Martin McDonagh

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Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh 2012.jpg
McDonagh at the Toronto premiere of Seven Psychopaths in 2012
Born Martin Faranan McDonagh
(1970-03-26) 26 March 1970 (age 48)
Camberwell, London, England
Citizenship British
Irish
Occupation Playwright, screenwriter, film director
Years active 1996–present
Notable work
  • The Beauty Queen of Leenane
  • In Bruges
  • Seven Psychopaths
  • Hangmen
  • Three Billboards Outside​ Ebbing, Missouri

Martin Faranan McDonagh (/məkˈdɒnə/; born 26 March 1970)[1] is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director. Born and brought up in London, the son of Irish parents, he holds dual British and Irish citizenship.[2] He is among the most acclaimed living Irish playwrights.[3] A winner of the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, McDonagh has been nominated for three other Academy Awards, and in 2018 won three BAFTA Awards from four nominations and two Golden Globe Awards from three nominations for his film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Early life[edit]

McDonagh was born in Camberwell, London, to Irish parents.[4] His mother (originally from Killeenduff, Easky, County Sligo) and his father (originally from Leitir Mealláin, Connemara, County Galway) moved back to Galway in 1992, leaving McDonagh and his brother (writer-director John Michael McDonagh) in London.[5][6]

Career[edit]

Theatre[edit]

Separated into two trilogies, McDonagh's first six plays are located in and around County Galway, where he spent his holidays as a child. The first is set in Leenane, a small village on the west coast of Ireland, and consists of The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996), A Skull in Connemara (1997) and The Lonesome West (1997).[7] His second trilogy is set across the Aran Islands, off the coast of County Galway, and consists of The Cripple of Inishmaan (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001) and The Banshees of Inisheer. The third play was never published, as McDonagh insisted it "isn't any good",[4][8] though he has expressed a desire to return to it when he is older.[9]

McDonagh's first non-Irish play, The Pillowman, is set in a fictitious totalitarian state and premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 2003, after a reading in Galway in 1997.[10]

A Behanding in Spokane is McDonagh's first play that is set in the United States and it premiered on Broadway in March 2010.[11] Lead actor Christopher Walken was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play[11] for his performance as a killer looking for the hand he lost in his youth.[12]

McDonagh also penned two prize-winning radio plays, one of which is The Tale of the Wolf and the Woodcutter.[13]

In February 2010, an announcement revealed that McDonagh was working on a new stage musical with composer Tom Waits and director Robert Wilson.[14]

The Leenane Trilogy[15][edit]

The Beauty Queen of Leenane[edit]
Main article: The Beauty Queen of Leenane

The story of the dysfunctional relationship between a spinster and her domineering mother, during the course of which the former faces her last chance at love, and the latter faces a rather grim end. The play was well received on its opening night in Galway in 1996 and was next produced Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in 1998.[16] The play transferred to Broadway in April 1998 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.[17]

A Skull in Connemara[edit]

A Connemara man is employed to exhume skeletons in an overcrowded graveyard and he encounters the wife whom he was once accused of killing. The play premiered in 1997 at Town Hall Theatre, Galway.[7][15] The play was presented at the Royal Court Theatre (London), and made its US premiere at the A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle, Washington in July to August 2000. The play ran Off-Broadway in January to May 2001 at the Gramercy Theatre, produced by the Roundabout Theatre.[18][19]

The Lonesome West[edit]
Main article: The Lonesome West

Two brothers bicker in the aftermath of the supposedly accidental fatal shooting of their father. The play ran on Broadway in 1999 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 1999.[20][21]

The Aran Islands Trilogy[edit]

The Cripple of Inishmaan[edit]
Main article: The Cripple of Inishmaan

A dark comedy in which a crippled teenager schemes to attain a role in Man of Aran. The play opened in 1997 at the Royal National Theatre (Cottesloe) in London. It opened in April 1998 Off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, with Ruaidhri Conroy in the title role on both occasions.[22] Also in 1998, Frederick Koehler played the title role in the Geffen Playhouse production in Los Angeles, California.[23]

In December 2008, The Cripple of Inishmaan was produced Off-Broadway by the Atlantic Theater Company, in conjunction with The Druid Theatre Company of Galway, Ireland.[24]

The Lieutenant of Inishmore[edit]
Main article: The Lieutenant of Inishmore

A dark comedy in which the insane leader of an INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) splinter group discovers that his best friend, a cat, has been killed. The play was produced Off-Broadway in February 2006 by the Atlantic Theater Company.[25] It transferred to Broadway in May 2006 and received a 2006 Tony Award nomination for Best Play.[26]

The Banshees of Inisheer[edit]

The finale of the Aran Islands trilogy. Unproduced and unpublished, it is "a portrait of an aging writer with declining skills".[9]

Other plays[edit]

The Pillowman[edit]
Main article: The Pillowman

A writer in a non-specified totalitarian state is interrogated over the content of several of his Brothers Grimm-style short stories. The play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2004[27] and received a 2005 Tony Award nomination for Best Play.[28]

A Behanding in Spokane[edit]
Main article: A Behanding in Spokane

A play in which the character of Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for a quarter of a century. The play opened on Broadway in March 2010. The play was nominated for the 2010 Drama League award, Distinguished Production of a Play.[29][30]

Hangmen[edit]
Main article: Hangmen (play)

A play following Harry Wade, England's second-best hangman, after the abolition of hanging in Great Britain in 1965. The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2015.[6][31] The play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2016.

