The Pillowman is a play without politics, or substance

by Colin Thomas on February 24th, 2011 at 1:27 PM

By Martin McDonagh. Directed by Stephen Drover. A Wild Geese Equity Co-op production. At the Jericho Arts Centre on Wednesday, February 23. Continues until March 6

The lucky ones left at intermission. Or maybe they were just the smart ones.

Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman won London’s Olivier Award for best new play in 2004 and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best new foreign play in 2004-05. But that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

McDonagh tells the story of a writer named Katurian who has been hauled in for questioning in an unnamed totalitarian state. Several of his short stories feature the gruesome abuse and murders of children, and Katurian’s interrogators tell him that his mentally challenged brother, Michal, whom they’re keeping in the next room, has confessed to acting out some of those murders, torturing and slaughtering three kids. There are lots of plot twists, but the basic thrust is obvious from the beginning.

Annoyingly, The Pillowman exploits the horror it’s dealing with. The show is billed as a dark comedy, but in fact it layers standard comedy on top of horror, interspersing absurd dialogue with graphically unfunny tales of crucifixion and live burial. In other words, it uses imagery of suffering as fuel, as a way of exciting the audience into giddiness, of tricking viewers into thinking they’re watching something daring—as opposed to something pornographic, which is what the script really is.

The Pillowman feints in the direction of relevance: does the state have the right to limit self-expression? But that’s moral window-dressing. Katurian himself declares, “I’m not trying to say anything at all.” Unfortunately, the same seems to be true of McDonagh: the play is without politics, unless you can call self-aggrandizement political. Katurian is desperate for his stories to live on after him, and McDonagh’s mission seems to be to celebrate the vigour of narrative construction. But why do it using these terms? And McDonagh overworks the notion that artists must suffer in order to produce. Yes, sometimes art can transform suffering. But the idea of necessary suffering is romantic claptrap.

Under Stephen Drover’s direction, the opening exchanges between Katurian (Aaron Hursh), good cop Tupolski (Ashley O’Connell), and bad cop Ariel (Mike Wasko) are delivered at such an artificially furious pace that they devolve into a stylistic exercise and lose all meaning. Hursh’s Katurian is bland, and Wasko’s Ariel is one-note loud in the early going. By far the best performance of the evening belongs to Ryan Beil, who plays Michal with his trademark sincerity and eccentric comic rhythms.

Darren Boquist’s lighting is sculptural. It’s gorgeous.

In some ways, the surfaces of this evening are glossy, but its interior is dull. I wasn’t outraged by The Pillowman; I was put off—and bored.

Comments

14 Comments

Linda

Feb 24, 2011 at 3:41pm

Really? This is a remarkable play and a very skilled production. I have not been able to stop thinking about it and wish that there were more productions in Vancouver that showed such courage. This play should have been given a professional production years ago. Finally a talented, small theatre group has done us this favour.

Thea

Feb 24, 2011 at 5:25pm

Somebody doesn't appreciate McDonagh. I've seen the production (which I absolutely love and highly recommend) and read other reviews of it and I get the sense that Colin Thomas wrote this review in the five minutes he had left before his deadline. Sure, this article analyses the script, but this specific production? If I didn't know he was at the theatre last night, I would suggest that he didn't even see the production.

theatre-goer

Feb 25, 2011 at 10:36pm

Maybe leave the ambien behind next time and see the show again Mr. Thomas. How can you be bored by theatre like this? In fact, how can you be bored by theatre so often?... It seems to come up a lot in your reviews of late. Maybe a holiday is in order?And it sounds like you've recycled the same arguement you used against 'Tear the curtain' re: the romantic claptrap of artistic suffering... to even less effect this time than last time. The point is not that Katurian (the artist) is suffering, but that he is a witness to the suffering of others... that's the central motif of the pillowman. That, plus some pretty glaring sado-masochistic overtones. To make a blanket statement about 'artistic suffering' is to completely muddy the thematic content. But maybe you were sleeping through that part?

The difference between this and pornography is that porn SHOWS you everything... but under Drover's direction, this show is all about the art of suggestion. Our imagination is left to fill in the blanks.

I was truly impressed by the cast, the exceptional design team, and McDonagh's pitch-perfect black-comedy. If anyone is reading this who hasn't seen the show, I would urge you to go and make up your own minds.

John WQ Public

Feb 27, 2011 at 7:39am

The only thing we really agree on is Darren Boquist's lighting. Gorgeous.

"By far the best performance of the evening belongs to Ryan Beil, who plays Michal with his trademark sincerity and eccentric comic rhythms."
Sorry, I disagree. For once Beil goes to the tricks that have served him in the past and ends up with that. Tricks. His Michael is frankly un-believable (funny yes, but wrong from start to finish. He's playing Ryan here - or at least his stage persona and it shows.)

Mike Wasko emerges here the victor, adding real depth and threat to the one note his part starts on. (No one in this comes out "alive" but it is a GOOD production of a difficult play. Which Mr. Thomas is at least honest enough to admit he hates.)

Why Ashley O'Connell is trying to "hide" his accent is beyond me (and unfortunately beyond him). He ends up with the most bizarre accent drawing attention to, not away from , the fact that the playwrights un-named state is Kafka-esque right down to the names (eastern europe.) I would have gone with your lovely accent Mr. O'Connell.

Not a perfect production, but a strong effort. Worth seeing if you like McDonagh's trademark bizarre sense of humour (Mixed with real horror, "The Pillowman", the story within the play is the most terrifying tale of the evening, but you need to think about it. Then you won't be able to stop. Sweet dreams.)

Note to "programmers". PROOFREAD. Is Ms Sider the costume designer or set designer? The set is excellent (simple and effective), the costumes... so-so.

Sarahsss

Feb 27, 2011 at 6:07pm

You liked Mike Mackenzie's direction and not Stephen Drover's, what a joke.

You'reonautopilot

Feb 28, 2011 at 10:14am

Actually Kathleen Oliver reviewed [title of show], not Colin Thomas. And way to hack on another show in your attempt to diss Colin. Who're you mad at?

Damian Jenkins

Feb 28, 2011 at 12:28pm

And God forbid anyone use their real full name.

John Smith

Feb 28, 2011 at 3:56pm

That was Ashley O'Connell's real accent - what the hell are you talking about? You evidently do not know the man. He has been in Canada for almost 8 years, which may explain why he doesn't have the full brogue any longer, but he certainly was not hiding anything - your comment was deeply ironic, given your anonymous accusation of Mr. O'Connell's 'hiding' his accent...

theatre-goer

Feb 28, 2011 at 5:14pm

@ John Smith - Totally. I was thinking the same thing. This is absolutely O'Connell's real accent, and his subtle lilt really suits the text without being dominating. The role is perfect for him.