Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman” is now onstage at Albany Civic Theater.
photo provided
Director Ellen Cribbs and Albany Civic Theater have gone far out on a limb with Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman.”
The play by the Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Olivier award-winning writer is, to the uninitiated, a journey they won’t soon forget. It is at once one of the most frightening shows I have witnessed — violent, dark, disturbing — and yet one of the funniest black comedies I have ever seen.
McDonagh blurs the lines from fantasy to reality in the totalitarian dystopian world he creates.
Katurian, an author, is brought to an interrogation room to be questioned about the short stories he has written. His brother, Michal, sits in a room next door. Katurian is questioned by two detectives, Tupoliski and Ariel. He is brought in because the stories appear to be very close to the murder of several children in the area.
To reveal much more of the storyline would ruin the trajectory of the play and certainly its outcome. Suffice to say, murder, torture and abuse all play key roles in the twisted tale.
Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman” is at Albany Civic Theater through March 2.
photo provided
What makes the production palatable for those with stomachs not inclined to gore and pain is the production itself. Cribbs carried her cast brilliantly through the vicissitudes of the pain and anguish McDonagh has created. She knows when and how to literally get the audience to the brink of their seats, then bring down the hammer of humor with great deftness to shatter, albeit for just a moment, the tension. What works so well with Cribbs’ directorial ability is her casting prowess.
The cast members, newcomers to the ACT stage, all prove their mettle with outstanding performances.
Whether delivering one of many monologues — soliloquies, if you will — to the audience or interacting with the other actors on the stage, Alexander Benson owns every moment as Katurian. His range of emotion — fear, terror and even bravado — offers a wonderful palate for each of his other fellow performers to work off.
Marty O’Connor is detective Tupolski, the “good cop” of the duo, there to milk a confession out of Katurian. O’Connor has a wonderful sense of comedic timing. His delivery is spot-on; the terror oozes through his “nice guy” veneer, slowly stripping away his sympathetic manner to get what he has come looking for from his suspect.
Daniel Perez is the complete antithesis of O’Connor as the “bad cop” Ariel. All bluster and violence, his screaming and ranting are as terrifying to observe as O’Connor is humorous.
The interesting thing to watch is how Perez’s character begins to soften as Katurian deals with him throughout the play. In many ways, Ariel is the most malleable character presented, and Perez plays him for all he is worth.
Martin McDonagh's “The Pillowman" is now onstage at Albany Civic Theater.
photo provided
Aidan Thomas McKenna is Michal, the brother who is “slow to get things” after being the recipient of years of abuse at the hands of his parents. We watch in awe as McKenna takes his character and morphs into the most fully realized and formed of all the characters in the play. The simpleton becomes the master in many ways as we watch his love, manipulation and devotion to his brother evolve.
“The Pillowman” is not a play for the weak of stomach or the timid. If, however, you are up for something unusual, bizarrely thought-provoking and oddly funny, give the show a try. It is exciting to watch a company have the courage to go out on that limb and present to the audience something unusual, gutsy and even uncomfortable, particularly when the production is so very well put together.
Due to strong language, violence and themes of child abuse, “The Pillowman” is for mature audiences.
