There are few laughs in this desolate version of Martin McDonagh’s 1996 intimate black comedy, which, in its day, was an unflinching ripping apart of the rural Irish ideal and a witty commentary on the realities of the diaspora. In this version by Julio Manrique, the play (beyond its deliberate ‘stuck in the past’ narrative), feels tremendously dated – despite its faith to the text, and the efforts of the director and actors. 

McDonagh, possibly better known for his films In Bruges (2008) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2018), grew up in South London in an Irish family, and took annual holidays in rural Ireland (where his famous Leenane trilogy of plays is set). For this, his first play written in his mid-20s, he received nominations for Tony and Laurence Olivier Awards – and there are continual revivals, particularly in the US. 

Yet 25 years on, you sense that there are layers of nostalgia in the play that were not initially intended. The characters: caustic, extreme versions of James Joyce’s Dubliners, compete in their cruelty towards each other, frustrations fuelled by a claustrophobic familiarity. Yet what does this tell us today? The world has moved on. Extremity has become part of its fabric and discourse. McDonagh’s joke is over.