THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE
BY: Martin McDonagh
Directed by Zac Smith and Aiden Clark
Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a brutal and darkly comic play set in 1993 on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. It follows Padraic, a violent and unpredictable Irish nationalist, who abandons his torture duties upon hearing that his beloved cat, Wee Thomas, is ill. When he returns home to discover the cat is actually dead, his grief spirals into a blood-soaked quest for vengeance. As Padraic interrogates and punishes those he suspects, the play exposes the absurdity of political extremism and the twisted priorities of militant ideology—where a pet’s death triggers more outrage than human suffering. With explosive violence, razorsharp dialogue, and pitch-black humour, McDonagh crafts a savage satire that critiques fanaticism while
keeping audiences both horrified and laughing.
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