A WRITER has been arrested and faces interrogation after a number of child murders bear an uncanny resemblance to his short stories.
From the outset, The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh – who brought us the multi-award winning Banshees of Inisherin – is gripping and unsettling in equal measure, and will leave you shifting uneasily in your seat.
Superbly directed by West Belfast's very own Emma Jordan, the audience at the Lyric Theatre is sucked into a world where nothing seems real and the lines between reality and fantasy are not only blurred – but could prove fatal at any time.
The Pillowman is not for the faint-hearted, with references to child abuse, suicide, violence and death throughout. Amid all the gloom and horror, though, black humour pervades and you'll find yourself laughing embarrassingly at things you know you should not be laughing at. But that’s the magic of McDonagh’s writing – pushing moral boundaries, almost daring his characters to utter the lines that he has given them and wait for the uncomfortable reaction from the audience.
From the brutal interrogation of the writer Katurian, we escape to a series of dreamscapes from his early years, as well as the stories that have implicated him. But it is when his brother Michal is also arrested that things spiral out of control.
Katurian (Keith Singleton) and his brother Michal (David Murphy)
Stand out performances come from Keith Singleton as Katurian, David Murphy as Michal and the excellent Abigail McGibbon as detective Tupolski, who has some of the best lines in the play: “We like executing writers. Dimwits we can execute any day. And we do. But, you execute a writer, it sends out a signal, y’know?” A fine turn also from violent interrogator Ariel (Steven Calvert), who’s the good cop to Tupolski’s bad cop.
Singleton switches from horror to comedy effortlessly throughout and is in control of not being in control. He says his stories aren’t political, but this is a totalitarian state and he’s facing death without trial. He’s willing to sacrifice himself so that his stories live on.
The Pillowman is a masterclass in writing, raising important issues around freedom of speech. This atmospheric Prime Cut production for the Lyric does not disappoint.
The Pillowman runs until June 15. Tickets are available https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-pillowman