A Very Very Very Dark Matter[edit]
Main article: A Very Very Very Dark Matter

An upcoming play set in a townhouse in Copenhagen and reveals the dark sources of the tales of children's author Hans Christian Andersen. Due to premiere at the Bridge Theatre, London in October 2018.[32][33]

Film[edit]

McDonagh has stated that he prefers writing films to plays, as he holds a "respect for the whole history of films and a slight disrespect for theatre." In a 1998 conversation with Irish drama critic Fintan O'Toole in BOMB magazine, McDonagh further explained,

"It's not that I don't respect theatre. I'm intelligent enough to know that a play can completely inspire a person as much as a film...[but] theatre isn't something that's connected to me, from a personal point of view, I can't appreciate what I'm doing."[34]

In an interview in 2005, the New York Times writer observed that McDonagh "now seems more comfortably resigned to the storytelling powers of drama, if still dismissive of its inherent elitism. 'It's kind of weird working in an art form that's not, well ...,' he stops and starts again. 'It's strange to be working in an art form that costs $100 to participate in.'"[35] In an interview with Sean O'Hagan of The Guardian, McDonagh said theatre "is never going to be edgy in the way I want it to be",[36] when discussing his absence from London theatre and promoting his new play Hangmen.

In 2006, McDonagh won an Academy Award for his short film Six Shooter (2004), which is his first film that he wrote and directed.[37] Six Shooter is a black comedy (as are his plays) that features Brendan Gleeson, Ruaidhri Conroy, David Wilmot and Aisling O'Sullivan. It was shot on location in Wicklow, Waterford and Rosslare. In the short film, Gleeson's character encounters a strange, and possibly psychotic, young man during a train journey homeward following his wife's death.[38]

McDonagh entered into an agreement with the Focus Features film production company to direct In Bruges, a feature-length film based on his own screenplay. Two Irish hitmen hide in the Flemish city of Bruges after a problematic job. Released in the USA in 2008, the film features Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson. In Bruges was the Opening Night film for the 2008 Sundance Festival and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, and McDonagh received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 81st Academy Awards.[39][40][41]

In a 2008 interview with Stop Smiling magazine, McDonagh said, "I've got a couple of film scripts that are ready to go. I'm not going to do anything with them for a couple of years, until I've travelled and had some fun. But there's one called Seven Psychopaths; if I do another film, that'll be it. I hope you like it."[42] The production of the film was confirmed in May 2011 and it was eventually released in North America on 12 October 2012. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, and Tom Waits star in the film.[43]

McDonagh wrote and directed his drama-dark comedy film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 4 September[44] and won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on 17 September 2017. Three Billboards won four awards at the 2017 Golden Globes, including Best Screenplay for McDonagh.

Plays staged in Iran[edit]

In August 2013, The Pillowman was staged at Arasbaran Cultural House in Tehran. Directed by Mohammad Yaghoubi and Ayda Keikhai, the play received a warm welcome by Iranian theatre-goers.[45] In December 2014, The Lieutenant of Inishmore was staged at Tajrobeh Theater, Tehran. The play was directed by Morteza Meshkat.[46]

Recurring collaborators[edit]

Actor The Cripple of Inishmaan (West End) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Broadway) Six Shooter The Beauty Queen of Leenane (West End) The Pillowman (Broadway) In Bruges A Behanding in Spokane Seven Psychopaths The Lonesome West (West End) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Total
Ruaidhri Conroy NoN NoN 2
Abbie Cornish NoN NoN 2
Colin Farrell NoN NoN 2
Brendan Gleeson NoN NoN 2
Woody Harrelson NoN NoN 2
Željko Ivanek NoN NoN NoN NoN 4
Brían F. O'Byrne NoN NoN 2
Sam Rockwell NoN NoN NoN 3
Michael Stuhlbarg NoN NoN 2
Christopher Walken NoN NoN 2
Amanda Warren NoN NoN 2
David Wilmot NoN NoN 2

Filmography[edit]

Year Film Functioned as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2000 The Second Death Yes Executive producer; written by John Michael McDonagh
2004 Six Shooter Yes Yes Short film
2008 In Bruges Yes Yes
2011 The Guard Yes Executive producer; written and directed by John Michael McDonagh
2012 Seven Psychopaths Yes Yes Yes
2017 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Yes Yes Yes

Awards and nominations[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Martin McDonagh

