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Spite is at the heart of this intuitive piece of writing by Martin McDonagh. Even the title is not all it seems; The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a metaphor for imaginative thoughts in the head of Maureen, the put on daughter of Mag the scheming mother, supposedly house bound in a cottage in Connemara, Ireland. Both have their failings, as indeed everyone has, but theirs may be worse than the norm. Add the fanciful dreaming of Maureen for a husband, and his brother who relays his messages and you have the plot of this nicely constructed play.
The stage design by Liam Doona is one of the best that you will see anywhere, it is visually pleasing, has just the right amount of props that all work splendidly and its functionality is perfect. We see the cottage with its main room where the action takes place merging seamlessly with its exterior. This allows director Marcus Romer to make this play into reality.
Maureen, played by Marianne March, is the daughter who has her problems, not least her mother Mag, played by Tessa Worsley, who puts upon her daughter, who in turn takes it out on her mother. Wearing a new dress Maureen meets Ray, played by Jamie Beamish, at a local dance. They return to the cottage and Maureen makes the running for Ray who finishes up staying the night, only to be discovered in the morning by the mother. Ray then leaves to work in England and relies on his younger brother Pato, played by Paul M. Meston, to make sure his messages are relayed. To go further with the story would give the game away and is for the intending theatre goer to explore. The actors give good convincing performances which show the ways of a small country area in Ireland and the problems that it brings to those living there.
This is good repertory theatre which was expected in the 1960s, but has sadly all but disappeared from the provincial stage. The audience appreciated this play, it made them think and entertained them at the same time. Let's see more of it. © BA
“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” is at York from the 9th to the 27th November, 2004 and then touring. This is a No Smoking theatre. Council car parking charge £2.60 from 7pm.
