The toxic dynamics which brew as the plot of The Beauty Queen of Leenane unfolds, in a cottage in rural Ireland, feel as evil as the witches’ potion in Macbeth, even though the ageing mother and daughter confined inside are just mortals acting ugly.
This grim and brilliantly acted play takes place in a single room but its themes — family tensions, secrets, ageing and the pursuit of love — are universal and resonated with the audience, who got to their feet to applaud as the curtain came down on the opening night in the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, first staged in Johannesburg in 2022, won five Naledi awards, including Best Production of a Play, and has received four Tony nominations. Impeccable timing, tone and movement by the actors bring the acerbic script, by award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh, to life.
Without the two brothers who provide comic and at times poignant relief to the vicious relationship between the mother and daughter, Mag and Maureen Folan, the sniping would be unbearable. From the opening scene the tension grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the gripping finale.
The story revolves about Maureen, a middle-aged woman trapped in a life of caring for her ageing mother Mag, whose sharp tongue and mind belie her physical infirmities.
Despite its stuffy setting, the play lives up to its reputation as a “psychological thriller” even when the expected happens — and when it all falls apart. I felt the deeper reasons for the unravelling deserved more exploration by McDonagh than they got.
Distinguished director Charmaine Weir-Smith evokes sterling performances from multi-award winning actors Jennifer Steyn as Mag and Julie-Anne McDowell, as Maureen in the lead roles. Bryan Hiles as Pato, on whom Maureen pins her hope of escape and love, and Sven Ruygrok, as his feckless little brother Ray, are also compelling.
Pato is the only foil to the bitterness between the protagonists, offering a tenderness to Maureen which is otherwise absent, while Ray’s inanities provoked reluctant laughter every time he crossed their threshold.
Greg King won the Best Theatre Set Design and lighting designer Denis Hutchinson was nominated for a Naledi for the play.
Costumes, veering from the mundane to fancy, and stripped down to the bare essentials, reflect the mood of the play, with intermittent sounds of rain and drops running down the windows amplifying the effect. These elements converge into a bleak whole, reflecting the mindset of the protagonists.
The story has few twists compared to Shakespeare’s King Lear, who wrestles with ageing, sanity and a family fraught with betrayals, but is no less wrenching.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a masterpiece of modern theatre.
The production runs until August 19. It can be seen at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee.
* For their Cape Town production, How Now Brown Cow has partnered with the nonprofit Vintage With Love, which supports early childhood development and literacy. Theatregoers are encouraged to put their “wonderful, gently-worn items” into donation bins at the Baxter to support their charities
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