evening in Cumbria sets the scene perfectly for Theatre by the Lake's new production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane - a tragedy that unfolds in a small rural community in Ireland, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. The setting of an isolated cottage overshadowed by the mountain range behind captures the claustrophobic existence of Maureen played by Elizabeth Appleby, a 40-something virgin, reluctantly the 'carer' for her controlling mother, Mag played by Susan Twist. Twist is a brilliant character actor who brings this woman to life. No one in the audience would want to be trapped in that room with Mag - but also no one in the audience could fail to laugh and cry with and for her as the relationship between mother and daughter reaches breaking point. Ap...

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Traverse Theatre

Maureen Folan (Julie Hale) leads a frustrating and angry life looking after her elderly mother Mag (Nuala Walsh), thanks in great part to the latter's mix of necessary dependency due to old age and her less than charming personality. Maureen has a few issues herself, highlighted by the forced proximity and partly due the frustrations of missed opportunities, a personal grief echoed by the many Irish folk forced to pursue other lives in America and England. One such person is the attractive Pato Dooley (Paul Carroll), older brother of neighbour Ray (Ian O'Reilly), who is back in his hometown for a short stay, and with whom a meeting offers Maureen some escape from her troubles, though in what way remains to be seen. The Beauty Queen of Leenane is the first part of Martin McDonagh's f...

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Lyric Hammersmith

The current revival of Martin McDonagh's 1996 play, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" recently completed a successful run at Chichester and has now transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith. Mag, a mean elderly woman, is being looked after by her daughter, Maureen, an equally mean middle-aged woman who yearns to get away from the stifling and constricted life she leads looking after her demanding and manipulative mother in the isolation of a Connemara cottage. The unexpected return of an old friend, Pato, offers Maureen the chance of escape but Mag is determined to scupper her daughter's chance of a new life, which would leave her alone and without her carer. These are two women who are deeply flawed and unable to tell each other the truth - Mag hiding the fact that she doesn't need to rely ...