Violence and Comedy in the Works of Martin McDonaghVIOLENCE AND COMEDYA central theme to much of McDonagh’s work is the presence of both violence and comedy on stage. Fintan O’Toole summarises that “much of contemporary Irish drama seems to follow this tradition of using comedy to explore the darker side of the human experience ”. However, in order to move our argument forward, it is useful to investigate the purpose of combining both extreme violence and moments of great comedy. McDonagh uses these elements for a specific purpose and to move our debate forward we must look at what McDonagh is saying through his representation of such cruelty on stage. To look at O’Toole’s statement, we can assess that he believes truth and identity are two key struggles presented in McDonagh’s contemporary theatre. As discussed previously, McDonagh is urging the nation to move from a nation revelling in historical myth to one embracing globalization and a more modern culture. He states; “I walk that line between comedy and cruelty…because I think one illuminates the other .” He critiques the ideas of terrorist violence and nationalistic violence in The Lieutenant of Irishmoore, and from his presentation of an overflow of violence on stage he claims to be condemning it.
Ireland’s history of deep mythologizing can be focused on by looking at one of the most famous figures in Irish literature, the Shan Van Vocht figure. It has associations with national violence; Yeats presents the idea of her in his famous propaganda play Cathleen Ni Houlihan . She embodies and represents Ireland; she is an old hag lady who is rejuvenated into a beautiful young woman through the act of bloodshed and violence for the sake of the nation. This use of propaganda was significant in the Irish’s fight against the British in order to reclaim the thirty- two counties during the Easter Rising in 1916. McDonagh presents this violence in the form of a paramilitary group in The Lieutenant of Irishmoore yet their violence seems to be more for the sake of violence rather than for the sake of the nation. It is as if McDonagh is saying that when using violence, the purpose becomes blurred and lost.
John Peter asserts that “The violence is neither gratuitous nor self-admiring: it pays its way as drama because it is soaked in moral anger and lit up by the comedy of humane reason “. The Lieutenant of Irishmoore explores the significance of terrorist violence. The play follows the actions of paramilitary members of the INLA, a group with the same ethics as the IRA but with a much more fanatical approach. They attempt to ambush a former colleague, Padraic, by killing his cat whom he has a deep affection for. This act lures him home and the play comes to a conclusion with a bloody and gruesome shoot out, leaving dead body parts strung about the stage. Patrick Lonergan’s analysis of the play argues that “McDonagh’s target is not just Irish
, he is British, and “McDonagh’s character is that of a Brit. The actor and writer has created compelling evidence of how well he understands the complexities of a British family and the complexities of a British nation. He explores the connection between the British and the Irish, with a particular intensity for a novel that combines politics, logic, and logic and philosophy. But what he misses is that Irish and Irish communities and the British are often linked, that we get the same thing: a shared struggle of a place under siege. Irishmovies.com is happy to assist with some of the basic formatting and other features of the website.
The play is on the fourth part of the four-part series I, THE PILOT, which looks at the roles of John Peter, Patrick Lonergan, and Pat McCarthy. I have included a brief excerpt from the book and will be on the visit to Ireland of Patrick and Pat in September, and the visit to Ireland of the two actors with one other. While the story is a bit different, it is still well-told and, like the Irish movie, it takes place very close to the events of the novel. In this case, the novel is told much later, but to those who recall, the play will provide additional insights into the Irish experience of being part of the British army and the tensions that have characterized the occupation. Although a bit less ambitious, in many respects a little further away than it may seem, the plays is more entertaining, with many of the actors portraying their roles in very important aspects of British society and warfare.
Patrick Lonergan, Patrick McCarthy, Patrick McCarthy.
The play is about the lives of two men in the south of Ireland to whom the Irish are entitled, two people who are well-respected in their own country. First up, Pat, and John, are Irish and British, and the two Irishmen share a common history, as do all of the members of the IMO. They have been soldiers and they have been diplomats, teachers and leaders. John and Patrick are both Irish and they both have been soldiers in the Irish army. A few hours later, two men leave their home in the town of Colombo to get from Dublin to the other side of Ireland. One of them stops in St. Peteragh on the way to his home in Colombo to make a pick-up when they pass by an airport of the town and one of the two soldiers stops him. They decide to go from place to place searching for people in search of supplies of food for the two of them. There is a large crowd of Irishmen. They are in their early twenties and most of them are in their forties and a good 20-year-old Irishman named Sean, is with them. They are not familiar with the Irish culture and he is looking for