The Pillowman
The information on this page is about a previous production. For a list of upcoming productions, check out our What's On page.Infanticide. Fratricide. Homicide. Blood. Meat Cleavers. Razor Blades. Electrocution Machines. Guns. Puppets. Pillows. Pillows. Pillows...
From Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, writer & director of the critically acclaimed "In Bruges" comes his darkest and bravest comedy, "The Pillowman".
The play received the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play, the 2004-5 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Foreign Play, and two Tony Awards for production.
Exploring torture, infanticide and powerlessness whilst also sustaining a relentlessly witty dialogue McDonagh's chilling tale both terrifies and delights audiences.
Katurian, a writer of grisly short stories often showing violence against children, has been arrested by two detectives, Ariel and Tupolski, because some of his stories closely mirror a spate of recent child murders. When Katurian hears that his brother Michal has confessed to the murders, implicating him in the process, he resigns himself to execution but attempts to save his stories from destruction. The play includes reenactments of several of Katurian's stories, most notably the autobiographical "The Writer and the Writer's Brother," which tells of how Katurian developed his disturbed imagination.
Our aim is to complement McDonagh's razor sharp script with elements of puppetry, mask work and physical characterisation to heighten this nightmarish fairytale.