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 15 January 2018. 
  2. ^ "Seven steps to Martin McDonagh". The Irish Times. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  3. ^ Zinoman, Jason (7 March 2010). "Is He Mellower? Ask the Guy Missing a Hand". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
  4. ^ a b McDonald, Henry. "Profile" The Guardian, 25 April 2008
  5. ^ O'Hagan, Sean. "Interview. The wild west" The Guardian, 23 March 2001
  6. ^ a b O'Hagan, Sean. "Martin McDonagh interview: 'Theatre is never going to be edgy in the way I want it to be'" The Guardian, 13 September 2015
  7. ^ a b Hicklinh, Alfred. "'A Skull in Connemara' review – a sprited revival that redefines the concept of graveyard humour The Guardian, 28 May 2015
  8. ^ The Pillowman (2006–2007) at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Retrieved 5 March 2009. Archived 26 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ a b Jason Zinoman (2 March 2010). "Is He Mellower? Ask the Guy Missing a Hand". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2018. 
  10. ^ Wolf, Matt. "Review: The Pillowman " Variety, 26 November 2003. Retrieved 7 May 2016
  11. ^ a b " A Behanding in Spokane Broadway" Playbill (vault). Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  12. ^ Finkle, David. "Review" theatermania.com, 2 March 2010
  13. ^ The Tale of the Wolf and the Woodcutter Archived 21 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ "New Musical From Tom Waits on the Horizon". Tom Waits. Tom Waits & ANTI Records. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  15. ^ a b Russell, Richard Rankin."Appendix: Chronology of Martin McDonagh's Life and Works" Martin McDonagh: A Casebook, Routledge, 2007, ISBN 1135868093, pp.178–180
  16. ^ "'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' Off-Broadway" lortel.org. Retrieved 4 April 2016
  17. ^ "'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' Broadway" Playbill (vault). Retrieved 4 April 2016
  18. ^ McBride, Murdoch. "Martin McDonagh's 'A Skull In Connemara' Closing at Gramercy, May 20"[permanent dead link] Playbill, 20 May 2001
  19. ^ Ehren, Christine. "McDonagh's Skull Rises Out of Seattle's ACT July 27-Aug. 20" Playbill, 27 July 2000
  20. ^ "1999 Awards" broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 6 April 2016
  21. ^ "'The Lonesome West' Broadway" Playbill (vault). Retrieved 4 April 2016
  22. ^ "'The Cripple of Inishmaan' Off-Broadway" lortel.org. Retrieved 4 April 2016
  23. ^ Hoffler, Robert. "Review: 'The Cripple of Inishmaan'" Variety, 29 October 1998
  24. ^ Healy, Patrick (16 January 2014). "Daniel Radcliffe Returning to Broadway in 'Cripple of Inishmaan'". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  25. ^ "'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' Off-Broadway" lortel.org. Retrieved 4 April 2016
  26. ^ "'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' Broadway" Playbill (vault). Retrieved 4 April 2016
  27. ^ "Olivier Awards, 2004" olivierawards.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016
  28. ^ " The Pillowman Awards" ibdb.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016
  29. ^ Brantley, Ben (5 March 2010). "Packing Heat, and a Grudge". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
  30. ^ "'A Behanding in Spokane' Broadway" Playbill (vault). Retrieved 4 April 2016
  31. ^ Clapp, Susannah. "'Hangmen' review – a tremendous, terrifying return by Martin McDonagh" The Guardian, 27 September 2015
  32. ^ "A Very Very Very Dark Matter | The Bridge Theatre". The Bridge Theatre. Retrieved 2018-03-18. 
  33. ^ "Jim Broadbent to star in new Martin McDonagh play at Bridge Theatre". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 2018-03-18. 
  34. ^ Fintan O'Toole (Spring 1998). "Martin McDonagh". BOMB Magazine. New Art Publications. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  35. ^ McKinley, Jesse. "Suffer the Little Children" The New York Times, 3 April 2005
  36. ^ O'Hagan, Sean. "Martin McDonagh interview: 'Theatre is never going to be edgy in the way I want it to be'"
  37. ^ "2006 Oscars". Retrieved 6 April 2016. 
  38. ^ James, Caryn. "Martin McDonagh Finds His Inner Thug as Film Director", The New York Times, 4 April 2006
  39. ^ Tim Robey (18 April 2008). "Film reviews: In Bruges, Fool's Gold, Street Kings and more". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  40. ^ Wally Hammond (15 April 2008). "In Bruges (18)". Time Out London. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  41. ^ "In Bruges (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  42. ^ "Q&A: Martin McDonagh, director of in Bruges". Stop Smiling. Stop Smiling Media, LLC. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  43. ^ "'Seven Psychopaths' Listing" tcm.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016
  44. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (4 September 2017). "Frances McDormand On 'Three Billboards' Role: She's 'Fargo's Marge, "Grown Up" – Venice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 September 2017. 
  45. ^ The Pillowman staged in Tehran
  46. ^ McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Tehran stage Archived 30 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.

External links[edit]

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